Stuck in 4LO

2022 Tundra 4x4 Limited. I use the 4WD about once a month. I used 4WD a couple of days ago in 4LO and now I can’t get the truck back into either 4HI or 2WD. I was reversing up a gravel incline at the time.

I’ve tried:

• Tapping lightly with a rubber hammer on the differential and the actuator
• Disconnected the battery for one hour
• Turned the truck off while in neutral, switched to 4HI, and then turned the truck back on, still in neutral
• Reversing after toggling the switch from 4LO to 4HI
• Turning sharply right and left while reversing.
• I’ve checked the two fuse boxes but can’t find any blown fuses

There are no gears grinding and no “ka-chunk” sound like it’s trying to switch. It is definitely stuck in 4LO. The tires bind when turning and I can’t go faster than ~15MPH. The 4LO and 4HI lights blink on the dash.

I’ve NOT yet tried disconnecting the wiring on the actuator.


I live about 40 miles from the dealer. They will tow the truck but can’t get to it for a week.

Any other ideas that I should try? I want the dealer to troubleshoot it eventually but would like to get it to 2WD so I can drive the truck until the dealer checks it out.

Thanks

 

For that week they can’t get to it the dealership should cover the rental.
Toyotas product is defective, why should you be without a vehicle meanwhile you wait for the dealer to work on it.
Run it by the dealer if they’re willing to provide a rental, if not reach out to brand engagement. Good luck bs you have to wait so long

 

Must have gotten in a bind. You would think rolling it straight for a short distance forward and backwards would sync everything back up. Then you would be able to switch back into 4hi while in neutral. I even take my foot off the brake so everything is loose and able to
move. Something is amiss for sure.

 

I’ve done this a whole lot of times. The problem is it isn’t even trying to disengage from 4LO.

 

I wonder if I should have it towed to the dealer through the Toyota Care option. That would get it to the dealer quicker than me waiting on the dealer to come pick up the truck.

 

New fangled electronics in these things. Is it in a drive select mode that only allows 4lo? Not familiar with the newer ones if they have that mud / snow / desert modes and what not.

 

I don’t believe so. I don’t have the off-road package, so I don’t have the different drive select modes. I have the Sport/Normal/Econ and the Tow/Haul options, but I don’t have different terrain options.

 

Switching out of 4Lo should cancel any drive modes. It does in the 3rd gen Taco. IIRC the new Tundra can use drive modes in 4Hi as well.

 

I suspect the actuator is toast. Is there any practical DIY way to bypass the actuator so I can return to 2WD-only until the problem is fixed?

 

Crazy to hear on a 2022. Haven’t heard of other complaints of actuator failure on the new ones. Any missing information OP? Deep water crossings? Did you shift into 4LO while moving? And clanking or grinding when it went into 4LO?

 

The truck has never been off road. It’s a daily commuter and maybe once a month tows a travel trailer 100-150 miles to a nearby state park.

My shop and camper carport driveway is a gravel road on an incline, so I sometimes use 4L0 or 4HI when reversing up the driveway.

 

The only way to get my 2012 Silverado out of 4 low was to get the truck rolling (slowly of course), shift to neutral while still rolling, then move the selector from lo to hi. Give that a shot to see if it shakes something loose. This would work either in forward or reverse.

 

Have you tried rolling in neutral and putting the selector into 4H? Has to be in neutral to go from H to L and L to H.

 

I have always been led to believe that if service takes longer than a day they always give the customer a loaner till the vehicle is complete?

I have never seen a dealership take a week to get to a vehicle? If something is wrong they look at it immediately and fix it accordingly. I am glad I have a good service department at our dealership.
I feel for ya.

 

My buddy’s duramax has been sitting at the dealership for over a month to do a recall. And diagnose/confirm blown head gasket. The service manager is a ding dong and decided to push him out as far as possible because my buddy is friends with the tech. Dunno why that matters but apparently playing nice with the techs makes you an undesirable customer. Little man syndrome?

Responding to the OP’s original questions - the suggestions above usually do the trick. I had my truck get stuck in 4Lo once after dragging a dumpster truck - tractor pull style - out of a gravel bed that the driver had buried it in. Tension the rope, roll in to the throttle, then pin it til the tires start to slip.

Anyways, I was about 5 miles from any major paved road and didn’t have cell reception. I ended up driving up and down and around the dirt roads every which direction for a few minutes. I reversed, I pull forward straight for 50 yards, I turned the wheels left for 10 yards, then right, then straight again, I coasted downhill in neutral, i coasted downhill backwards in neutral… Eventually, i was able to get the system to shift back to 4hi after backing slowly downhill in neutral but bumping it in and out of reverse a few times, but not back in to 2wd. I backed downhill to unload a few things from the bed and shut the truck down. When I was done and jumped back in, I was able to start it up and get it to move back in to 2wd. That was over a year (and a looong, snow-covered winter) ago and I didn’t have any more problems all year, nor have I had any issues since.

A mechanic friend suggested lifting a tire or the rear axle an inch or two off the ground with a Jack (while on level ground) then shifting from drive to reverse a few times before putting it in neutral and shifting back to 4hi.

In my case, I believe the issue was that I simply didn’t engage 4Lo enough. It was late in the summer and I hadn’t needed 4wd in several months. I’m usually pretty good about clicking in 4wd at least once a month, even if it’s just sitting in my driveway, but I hadn’t needed 4Lo and the actuator bound up.