4wd Question

Hello,

Looking for some help with diagnosing a possible 4wd problem. I took a look at purchasing a 2006 limited V6 at 160k miles. As I was testing the 4 lo, the light on the dash would flash and then it would go solid, as it should. But, there was no actual feedback with the front wheels. We drove it for a few minutes to see if it would actually kick into 4wd but it did not.

The seller has stated that the VSC light would come on and off every so often as well. I read something that said this could limit 4wd use but don’t know how reliable that is. Also, if the lights are off (and we used a code reader that showed no cleared codes), then it shouldn’t be limiting 4wd?

If anybody has any insight on this, it would be very helpful. I am wanting to pull the trigger on the purchase, but not if this is not fixable.

Thanks

 

Mine is an '04 V8 4WD so it's probably a different setup. My 4WD is full time, no option to switch out, and to switch to LO you need to be in Neutral, not anything else. I've had the VSC come on a couple of times since I've owned it new in 2003 and each time it's been an O2 sensor that's gone bad. It's been at least 12 years between sensors so I'm not complaining. The shop says a bad O2 sensor can impact how the car responds in a skid so it turns on the VSC OFF light as a warning.

The LO setting puts the transmission into low gearing so you should be shifting must faster but not going very fast. I don't recall about the light but it probably stays on. If it's flashing then it had a problem going into low. Put it in drive and go a couple feet, back to neutral and try going into LO again. Otherwise I'd take it into a Toyota service dept and let them run a scan on it.

 

The 4wd light would continue flashing if it didn't go in because the front ADD has a "confirm" sensor in it meaning flashing until that sensor circuit is closed. How do you know you're not getting front drive power?

 

My question as well. You'll occasionally hear and/or feel a thunk but sometimes there's no sensory indication at all. To my knowledge, if the light is solid, you're in 4WD. What about 4LO? What happens if the light is solid and you engage the locker? If you haven't tried that, don't do it on pavement unless you have space to drive straight ahead. Turning at all on pavement with the locker engaged isn't a good idea.

 

Low flashes until it's in like my Tacoma but with the manual case it is instant. Yeah I exercise high range on straight roads and the locker in the driveway. I just get to the point where it will lock and unlock easily then cycle it a few times.