snow driving in parking lots sucks - normal or just a me issue?

I got permission to go back to an 1850's stamp mill but to get there I had to drive up part of the waste rock pile, they had just excavated where the trail used to be.
Must have hit an old blacksmith shop because there was metal all over. Spent about a half hour rolling rocks out of the way and picking out metal. Figured that would be a perfect place to use the locker
with all that trash in the rocks to keep from spinning a tire. Of course the locker wouldn't lock ,messed with it quite awhile and finally the dash lit up saying four wheel drive malfunction see your dealer.
Shut it off, was going to go for it anyway, double checked for any more metal. Started it back up and all went back to normal and the locker locked right up.

 

For some reason I thought the locker could only be engaged in 4 lo? Maybe I’m thinking of my rubicon.

 

You’re correct, it’s a limitation imposed by Toyota and not uncommon (Xterra also required 4Lo before locker, stock)

 

Correct. But it’s possible to take it out of 4 low with the locker still engaged . At least on the manual shift transfer case. If I recall, in the situation I mentioned where my locker did not disengage and I drove on the highway with the locker light blinking…. i had to pull over, go into 4lo, then I commanded locker on, then off, then slow pulling forward with the left/right steering, then it turned off.

The locker is really one of those things that’s best used with some discipline. Only turn it on for a particular obstacle or situation, then turn it off once you’re done. Right then and there. I got sloppy and forgot to turn it off until I was faced with getting back onto a paved highway.

 

This seems similar to the situation I had that led to the locker not working anymore. I think you might have even been there while I was driving back and forth in the parking lot at TK Country Convenience trying to get it to disengage.

 

Maybe…I would hope that these would be a little more tolerant to these kinds of mistakes. But who knows. The actuator may have failed, or maybe something mechanical in the actual locking mechanism.

If only we all had enough time and motivation to find out

My old transfer case is also sitting under the bench waiting for it’s own post-mortem inspection. But my curiousity hasn’t been motivating enough for me to tear into it yet lol

 

This is the 4Runners way of telling you to do doughnuts in the parking lot.

 

Thanks for all the comments! I've talked with other 4runner owners I know and none have had the issue I've had, so I'm thinking something is wrong with mine. I've been testing it a bit lately and when I move back to 2WD, it takes a minute to disengage and the panel light stays on. Yesterday, I backed from my driveway (in 2WD) and as I pulled forward...the 4WD dash light flashed on and off...first time it had done this. I'm now looking into trading in for a used Limited Nightshade.

 

Interesting.

Big thanks for the update, folks care about helping other folks out. Often times the OP of threads disappear after gathering insight.

Goodluck!