2014 4Runner Limited - Blown up transfer case

I have a 2014 4Runner Limited with 84K miles. Transfer case blew out on me when trying to shift from H4L to L4L to head up my hill in the snow. Bought this rig new and have had Toyota trucks for well over 20 years. I know how to use a 4WD system. Always serviced at the dealer. Had it in Neutral with a foot on the brake. Shifted back to drive and it didn’t engage after going about 20 feet. Tried to shift back to H4L and it wouldn’t reengage, but made a grinding noise and I lost all forward motion. Left it and had it towed. Dealer says the shift sleeve was stripped. Last time the dealer serviced it, they did the diff/transfer case service.

At the same time they replaced the fuel pump under a recall. I’m a little suspicious about this because when they replaced the fuel pump, they crimped my fuel line and I had to bring it back in. Pretty novice mistake. They made it right, which I’m glad they did.

Not sure what the tech could have done to my transfer case, but having it go out at 84k is not what I would expect from a 4Runner. I’m not rough on my cars and have always observed the scheduled maintenance. The $4,900 price tag for a new transfer case doesn’t bother as much as feeling like I can’t trust my 4Runner any more. Any ideas? Or has anyone out there had to replace their transfer case before 100k? I use low 4WD a few times a year and only to get up and down my steep hill when we’ve had a decent snow or ice storm. At a bit of a loss here.

 

Sounds odd to me, it would be interesting to find exactly what caused it. Welcome to the forum anywho.

 

Welcome from Wisconsin! There's a 'switch' to engage 4wd on a limited isn't there? We had a 'switch' on our Tacoma, and even after exercising the transfer case every few weeks, it sometimes seemed hesitant on the 4wd engagement. Wonder if that's a problematic spot. In our ORP, we have a lever for the 4wd, and it's engaged when the lever gets pulled, no hesitation like the switch.

 

I wish 4900.00 didnt bother me...I'd wanna know if the correct. amount of oil was in the tranfer case when this happened...

 

Yes, there is a switch vs. a lever on the Limited. The Limited is also always in AWD mode unless you shift it into H4L (which is on the fly) or L4L.
Regarding the oil, I don’t know. The dealer that serviced the transfer case in September is the same one that replaced it yesterday. They didn’t indicate there was any shortage of oil and I know for a fact there was no leakage - I park in my garage and the floor was clean. I doubt they’d admit it if it was low (or even look to see if it was low before replacing the transfer case). In speaking with the service advisor, he said the only time he’s seen this type of damage is when someone tried shifting into L4L on the fly - which I would never do. Something just doesn’t add up.

 

The service advisor might just be speaking in C.Y.A. terms. At any rate thanx for the tutorial on the AWD and 4 wheel engagement on the Limited... I did not know this. Back on the road! It's a good place to be!