Gear shifter bumped while driving.

Hi everyone.
While i was on highway, one time, my dog bumped the shifter from d to n while in 2h. And the second time, a heavy object put on the arm rest flew forward and bumped the shifter from d to n because of a hard and sudden brake, it was in 2h. I feel like nothing bad happened but my OCD blood bug my mind too much. Have any of you experienced this before and in which case would damage the transfer case? I did many google search on this thread but not too much explain or information about these problems. Is it safe to switch from d to n while driving? I’m a newbie into these mechanic related no more than 3 years so have too little knowledge about how thing works. I’m appreciated all of your opinions in this topic. I just babysit my rig cause i want to use it for 30 more years. My rig is 2022 trd off road.

 

It's fine. The only conceivable issue has nothing to do with the transmission but would relate to the engine over revving if you maintained the same gas pedal position when the shift into neutral happened. Even that is unlikely as there is a rev limiter. Of all the things you could worry about I would put this somewhere on the bottom of the list.

 

Yes your OCD bug is working overtime.

 

I wouldn’t put this on the list at all. Not only is there a rev limiter (which shuts off the fuel injectors at redline), being a drive by wire electronic throttle Toyota probably mapped the throttle pedal response in neutral to prevent overrevving to begin with.

similarly the transmission has lockouts to prevent anything that could cause damage like going D to R while moving or downshifting too low in S mode. It’s pretty idiot proof, as most automatics have been since before I was born.

TL/DR: There is nothing at all wrong with shifting from D to N back to D while driving.

 

If memory serves me correctly, shifting to N and depressing the brake pedal was recommended in the event of the Toyota stuck accelerator pedal fiasco some years ago so...

I would say not only is it fine, but actually recommended by Toyota

 

It’s fine and sounds like you should put stuff in the back.

 

Your transmission is going to just fine. However, you should rethink where things are in the cabin when you're driving. Most people will never have this happen in a lifetime of driving, yet you seem to have it happen twice in a short period of time. Keep distractions and safety hazards out of the driver's area. For your sake, and all of the rest of us that share the roads with you.

 

D to N is harmless. N to D while moving at highway speeds can cause a sudden jerk. So apply brakes and slow down a little (within reason if you're in traffic) when shifting from N to D.

My shifter is usually in the S-mode gate, so it cannot be accidentally bumped to neutral.

Stop putting unsecured heavy objects on your armrest

 

Thank everyone. I will organize things in my truck.

 

That happens everytime I have sex in my vehicle.

 

This happened to me in my 05 wrangler a few times, one time it wouldn’t engage drive again, needed to have it towed to the dealer. Everything was fine but something had disconnected.