2004 4runner 4 wheel drive wont engage - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

BHEIN57 · 01-28-2011, 11:02 AM

I have a 2004 4runner. It just snowed 10+ inches and I tried to switch it into 4 wheel drive and the indicator light flashes and it would not engage. I left it on for 10-15 minutes without the 4 wheel drive ever working. I tried turning it off, putting it into reverse, braking several times, but nothing worked. Has anyone else had this problem? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

jetwhine · 01-28-2011, 11:13 AM

BHEIN57,

Yes I have had a similar problem. When that light flashes it is in between 4wd and 2wd. What you need to do is go into a parking lot or a street that is not crowded and do this.
Put into drive then go forward at about 5 miles an hour, then put it in neutral and coast. Then disengage the switch. If it does not come out go back wards at the same speed then coast and try it again. You might have to do this a few times before it will disengage. If you can't get to stop flashing the try the opposite. Try to engage it doing the same procedure. This system gets very touchy if you don't use it enough. What happens is there is too much load on the transfer gear case while trying to either engaging or disengaging it, that's why you go into neutral while coasting to unload the transfer gear case to help the situation. Hope this helps.

canddmeyer · 01-30-2011, 03:05 PM

I have a 2003 4Runner and this issue was/is common. Most, including myself, just leave it in the AWD 4H unlocked (green indicator) mode year-round, and the vehicle will handle 99% of road conditions. The vehicle likes to be moving when trying to engage from 2H to 4H. Problem is, this can take upwards of a 1/4 mile to engage from 2H to 4H, and by then one is stuck. Most folks however are stuck before the 4H can engage cuz the vehicle never moves from where it was parked due to the traction control that cannot be turned off.

jetwhine · 02-03-2011, 04:23 AM

That is a good solution but...... I run my rig in 4H also and I had the same issue going from 4L back to 4H. It took a while to figure out how to get it out. And just as the first post I had the flashing light and it stayed in 4L. So I was able to meke it to an area where I could experiment with it and figue our a combination to get it back to 4H. The coasting in neutral was the ticket for me.