4WD Engages by Itself

[dtulk]

When making a 90 deg. turn and braking the 4WD will engage by itself. This has happened to me twice.

The first time was about two weeks ago when making a left hand turn to pull into my driveway. My truck slowed when I was half way through the turn and I was puzzled at first as to what happened. Then noticed the green light on the 4WD so I thought maybe I hit the button with my knee or something. Didn't give it much thought.

Today I was turning right at a red light and it happened again. I had a passanger who verified it. The truck obviously slowed noticibly when the 4WD engaged and when I looked at the button it was actually pushed in - just as if I had pressed it. Weird!

I haven't taken this to the dealer yet - I'm going to try to make this happen and demonstrate it to them so they don't waste my time trying to convince me nothing is wrong.

Has anyone experienced this or heard of it before?


This is my first Toyota - a 2002 4WD Limited. My truck has about 1100 miles on it and I absolutely love it - just wish I could drive it more often. The only mods are a set of stainless step tubes, box liner, and a hitch. I had the hitch, wiring and electric brake installed by the dealer's preferred vendor (which is the best one in town and was recommended by several satisfied customers)

PS. Whenever I hit a hard bump on the drivers side I get a loud thump that sounds like it comes from under my feet. Thought it might br the box liner rattling against the sidewall. Ever hear of something similar?

[2000LtdKen]

Dtulk,

I don't know about you but I have hit my 4WD button by accident
when blindly trying to hit my RECIRC or AC button. I don't notice it until I try to turn and feel the binding.

Anyone else out there accidentally hit their 4WD button? Maybe we could come up with a gizmo to prevent this?

Ken

[EricL]

It always happens when I go to the car wash... I guess they wipe the inside pretty hard.

Next thing you know, binding as I pull out. Good thing the tires are still pretty wet.

I don't know if this will help you, but I had a tacoma that would engage into 4wd on its own going down the road,dealer could never find the problem until I said that such engagement caused me to lose control of the truck.Once they thougt it was a safety problem they found the problem,it was a loose mounting on the engagement motor.It was fixed and I never had a problem again.Tell the dealer the same.Of course the design is different now ,but it is something to look at

[dtulk]

I brought the truck to the dealer for the 1st service and asked them to check this problem. Here is the result:

Condition: "Vehicle goes into 4WD on its own during hard braking while turning sharply."

Correction: "Road tested vehicle. Detected ABS/Traction Control actuating during braking & turning. Normal Operation."

Sounds kind of strange to me, as I do not recall the manual stating that my Tundra (or any other model) had traction control.

Any comments?

DT

[staggarlee]

Isn't the limited slip differential traction control? It comes with the offroad package. I'd assume you have it if you have a Limited 4WD. I still don't see how the 4wd button could actually suck in and engage on its own.