Advice Pls! N00b switched into 4Lo when in Park, then into Drive. - Result - nasty grinding.

[MrBloop Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MrBloop]

Hi Everybody,

With much embarassment I need to ask some advice on what damage i may've just done my newly-purchased 2nd hand 2010 Prado GX (3l TD).

I had only purchased the car 4 days earlier, when i took it for a drive on some forest tracks, and came to a point where i needed to engage the 4Lo. Looking through the Owners Manual, i couldn't find any reference on how to engage the 4Lo, just a reference to the Off-Road driving manual. Of course, i had no copy of the off road manual. I hadn't even known it was missing, til that moment.

There was no mobile reception so downloading the manual wasnt an option. So i turned the knob to 4Lo, and switched the transmission from park to drive, whereupon the transmission gave a nasty grinding for probably 2 seconds, before i managed to take it out of drive, back into park or neutral and then turn the 4Lo off.

Of course, now i've downloaded the off-road manual, so now i know i should've had the transmission in Neutral when switching to 4Lo.
So I've done something that i shoud not have done, and the poor car did not like it :-(

So, i have a few questions for anyone who knows about transmissions!:

1) Is it likely to have caused damage that will get worse if i don't have it looked into?
Eg would it help if i have my transmission oil drained and replaced to remove possible metal/debris in the oil?

2) What actually happens when the 4Lo tries to engage when in Drive, and not Neutral?

3) Should i just relax? Ie if it didn't break the transmission outright, then I've likely got away without serious consequences? I didn't give the accelerator any juice, as soon as it went into drive, it made the grinding noise, and i took it straight out...

After the incident, when i got back into mobile coverage i downloaded the offroad manual. I then managed to switch it into 4Lo successfully, using the proper procedure, gave it a quick test, and it seemed to be fine. I then had to drive 800 km back to Adelaide, so I have driven the car a bit since the incident, and it seems OK.

Any info, advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated!
MrBloop

[maulbeagle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close maulbeagle]

I had similar issues with my 2014 V6 automatic. Ended up having the transfer case replaced under warranty.
In my opinion, a fully electronic car, 4WD selector, and transmission, should not allow you to incorrectly select ANYTHING that will cause issues. Surely this should be blocked by programming.

[Spilsy Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Spilsy]

Not advice unfortunately but I'm fairly certain mine just beeps and flashes if I put it into 4lo in anything other than neutral.

[Fred63 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fred63]

Not advice unfortunately but I'm fairly certain mine just beeps and flashes if I put it into 4lo in anything other than neutral.

yep that's what mine does

[JimmyC Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JimmyC]

I've done exactly what was described once, right after I bought the car and it lived to tell the tale. No damage to mine (that i know of and it's done 60,000 with plenty of low range use since).
If you're really stressed about it get someone to look at it but in my opinion if it drive 100% fine after and went in/out of LR without kicking up a stink since then I rekon you'd be in the clear.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

No damage. Don't worry, just relax.

[MrBloop Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MrBloop]

yep that's what mine does

Yeah, you guys are right. The sequence of events is a bit clearer in my head now, and actually when I shifted it from drive to park all it did was continue to beep - it wasnt until i took my foot off the brake and allowed it to move forward (at idle) that the grinding started.

[MrBloop Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MrBloop]

I had similar issues with my 2014 V6 automatic. Ended up having the transfer case replaced under warranty.
In my opinion, a fully electronic car, 4WD selector, and transmission, should not allow you to incorrectly select ANYTHING that will cause issues. Surely this should be blocked by programming.

Yep thats what i was hoping... that it wouldn't let me, or itself, select anything that would do any damage. But turns out its not the case
Will just have to keep my fingers Xed re my transfer case. At least if it fails in the near future, i'll have an idea why :-( It's definitely a pitfall to watch out for, for anyone new to the vehicle.

[MrBloop Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MrBloop]

Thanks everybody

Well it sounds like the consensus is - that I've probably got away with it, which has put my mind at ease,
thanks for the replies to everyone, and whew :-)

[maulbeagle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close maulbeagle]

Hopefully you're OK. However, that grinding noise is the gears not meshing. Check my other posts for pictures of the result in my transfer case.
At least, I would check your oil for shiny bits. Apparently mine was like liquid glitter.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Now just a random question ?? Does the gx have dac control ?? If so did you happen to engage it along with low range and you were going down a slight hill ?? If yes to these questions, then was it possible you heard the dac control doing its job which can be noisy from inside the cabin ?? Cheers Steve

[Nik83 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nik83]

Downhill ascent control is noisy as hell, and you don't need it. First gear, low range, is all you need.

DAC uses your ABS and other systems to control the brakes, wheels etc. Great system - it makes sure you decline at a nice rate. Useless system though as it scares everyone in the car! You can be in first, low range, and have the same result but be in complete control, without the annoying grinding noises. I know I'm not the most experienced person to write that DAC is crap, but it's crap. In fact, when I read a review and they mention DAC/similar for a Prado or other any other off-roader, I almost disregard their reviews and keep their input to the cabin space.

Personally, I'd be happier if the money towards DAC went to something like a rear diff locker.

[JimmyC Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JimmyC]

Well it sounds like the consensus is - that I've probably got away with it, which has put my mind at ease,
thanks for the replies to everyone, and whew :-)

Think about this. How many times have we all made a grinding noise in a manual car when missing a gear (more on L plates than anything) and the gearbox lived to tell the tale?

[MrBloop Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MrBloop]

Hopefully you're OK. However, that grinding noise is the gears not meshing. Check my other posts for pictures of the result in my transfer case.
At least, I would check your oil for shiny bits. Apparently mine was like liquid glitter.

Ah, thanks Maulbeagle, I'm checking your other posts now for pics of your transfer case.

In light of this advice i'll definitely have a look at the transfer case. Car is at 98500km, so i'll get it checked out as part of the 100K service, which i'll need to have done even if its a little early, as i'm doing a trip to WA in 2 or 3 weeks and that's going to be a buttload of km. The 100k schedule includes replacing transfer case oil filter, so i'll get them to have a look at the oil and save that filter for me so i can have a very close look at the filter. Open it right up and see what its caught. At least there is a filter there so if there was any metal in the oil i hope the filter has caught it all before its caused too much damage by abrasion!

[MrBloop Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MrBloop]

Now just a random question ?? Does the gx have dac control ?? If so did you happen to engage it along with low range and you were going down a slight hill ?? If yes to these questions, then was it possible you heard the dac control doing its job which can be noisy from inside the cabin ?? Cheers Steve

thanks Steve, yeah it does, but the DAC was not engaged.