Got another dumb “did I damage anything?” 4WD question.

Got another dumb question that I couldn’t find clarification on in my owners manual. I went on some dirt road trails today to get more experience with the 4WD features in my 2022 TRD Off-road and decided to try out crawl control.

I put the the transmission in neutral, switched into 4Lo, put it in drive and started coasting forward. Got up to around 6mph then decided well since I’m just sitting here crawling at a snails pace with just engine idle, why not throw on crawl control. I immediately thought I grenaded the transfer case as I mistakenly took the ABS actuating sounds as gears trying to mesh. Figured out that noise is normal but after researching more, everyone says to engage crawl control from a stop. I read through the owners manual and that wasn’t a requirement for crawl control to work so my question is, could I have damaged anything from engaging crawl control (on setting 1) at 6mph?

Also, in the mix of trying to get my rear locker to engage, I think I may have tried slipping the transfer case lever out of 4Lo and into neutral with the transmission in drive and my foot in the break. Felt some vibration in the lever like a transmission trying to go into gear. Could you do serious damage by trying to come out of 4Lo and into neutral with the transmission still in drive?

 

As far as the crawl control, I wouldn't worry about that. I've only used mine a few times, and it has been from a stop, but since this is just an electronic thing, if Toyota didn't want you doing it from a slow roll, It would have programmed the system to not engage and give you some kind of a warning message. So I'm sure you're fine.

And yeah, CC sure sounds violent! Hopefully the next generation is a little bit more civilized, I can totally see somebody who doesn't know this ahead of time thinking that something in their truck just drastically broke.

I also don't think you damaged anything in the transfer case from doing this just once. I'm sure we've all made that same bone-headed move, trying to shift it under incorrect circumstances. If you said that you had forced it, despite the grinding, I would be more worried. I would say now, you learned your lesson, now don't f****** do it again lol.

 

It’s fine. Just don’t make a habit of it because it’s possible to bend the shift fork if you’re pulling hard on the shifter so just shift into neutral with the trans.

 

You just used crawl control for likely the only time in your ownership. I think I have used mine once and that was to try it out and I'm off road regularly.

You didn't hurt nuthin' either.

 

I thought I blew mine up the first time I used it. And I started from a dead stop! It's noisy but super effective.

 

Good to know! I have tried my A-Trac and rear locker but not yet Crawl Control. I have a somewhat dumb question as well, though not per se 4WD related, but not necessarily warranting a new thread. Basically, I drove about 3 - 4 feet forward with the parking brake engaged. Just wondering if I damaged it? No alarm or anything sounded, maybe it only does at a higher speed...? I am thinking it is probably okay since I moved only a few feet slowly before realizing it was still engaged.

 

You are fine.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. I’m pretty sure the crawl control is a non issue after reading through the replies and the owners manual again.

I was pretty concerned about switching in and out of 4Lo while stopped and in drive. I was trying to activate my rear locker and the light was flashing for 20 seconds and never went solid so I gave up and went to go back to 4hi. I pulled the transfer case lever out of 4Lo and into neutral and felt some grinding and that’s when I realized I was still in drive. I suppose if I really wanted to I could drain the transfer case and use a paint strainer to see if there is any shavings in the fluid.

 

Drive forward and turn the steering wheel side to side to get the splines to line up.

Just drive it.

 

All I know is everytime crawl control is used sounds like my car is gonna off itself.

 

It's supposed to, and it is normal.

 

Regardless of normal operation, I have to admit, the first time I heard the downhill assist system work, it freaked me out. To the point where I don’t use it. 4LO in first gear provides enough engine braking for me.

 

The crawl control works via the ABS system and isn't directly linked to the drivetrain. I'd imagine if you hit the button going 20 mph in 4L it wouldn't engage the brakes (something I won't try to verify). The sound you hear is the pulsing of the 4 ABS solenoids, limiting speed and wheel slip that is sensed by the wheel speed sensors. I will say that the slowest setting in crawl control is insane and sounds absolutely awful. Step it up one click and it reduces the insanity greatly. lol. (Fun fact: Did you know it is possible to overheat your brakes w/ crawl control? Something I learned in the owners manual. Who reads the owners manual )

Slopemaster hit the nail on the head ^^ Gear reduction is your best friend while going downhill. Limit the application of your brakes as they can over heat and fade in extreme cases.

A-Trac works similarly but with a slightly different approach. When a wheel on an open diff slips, the A-Trac will apply brake to that wheel sending power across the axle to the wheel with the traction.

I find A-Trac very handy on steep trails that have loose material b/c it works better when you keep light but steady on the throttle so it can function properly. If you lift the throttle when A-Trac engages you lose the effect of the system, ie no power to send to the wheel w/ traction to keep you moving forward. This is something you won't want to do in a boulder field...hence the crawl control controlling all 4 brakes, and throttle independently to maintain speed and traction.