What is this light? Why is it on?

I had a stereo and speakers replaced put into my 2004 4Runner last week and after I picked it up I noticed this light was on. Since owning the 4Runner (3 months) it has never come on. What is this light and is it safe/wise to drive with it on?

 

Thats 4WD buddy, either you seriously crossed some wires or you or he hit the button/knob . Not its not to safe at high speeds on the street. You should be hearing screeching from tires around corners and feel a drag while you drive.

 

The simple fix is find the 4WD switch and turn it off... Should be this knob turned all the way to the Left

 

The knob is and always been all the way to the left (2WD). The light only came on after they installed the stereo.

 

Then take it back to the installer and have them look into what they have done they may have pulled power from a source that also powers the four wheel drive

 

Is it possible that the 4 wheel drive is on or do you think that maybe its just the light that is on? I'm assuming that if the knob is turned all the way to the left in 2WD position that it's NOT in 4WD or could it be possible that they screwed something up forcing it into 4WD which is why the light is on?

 

I have a 2016 SR5, sometimes I put it on 4H on regular highways/streets when its raining crazy. When I come to a stop, slowing down to make a turn or when im parking, I do hear screeching from the tires and feel like it does drag. Is that bad? should I not be using setting it on 4H? I was under the impression and from research that 4H is 4x4 driving at a high speed, 4L is 4X4 driving at very slow speed. I just want to make sure im not messing up anything on the runner...

 

NO! lol.... Im sure you want to be in 2H... not 4H..... 4H is for 4x4 high speeds off road(dirt/snow/mud) 4L is 4x4 low gears off road. Your screeching is coming from your rear binding a little and basically dragging a tire.

I have never used 4x4(4H or 4L) on asphalt ....unless im crossing a road from trail to trail. Now unless 2016 has some smart system im not ware off then.... NO not a good idea to be in 4x4 on asphalt..... Oh and rain probably not so bad its makes the road slick. But really.... if you going to go slide in rain your going to slide on all 4 tires.... 4x4 will do nothing to help you.

 

Thanks! I will not go on 4X4 on the asphalt anymore hahaha

 

No.

No.

A thousand times, no.

Jesus.

No.

 

The only time you should be in 4x4 on pavement is if you have the avalible full time 4x4 option, but never put it in 4h on pavement only on snow is it acceptable on paved roads

 

There is a smart sytem, only avalible on the Limited trim is full time 4x4, but is an expensive option and not many have them. The lexus now come with that standerd along with crawl.

 

4wd light may come on with blown fuse. it does in my tacoma. it may be likely that the 4wd circuit was shorted during install. Check fuse

 

In '69 I bought a used '67 Land Rover with 4wd. The front tires were a bit ratty but it drove fine on dry pavement, snow, blood or mud. I drove it until '75 when I traded it for a new LR, and then was talked into putting Warn hubs on the front wheels to eliminate tire scrub. That ran good too, but with less tire scrub. So, many moons later, I have a a new '16 4R Trail. with a solid front axle and no Warn hubs. My question: is the '16 Trail's front axle not as strong as that '69 Land Rover's? Am I risking serious damage or just tire scrub if I run it on dry pavement in 4x4. I wouldn't normally do that, but it would be nice to know. - Ted

 

Your new 4Runner does not have a solid front axle.

Neither, nor any, part time 4x4 vehicle should be run on solid surfaces in 4WD. There is a large difference between all wheel drive and part time 4x4 transfer cases. If you have an sr5 or trail, you have a part time transfer case.

 

Solid front what?

 

I probably used the wrong term 'solid front axle'. All I know is that '69 Land Rover was in 4wd all the time, on dry pavement or off-road. Why can't the 4R Trail handle the same conditions and wind up with only tire scrub? - Ted

 

I don't have any knowledge of the old Rovers so I can't speak with any authority on that subject. That doesn't sound right to me about full time 4WD but I don't really know. I would think they would have had a solid front axle and part time 4WD.

4WD as it designed for our trucks and 4WD / AWD as it is designed for a similar truck - the Limited - are quite different. The Limited uses a center differential and is designed for the four wheels to be drive wheels. Most other full time RWD /part time 4WD vehicles regardless of manufacturer, including the SR5 and TE, use full time RWD, a middle transfer case, and a front differential.

A major difference between the AWD and part time 4WD systems and the reason that you can't use 4WD on dry roads is that the wheels are turning at the same rate regardless of angle of the steering. If you think about it, when you turn a corner the inside wheel revolves fewer times than the outside wheel. If a truck is locked into 4WD (and this is exacerbated in 4Lo) and the tires are on a surface that proveds good traction, the outside wheel cannot turn more times than the inside wheel and as a result you cause tire damage and / or transmission damage (eventually, with extended use in that condition). Operating the truck on surfaces that have reduced traction (as you should) allows slight slipping of the wheels under these circumstances, which keeps the system from binding. A similar reason is that the front and rear wheels will be spinning at the same rate when locked into 4WD and again, there needs to be the ability of the front and rear wheels to spin at slightly different rates. Poor traction surfaces allow the wheels to do this, while pavement does not allow them to spin at different rates, so you get eventual tire damage and / or transmission damage.

See below image I stole:



Edit, found this about the Rover, though is pertains to pre-1958 (ish) models:

The four-speed gearbox from the Rover P3 was used, with a new two-speed transfer box. This incorporated an unusual four-wheel-drive system, with a freewheel unit (as used on several Rover cars of the time). This disengaged the front axle from the manual transmission on the overrun, allowing a form of permanent 4WD. A ring-pull mechanism in the driver's footwell allowed the freewheel to be locked to provide more traditional 4WD.

 

Okay I agree with everything that has been said here, problem is that on my SR5 supposedly I have a limited slip differential in the rear and the front drive Wheels are not solid axle. My 4Runner when turning on dry pavement still wants to crab, and on very low traction surfaces like hard packed snow or icy conditions my 4Runner wants to push in Sharp turns, IE still wants to go straight even though I'm turning. This is with traction control off and A-trac off shouldn't both of those systems allow for slippage on dry pavement? Or does the front drive axles when engaged act more like a locker?

 

No to all of the questions.

With TC and A-Trac off you have, essentially, a basic / rudimentary 4WD system so the description I offered above is even more apropos and completely explains why the truck does that. You'd probably be slightly better off, if you just have to be in 4WD for whatever reason on that sort of surface, to actually have TC on and A Trac on.

Your front diff doesn't act as a locker.

Hard pack snow is actually a decent traction surface.

 

I mean the type of hard packed snow that is glossy and essentially Ice like