Delayed Engagement

Hi all! I am brand new to this group and really searching for some answers. I have a new-to-me 2012 4runner that I bought 7 months ago at 79k miles. I have had no issues with her until the last week or so. There is a significant delayed engagement when shifting from park to drive, where I let my foot off the brake and it sits, until it lunges into gear and throws the car forward. After I am in gear I have no issues when driving or putting back into reverse or park. This is extremely intermittent and has become more frequent in the last few days. I just had my car in the shop for an oil change and asked them to check tranny fluid, everything was brand new (from the dealership, assuming) and clean, they also drove it but did not experience the issue. I am at a loss of what it could be!

 

Delayed Engagement? Obviously your 4Runner has commitment issues.

 

I don't think you spent enough money on that ring!
Having said that, there are many things that could be going on here. The shaft system could be jammed or not properly lubricated. If you hear weird noises like cracks or the vehicle jerks a little, then get the whole transfer case/shaft/diff systems checked carefully and see where the issues are. If you are able to take some pictures of everything underneath, post them here. I am sure someone will spot something and help you. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I saw somewhere on here that the 4wd shifter might not be engaged fully or got bumped, so I shifted from rwd to 4wd and everything went seamlessly. No cracks or thuds heard when driving at all, only when shifting out of park to drive! I use my ebrake all the time when parking as well to keep pressure off when parked.

 

Maybe low on fluid? My dad has a 01 xterra when he cold starts it he lets it warm up 5-10 mins and still from reverse to drive he has like a 10 second delay. But he’ll drop it down to 1 and it will engage instantly or 2.

he basically loves the truck and doesn’t want to get the transmission looked at or fixed, he’s retired and and has the attitude of I don’t care lol aslong as it works for him.

but I would check fluid level. Do you know the procedure for a drain and fill? Plenty of YouTube videos.

also could scan vehicle to see if there are any pending codes, like a drive solenoid getting sticky or valve body

 

When I had it in the shop less than a week ago I asked them to look at fluid for me, said it was full, clean, and looked recently serviced! I really only have issues from Park to Drive, drive to reverse and back to park is seamless, no delay or jump.

 

If the fluid was clean and new, then it’s possible the previous owner may have been experiencing the same issue. Fluid got changed, didn’t correct problem, so they sold it. Just a theory.

 

I never had this issue until last week, from November-last week it was completely fine, no delay or anything!

 

Welcome to the forum.

Give this thread a little time. It’s possible someone will have information you can use. My only suggestion is to find a local and trusted Toyota mechanic and lean on them. If you’re in the N. Houston/Woodlands/Conroe area I know a guy. Good luck.

 

Brainstorming here… is the D indicator on when you reverse and put it in D or N… could be a case of neural safety switch? It’s common isn’t it? I heard something about this possibly

Edit, or the other way around it still shows like P or R or N while you have it in D then, it jumps into D and on dash it changes to D ?

 

Welcome

 

Maybe too simple .. maybe try spray lubing the shift linkage
This is a video that I used. You have to crawl underneath and it’s on the side of the transmission pan. It’s worth a try. I’m sorry that you’re going through that

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XZkAqv9Qz6U&pp=0gcJCfwAo7VqN5tD

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions! The gear indicator flips through all gears like normal, no delay in the indicators at all. I get it from park to Drive, indicator says D, I sit for a sec idling, take foot off the brake or give some gas and it launches forward into gear im assuming. The indicator never has changed or been delayed at all. There are no dash lights on either that would make me aware of any issues.

 

Welcome

 

Change the fluid again. Be sure to use Toyota or Aisin WS fluid. Be sure to follow the service manual procedure for checking fluid level, no shortcuts like filling the same amount that drained out. If no improvement, take it to a transmission shop like Aamco for diagnosis. You may have a gummed up solenoid or valve body. The part may be replaceable through the pan without disassembling the whole transmission.

 

Interesting problem you have. My first thought was neutral switch sensor, but it seems that problem is always accompanied by check engine lights on the instrument cluster. Also, I think it only affects gear indication, not actual gear engagement, but now I don’t remember for sure… @Trail Runnah you had a neutral switch failure, did it cause problems with gear engagement?

Some other questions to consider before taking it to a transmission specialist. At the very least it may make it easier for a shop to understand the problem.

-It seems the dealer couldn’t replicate. How often is this happening? Is it only when it’s cold or under circumstances that you’ve noticed are predictable?

Does the delayed engagement happen if you first want to move in reverse instead of drive? Will it hang up if you put it into S mode first instead of drive?

Any chance that it’s the parking brake shoes lightly rusting to the drum surface and the lunging is the shoes breaking free?

When you asked them to check the transmission fluid level, did they charge you for that service specifically? The reason I ask is that checking the fluid level is not simply pulling out a dipstick. It has to go on a lift, and the car has to be at a specific temp for the check procedure to be accurately completed. And I doubt the normal lube techs are the ones to do transmission fluid. If you didn’t pay for them to check the trans fluid, I highly doubt they did it properly, or maybe not at all. In that case, learn the procedure yourself if possible. And at that point, you should drain what’s in the pan and properly fill (it’s not that much work than just checking the level).

If in the end there’s no simple solution, I agree that you should probably take it to a good transmission shop. Hopefully they find it’s a replaceable part like 3JOH22A mentioned.

 

I’ve noticed no difference when its hot or cold, sometimes does it when cold and probably has happened more when hot, after driving. For some reason I haven’t noticed any issue going from park to reverse, then to drive. Just from park, to drive. Mostly I encounter the issue when pulling out of my parking spot at home, thought that may be the issue?(for whatever reason) But it has happened on the road when I was parked waiting for a train.

When serviced last week, they charged a $15 fee to check all fluids, tire pressure, etc. I also asked them specifically to check the transmission fluid, which they reported at full and clean, they mentioned pulling the pan as well and everything looked normal.

 

I had a similar slow engagement problem with my 2013, but mine showed a P0705 code. I replaced the neutral safety switch and it solved the problem.
A few yers later the slow engagement problem returned, but with no code this time. After some research I sprayed it with some PB blaster and moved the adjustment a bit and it has been working fine since. There is some small adjustment on it to clock it clockwise or counter clockwise. I don't where it supposed to be set, but it seems to work fine at any setting. You will need a 12mm and a 22mm socket to adjust or remove it.

 

Mine isn’t showing any codes or lights on the dash, would the neutral safety switch still be bad and not show a code?

 

Hmm. I thought when there was a park safety switch issue that the symptom was that the shift lever couldn’t be moved out of park, and not the delayed engagement that Maggie has described. But if that is the case the brake light switch might also be the culprit.

 

As I said, mine was slow to engage with no codes showing. I sprayed it and adjusted it and it's been working fine.

 

Unfortunately, the safe assumption is that they didn’t actually check anything on the transmission then. There’s just no way that they would take off the oil pan off the transmission for 15 dollars. They would had to charge at least an hour of labor (at the very least), and charge you for at least 4 quarts of fluid.

Maybe they opened up the check standpipe plug to see if a little fluid came out to verify the level, but once they lie about one thing, I cant really trust their supposed verification that the level is correct.

Before doing anything, I’d check back on this thread as more people share thoughts…because it seems the neutral switch (gear position sensor) might be a reasonable suspicion after all.

 

Yea if you’re feeling slightly mechanically-inclined I’d whack it with a transmission fluid drain-fill and see if it does anything, esp. since if it hasn’t been done, you’re probably due.

If DIY, do the level check procedure.

(I’m more lenient on fluid used personally, I like Idemitsu’s lineup but I have zero scientific evidence to support that.)

 

^^ This. @solo07 - if they told you they took off the pan, I'd take everything else they told you with a huge grain of salt.

 

@McSpazatron

No, when I was having my issues it never failed to promptly engage drive, however a few times it did go into neutral while I was already moving.

The first instance of my issue with the switch wasn't bad enough to actually trigger any lights, the only symptoms were that the D wasn't lit up in the gear indicator and it would not go into 5th gear. Basically acted like I had it in S mode.

When it happened again, and it would slip out of gear, my dash was lit up like a Christmas tree by that point and I was throwing a code.

As far as the OPs problem, I could see it not engaging drive if it initially thought that the transmission was in neutral.