4x4 Light Flashing

[Blackie2008]

Here's another one for ya...

Driving down a suburban road, 2H and the 4x4 light starts flashing... I stop, consult the useless owners manual, consult the forum to find this thread. Figure I'd play with the 4x4 leaver and see if that fixes things... Put it into 4H light stays on no worries. Put it back into 2H light goes away.
Any idea what could have happened and is it worth pulling the ADD actuator out to see if its just about buggered?

[boxhead55]

Possiably Water would be my guess.

[Blackie2008]

Could be.. Just got home and had a look under the car and the breather pipe has somehow been snapped off. Should be able to rip the bash plate off, take the plastic cover off and give it a clean out. Fingers crossed its not too corroded.

[Blackie2008]

Just been reading all the write ups about flashing 4x4 light
I have a July 2011 sr5 and my light comes on after 30 to 40 minutes of driving in 2 wheel drive every time I use it.
If I turn off the motor then back on the light stops flashing, drive another 30 to 40 minutes and it starts flashing again.
Sometimes the light won't come on when I engage 4x4
My Hilux has only done 4 shallow water crossings about 8 months ago and none since, about which time the problem started. And has given the same scenario ever since.
I've had it to Toyota 3 times and they can not find any code faults in the computer to indicate what is coursing the problem.
Sounds like from what I've read here that water getting in to the A D D (not sure what this stands for) is the problem,
I might bring this to the attention of my local Toyota Service Department tomorrow.

Thanks
Dave

For future reference:

[rbass87]

Hi guys, ive tried searching but havnt come up with a whole lot, ive got a new 2013 hilux thats only done 2000kms, and after being away for the weekend camping I got back to the main rd, put the car in 2wd then after half a hour of driving the 4wd light on the dash starts flashing orange. This happens every time i start the car or flick it from 4wd back to 2wd. Now I too the car to toyota and they found that when the diff drop kit was installed the breather for the add hose wasnt connected and the add was full of water, so now that part isnt covered under warranty. They charged me 350 bucks to drain the water out of the add and extend the hose, but this hasnt fixed the problem. Its still going in and out of 4wd fine so im a bit unsure as to what the issue is. Toyota didnt really have much of an idea, but wanted to replace the whole part, and im not overly keen spending 1000 bucks + labor to get this fixed on a brand new car after already spending 350. Any help would be greatly appreciated! To say im unimpressed would be an understatement.

Cheers
Russell

[Kahmat]

who fitted the diff drop?

[rbass87]

I bought the kit from monster rides but it didn't include the little hose breather extension, I wasnt sure if I needed it or not, pedders I installed the diff drop along with the rest of the suspension

[Skog07]

http://www.newhilux.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=17334
If the ADD unit fills up with water its got a whole heap of electrical componentry inside it that shorts out. The above link is a cheap fix.
or have a look at this thread.
http://www.newhilux.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19269

[rbass87]

Ok thanks a heap for your help. The water would have been in there only for about 3 days until it was drained out, so I wouldnt have thought there would have been any corrosion damage or anything along those lines. Why does the sr5 have this system and not the sr?

[rysermon]

i have a sr i wish i had that system so i didnt have my whole front drive components spinning 24/7 ><

[Skog07]

Ok thanks a heap for your help. The water would have been in there only for about 3 days until it was drained out, so I wouldnt have thought there would have been any corrosion damage or anything along those lines. Why does the sr5 have this system and not the sr?

It aids in putting less wear and tear on the drivetrain and reduces drag in the drivetrain which will give you better fuel economy and also lighter steering. I sometimes wish the SR model did have it so you can setup a low range reverse but sometimes the reliability of the SR not seizing up far outweighs the benefit especially out in the bush.

[Qwerty]

Maybe the orange was looking amorous and the 4wd thought it was appropriate?

[rbass87]

Well it seems to have come good after draining all of the water out of it and taking it for a long drive, how long it'll last is anyones guess!

[daz191067]

Hi all

I appear to have same problem, light comes on after 25-30 mins and flashes, vehicle clearly in 2H and after being in either 4H or 4L wont go out unless ignition turned off, then flashing recommences at said time.

The fuses etc, located behind glovebox inside front quarter panel looks fine, have not submerged car that deep, yet!

Any feedback is appreciated, and likewise Toyota dealer is useless.

Cheers

[mattwhite]

For what it takes pull the add motor apart and inspect it. Free to check it.

[slugasi]

Hey there everyone. For those whom don't know the location of this module it is on the drivers side bolted to the drive shaft box (Auto). I just wish to share how I sorted it. I have a 2012 Hilux since new, I just raised my suspension and did a trip. No problems however coming home I noticed the orange light flashing. Now I'm a perfectionist every thing must be right. So anyway after sleepless nights, I reset the computer, it went away, but it come back again. Being cluey I could hear a clicking sound from the left side kick panel, whilst I moved the 4wd lever in and out, I assumed it was a relay switch for the dash light. The light went out again, then came back on. I got underneath found the A.D.D module and noticed a small breather hose coming out. Reading some of your reviews I weren't going to take it off. So I sprayed some nulon teflon into the hose and retried it went off almost straight away. Being adventurous I also sprayed some Wurth HHS 2000 to make sure, it's been good ever since. I hope it works for you. The breather hose should face down so as water can't enter the unit.

[slugasi]

Back again,,yes I fix the small swithch in the A.D.D (Advanced Diferential Disconect) but still had the problem. So I pulled it off again and discovered the shaft had seized, it is supposed to move freely. I un-seized it and so far the light (green) is coming on no problems. Sorted,,,I hope.

[GeeBung]

The breather hose shouldn't face down, water will enter it no matter what direction it faces. The idea is to put it up high in the engine bay. Theres your problem right there.

[mickgibbo00]

I had similar problem with me MY12 SR5 D4D over the last 1-2 weeks.

The 4x4 light started flashing orange after about 2.5 days driving on a 5300km/6.5 day trip from Darwin to Wollongong.

Turning the ignition on and off or changing from 2H to 4H or 4L would remove the light but it would not stay off.

Looking on the forum I could only see issues with water in the A.D.D. being reported and the above item about shift being incomplete. As I breather extensions some time ago and the breathers weren't damaged I was reasonably confident it wasn't the A.D.D.

Throughout the rest of the trip the 4x4 light started flashing after 30 mins of ignition being on.

With a bit of testing the A.D.D and transfer case was working fine and we continued our trip to Wollongong including a little bit of time on Fraser Island where we used 4H and 4L without issue. When in 4H or 4L the light didn't come on.

With the ute booked in for a service at Toyota on Monday just past I asked Toyota to investigate.

Upon picking up the ute, the only comment I had was a low voltage fault which they cleared...possibly due to the dual battery setup.

On Tuesday the 4x4 light started flashing so I took it straight to Toyota while it was still flashing. After leaving the car for 2hrs I went back to hear that the 4L and 4H sensor in the transfer case was bad and needed replacing. To save costs I left in in over night (parts from Sydney) and with the vehicle not being ready to late Wednesday I picked it up this morning at a cost of $500.

This afternoon, 15 mins prior to Toyota closing for Christmas, the light came on again.

I took the car in and they stayed 1.5hrs investigating and offered a courtesy car. In the end the installed a temporary replacement 4x4 Computer Control Module to see if it solves the issue.

Hopefully we find a solution soon.

Has anyone else there had the issue which wasn't caused by water in the A.D.D?

Thank you and I hope this assists others.

[mickgibbo00]

I had similar problem with me MY12 SR5 D4D over the last 1-2 weeks.

The 4x4 light started flashing orange after about 2.5 days driving on a 5300km/6.5 day trip from Darwin to Wollongong.

Turning the ignition on and off or changing from 2H to 4H or 4L would remove the light but it would not stay off.

Looking on the forum I could only see issues with water in the A.D.D. being reported and the above item about shift being incomplete. As I breather extensions some time ago and the breathers weren't damaged I was reasonably confident it wasn't the A.D.D.

Throughout the rest of the trip the 4x4 light started flashing after 30 mins of ignition being on.

With a bit of testing the A.D.D and transfer case was working fine and we continued our trip to Wollongong including a little bit of time on Fraser Island where we used 4H and 4L without issue. When in 4H or 4L the light didn't come on.

With the ute booked in for a service at Toyota on Monday just past I asked Toyota to investigate.

Upon picking up the ute, the only comment I had was a low voltage fault which they cleared...possibly due to the dual battery setup.

On Tuesday the 4x4 light started flashing so I took it straight to Toyota while it was still flashing. After leaving the car for 2hrs I went back to hear that the 4L and 4H sensor in the transfer case was bad and needed replacing. To save costs I left in in over night (parts from Sydney) and with the vehicle not being ready to late Wednesday I picked it up this morning at a cost of $500.

This afternoon, 15 mins prior to Toyota closing for Christmas, the light came on again.

I took the car in and they stayed 1.5hrs investigating and offered a courtesy car. In the end the installed a temporary replacement 4x4 Computer Control Module to see if it solves the issue.

Hopefully we find a solution soon.

Has anyone else there had the issue which wasn't caused by water in the A.D.D?

Thank you and I hope this assists others.

Just an update.

With the temporary 4WD ECU from another vehicle installed over the Christmas period the light didn't come back on, so we ordered a new 4WD ECU which took a couple of weeks to come in.

The 4WD ECU was replaced a week ago however on the first drive over 30min the light came back on...so I took it back in on the weekend and Toyota spent some time looking for an earthing fault. Unfortunately they were unable to find the earthing fault or fix the 4WD light so I need to take it back again this week.

Hopefully we find the problem soon.