SLT. Why doesn't 4 wheel drive work?

Hello Joe
At some stage someone has has the vehicle in 4 wheel (especially if it have a 'Low Shift)' and has done a tight circle. When that happens the inner wheel in the turn tries to turn slower or even backwards. To fix it. Chock the front wheels and with the truck in neutral, jack up each rear wheel and let is spin and untangle itself. If you have a trolley jack, you can lift both sides

I would suggest having the vehicle scanned before going any further. Are there any other accompanying lights on the dash?

what light , service light , go on youtube and search to shut it off this is easy

the differential probly needs servicing--chec oil level -bearings cud be bad---------unhook batt and see if checlite gos away---hav vehicle testdriven by a nondealer or go to librarysec 629 for maintenance of transfer cases and more

I was researching the recalls for the 2002 tundra and havent found any recall pertaining to the 4whl drive. Sometimes when people have their 4wheel drive locked in and drive on pavement for any length of time, whether it be just a couple of feet or a couple of miles, over time it creates a binding of the gears in your transfer case. Once the bind is so great, the engaging and disengaging starts malfunctioning and leads to bigger problems overall. I could be wrong about this being the problem that you have but I think its something to look into. It wouldnt hurt to put your vehicle up off all fours and release the bind if any by running through the gears while in 2 and rour wheel drive while all four tires can move freely and release. See if that works for you. Check your gear oil front , center and rear and use much caution when attempting this suggestion. Also refer to your owners manual troubleshooting section for other possibilities. Merry Christmas. By the way, the electrical switch should be covered in the troubleshooting section also.

sounds like you have either a lose conection at the 4 wheel drive switch or a lose ground!!!!!

THE TRANSFER CASE MOTOR IS NOT WORKING TO INGAGE 4 WHEEL DRIVE. CHECK WITH DOOR OPEN WHEN YOU PUSH 4 WHEEL SWITCH YOU SHOULD HEAR MOTOR INGAGE 4 WHEEL DRIVE. IF YOU HEAR MOTOR BUT STILL NO 4 WHEEL DRIVE THE GEAR ON MOTOR COULD BE DAMAGED. REPLACE TRANSFER CASE MOTOR.

hey charlie, 1st problem is 4 wheel drive being engaged on dry pavement. You should only have it in 4x4 in snow, or off road on sand, dirt,etc. Newer all wheel drive vehicles compensate for the tires rotating at different speeds, like going around a sharp corner. The wheels on the outside of the turn have a longer distance to travel than the wheels on the inside of the turn. This results in the vehicle feeling like it's jumping, hopping or jerking as you cut a tight turn. You can damage your 4x4 system, as the wheels are fighting each other, trying to turn the same # of rotations, and something can and will give (like blowing the transfer case). If your light is staying on after changing to 2 wd, it is possibly stuck in 4x4. To shift from 4wheel to 2 or 2wheel to 4, you should be traveling in a straight line, let off the gas, change in or out of 4x4, resume driving. 4x4 low range requires a complete stop to engage.

check the lubricant in the transaxle, if it is low it will cause the light to come on.

I had this same problem a few years ago. In my case I didn't use the 4 Wheel Drive very often and the tranfer would hang in 2 Wheel. I fixed mine by tapping on the transfer case with a hammer while my wife switched back and forth from 2 Wheel to 4 Wheel.