Traction control Sucks

storeman

storeman

Known by Few
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Location
Whiteville nc
my wife's 4 Runner. The electric shift stoped working a while back so just 2wd
Now . Anyway there is no way to turn off the TC on our 2007 model
And today turning around on the shoulder of the Blue Ridge Parkway she went down and the TC nannies went to work . Skinny pedal on floor and it would not rev over
1500rpm it's crazy. Now a lot of you may already know this trick .but I sat a min and thought about it then went for the fuse box ABS bingo I thought
Yanked that fuse set off a warning buzzer in the car. Wife is thinking what are you doing
She reved freely to red line and in just a few seconds I am back on the blacktop
When I get home I am going to put a toggle switch to control TC from the inside
I don't like all this computer assisted traction crap on the newer cars .
 
Google on line ... Vsc mod.. I have a 06 runner .. Real easy.. Under passenger side dash 4whl drive ecu... Thread tells you color wire .. T-tape it run it to a toggle ... Turns off vac and trac
 
Why not just fix the 4wd?
 
jeepinmatt said:
Why not just fix the 4wd?
Click to expand...

I need to do that. We need it so seldom I have just not got to it. It quick working because we did not engage
It often and the motor froze up. Toyota wants 800.00 not going. Todo that. But still don't like the way the TC
Works. Really it is the power down that gets you not the TC . I just don't like all the Baby sitting features
I guess. Anti Spin , Anti Roll, all this nanny stuff adds up to no fun when you want to power the back end around
I just don't know the purpose of the throttle down to nothing part . I can see how the brake modulation
Would help on a open diff. But don't take my throttle away.
 
slow torque rise in a low traction situation is helpful in maintaining traction. spinning the tires is not always the right or best thing to do.

last winter I got stuck behind some sap who tried to power their way up an incline on an iced over country road, I'm in my 9000lb work van with all season crap tires, once he finally got out of the way, second gear, and very light accelerator, got half way up broke traction, stopped, sat for a second, then went again, van walked right up the hill, surprised the hell out of a lot of the other folks who weren't so fortunate.

powering out makes for a hell of a show, and a lot of carnage, but isn't always the best way to go.
 
I agree fully and have used 2nd gear like that but that is a choice you cannot
Make with the 2007 4RUNNER
When the TC kicks in you only have that option . What u stated is true but mud is
A whole different animal you need wheel speed to clean out
The tread and the milder the tread the more u need. I just want to make that call not some
Stupid PCM program . I know what to do now anyway
And it does not take any longer than locking in the hubs would
If I had those .
 
Locking the hubs wouldn't help without a functioning 4wd system. That seems to be the biggest cause of your worries.
 
I was just using the lock in hub as an example of the time it took me to pull The ABS fuse to restore power back to the driver where it should be. Yes to fix the 4wd would fix the issue but really Sinse we bought it new in
2007 and 121,000 miles I have only needed 4wd twice. And both of those times I would have been ok with 2WD
If I had control of the Throttle. I may fix the transfer case motor sometime but Toyota has let me down on
This one .A Tcase should not just stop working because you have not used it. That's why I am slow to fix .
It just may decide to stop working again. I would not consider another Toyota 4 WD unless it had the
Lever in the floor and A TC off switch
 
storeman said:
I agree fully and have used 2nd gear like that but that is a choice you cannot
Make with the 2007 4RUNNER
When the TC kicks in you only have that option . What u stated is true but mud is
A whole different animal you need wheel speed to clean out
The tread and the milder the tread the more u need. I just want to make that call not some
Stupid PCM program . I know what to do now anyway
And it does not take any longer than locking in the hubs would
If I had those .
Click to expand...

you asked why, and that is largely the reason, well, slow torque rise and self preservation, YOU are not the "average" driver/consumer of this vehicle, which is largely aimed at soccer mom and general daily truckster type consumer who knows little of anything about the magic buttons on the dash. they bought the "4x4" version cuz it sounded safer, in the winter snows ( same goes for Tahoe/'burb, Exploder, Pathfinder, Subaru crowd )

you (and most all of us on this site ) get frustrated by the lack of control we DON'T have and the stupid problems it causes when we don't.

I've got a 5spd third gen, I've used a second clutch cancel switch ( scavenged parts from other trucks ) to disable the vacuum solenoid to the front axle to allow me the use of LOW range in 2WD, 4WD will NOT engage until I press the added clutch cancel switch, and will disengage when I shut the vehicle off
 
You should learn how to fix that shifter motor. My E-locker motor quit working (got mud and water in it due to no vent hose). New motors are ridiculously expensive, a good used one was a couple hundred. I took it apart, cleaned it, and got it working for free. I would imagine your t-case shifter is very similar design, and that getting the timing correct will be the hardest part of getting it back in working shape.
 
Yes there are quite a few post on how to fix the sticking t case actuator ... An other thing
That can be done... But a little involved is swapping in a fj cruiser auto only manual shift t case.. Same size case and bolts up the same.. Problem is 1 inch body lift to fit/fab the shifter to come out left of the gear shifter
 
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