[CalcityRenegade]

Morning All. I have tried searching the forum but have not found anything conclusive. I am having an issue with the 4WD system disengaging on my 2009 Titan LE Crew Cab 4WD. You can shift from 2HI to 4HI and it will shift immediately (You can feel it has engaged) But when you shift from 4HI back to 2HI it takes a long time to disengage. The 4WD Light will just flash. The first time this happened it took 12kms to finally disengage. I do not see anything that could be causing this issue and the fluid is where it should be and nice and clean. I found that downshifting a couple gears causing a light jar will disengage the 4WD. I am assuming this is a bad solenoid? I cannot find a part number for the solenoid either. Any insight or suggestions would be very appreciated as I can only assume this will get to a point of either not disengaging or not engaging altogether.

Thanks kindly!

EDIT: I forgot to mention that a week or so ago I switched from 4HI to 2HI when I was off of snow and ice and the 4WD status light started flashing like normal but then completely disappeared and a light showing "4WD" Lit up and went away after I downshifted and brought back the 2WD/4WD Status light.

 

[Smoke05]

I find mine disengages faster if I let off the gas when I turn the knob back to 2wd, wait a moment then resume driving along.

 

[Steamguy]

I find mine disengages faster if I let off the gas when I turn the knob back to 2wd, wait a moment then resume driving along.

Right. The system will not disengage under load, to protect the parts. A number of manufacturers do this. So if you're on dry pavement it can take a while if you're watching it. Often shifting to Neutral for a moment and slowly, gently, rocking the steering wheel just a little from side to side will do the trick.

 

[CalcityRenegade]

Thanks for the advice. I have tried what you have mentioned and it does not appear to help the situation. Same result whether sitting still or driving or on snow or dry pavement.

 

[theredsuit]

Is your transfer case fluid old or have a lot of km on it? Worn out fluid might cause slow disengagement. Is the fluid low?

I try to run my 4Hi once or twice a month for short periods of my drive to keep things from seizing. If I'm in a straight line section of road or on gravel/snow is where I'll do that. Switching to 4Hi a bit more often may loosen things up and keep things loose.

 

[CalcityRenegade]

Not sure on how old the fluid is as I purchased the truck used but the fluid level is perfect and is nice and clean. I use 4WD quite often as my parents are rural and I frequent the woods/mountains. Never had any issue with it taking a while to disengage up until the last month or two.

 

[theredsuit]

Might be the actuator sticking... Worth a look. This thread might give you some help.

http://www.titantalk.com/forums/tit...slip-light-no-4wd-indicators.html#post6088194

Post 12 or 13 has an interesting blurb on the function of the actuator.

Since you don't know how old the fluid is, it might be a good idea to change it for good measure, you'll also get to see what's on the magnet. A couple quarts of good Nissan S rated ATF (I used AMSoil signature, and you can buy a transfer pump from them that fits their bottle) is not going to set you back a bunch of $$$ or time and you'll know you're running clean fluid.

 

[CalcityRenegade]

Thanks for the input. I will get fresh fluid in right away just to be on the safe side. Just a thought here but I read on here somewhere about someone with the "4WD" light on and it turned out to be a bad battery. Battery is only a couple years old but this morning I started the truck and proceeded to turn on the heat and defrost and started scraping the windows. Turns out when I shut the doors they had auto locked which I have never had happen before. Even if you hit the lock button with this door open they will not lock for exactly this reason. Thankfully I have a couple spare keyfobs in the house and unlocked the truck but I am wondering if maybe this could be weak/bad battery related? I will probably run out at lunch and have the battery tested as I work near a couple mechanical shops.

 

[gonfishin]

Thanks for the input. I will get fresh fluid in right away just to be on the safe side. Just a thought here but I read on here somewhere about someone with the "4WD" light on and it turned out to be a bad battery. Battery is only a couple years old but this morning I started the truck and proceeded to turn on the heat and defrost and started scraping the windows. Turns out when I shut the doors they had auto locked which I have never had happen before. Even if you hit the lock button with this door open they will not lock for exactly this reason. Thankfully I have a couple spare keyfobs in the house and unlocked the truck but I am wondering if maybe this could be weak/bad battery related? I will probably run out at lunch and have the battery tested as I work near a couple mechanical shops.

First step is to change that fluid. Use Transmission fluid or oem fluid. Synthetic is ok.

Next clean battery terminals and grounds around battery area. Test battery if you have access to a tester.

Try this.....drive down the road straight. pop it into 4x4 high.
continue to drive and then switch to 2x4. let off the gas and then give it a quick stab of the throttle. I bet it pops right back into 2x4.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[CalcityRenegade]

First step is to change that fluid. Use Transmission fluid or oem fluid. Synthetic is ok.

Next clean battery terminals and grounds around battery area. Test battery if you have access to a tester.

Try this.....drive down the road straight. pop it into 4x4 high.
continue to drive and then switch to 2x4. let off the gas and then give it a quick stab of the throttle. I bet it pops right back into 2x4.

Good luck and keep us posted.

So I had my battery load tested and it looks good. Putting out around 900 CCA's and 12.6v's. Terminal wires look good and terminals are tight but there is slight corrosion so I picked up corrosion cleaners and will clean them up. I tried giving it some throttle but nothing seems to work. The only real way it disengages is downshifting 2 gears and giving it a decent jolt. I spoke to Nissan Parts and they said because the switch is working they do not feel that is an issue but told me to change the fluid and if that does not work it will likely be the transfer case shift motor. The part alone is $900. I am going to clean the battery terminals and change the t-case fluid and if this does not work I will have a shop check it out. I thankfully purchased powertrain warranty on my truck and only have a $150 Deductible. They have been awesome to deal with and shelled out $4000 for my new rear diff without hesitation. Again I appreciate the input guys!

 

[HRTKD]

If you're having difficulty disengaging 4Hi try turning the steering wheel 1/2 rotation each way while driving forward. This trick works every time for me unless I'm towing. Somehow the towing of a trailer seems to put more stress on my transfer case making it even more reluctant to disengage.

 

[JLG7820]

^^^^^^^what he said. Plus I've even had to put mine in reverse while turning the steering wheel side to side if I've had it under stress pulling or towing

 

[CalcityRenegade]

So I tested the steering idea but it does not help unless I take a sharp turn like around a corner or something. I re-checked the transfer case level and it was perfect so I dropped the fluid. Color and smell seemed normal with very little gunk/debris on the magnetic drain plug. Filled her up with 2.3L of Nissan Matic D ATF and it is still the same disengaging issue that seems to worsen. While under the truck I did not find any loose or worn connections to the transfer case and transfer case motor. I am going to take the truck to a shop to test the motor and see if that is where my issue lays. I am familiar with 4WD's and do not feel this is a normal issue as it takes so much to get the truck to disengage.

 

[dubyam]

Calcity, you may be referring to me mentioning my 4wd light going a bit haywire when my battery was dying. I lost the little truck-axle-diagram in the display and the 4wd light came on and stayed on. Later that day, I had to have a jump. Stopped to buy a battery at the parts store, and it was stone dead after I came out, so had to install there in the lot. As soon as I had a good battery, all my dashlights went back to normal.

I'll add that 2yrs is a little short for a battery, but my OEM was under 3yrs when it went. I'm on ~1.5yrs with the replacement and all is well so far.

One thing to consider is your battery should be putting out more than 12.6v. When fully charged and in good shape, it should put out closer to 13.5-14v, and decrease over time a bit. Anything down under about 12.5v I consider starting to be suspect. I don't think that's your problem here, though. I think you have an actuator issue. Either the motor is dying or the actuator mechanism is sticking. Trip to the dealership for assessment and $150 to solve it if it's the $900 motor is the right course, I'd say. If you got warranty, use it!

 

[LT_TITAN78]

So I tested the steering idea but it does not help unless I take a sharp turn like around a corner or something. I re-checked the transfer case level and it was perfect so I dropped the fluid. Color and smell seemed normal with very little gunk/debris on the magnetic drain plug. Filled her up with 2.3L of Nissan Matic D ATF and it is still the same disengaging issue that seems to worsen. While under the truck I did not find any loose or worn connections to the transfer case and transfer case motor. I am going to take the truck to a shop to test the motor and see if that is where my issue lays. I am familiar with 4WD's and do not feel this is a normal issue as it takes so much to get the truck to disengage.

I have this same problem. What I found works every time for me is I stop, take it out of 4x4, and put it in reverse. I then back up about 3 feet, put it in drive, and BOOM! Disengages every time without turning my wheel and grinding on my Toyo M/Ts!:big_grin: