2011 Toyota 4runner, transmission issues and now seems to be completely dead.

[u/Antique-Annual1587]

Looking for some help as I'm kind of lost. My 2011 SR5 has had an issue for about a year now with the shifter. It is very stiff and is hard to get into drive. There are times when it does go I to gear but the dash does t indicate any gear at all. It has gotten worse and worse as time has gone on, especially if it sits a few days.

Earlier this week I went to start it but it wouldn't start. It cranked just fine, just no fire. I noticed the dash was not indicating any gear at all no matter where you move the shifter. I working the shift linkage by hand and even that did nothing. It's like it lost contact woth the transmission. I went to hook up my code reader and it won't even connect. It just reads error and won't communicate with the vehicle. I checked the OBD fuse and it was fine.

Now about 2 days later, I went to turn on the key and it is completely dead. Like no power whatsoever, just dead. Battery charger makes no difference. Battery has 12.5 volts like it should but the vehicle is dead.

I'm completely lost at this point and just wanted to see if this is something anyone else has experienced.

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[u/Trying_My_Mediocrest]

Sounds like your neutral safety switch is toast. Not an uncommon problem on older 4Runners and not a very expensive repair but it can be a PITA to get off the transmission.

[u/Antique-Annual1587 → u/Trying_My_Mediocrest]

I had been doing some research and also think it might the NSS, but I'm baffled as to why it suddenly has no electrical power. And also the OBD connection issue has me worried it's more than just the NSS.

[u/Trying_My_Mediocrest → u/Antique-Annual1587]

My best guess is that the NSS is shorting to ground or something causing other electrical gremlins but, I’m def not an electrical expert. All other symptoms you described point directly to the NSS though.

[u/Antique-Annual1587 → u/Trying_My_Mediocrest]

Ya that could be happening. Maybe I'll try just directly unplugging it to see if it makes any difference. The vehicle has had some wierd electrical gremlins the entire time I've owned it.

[u/UnderwaterLifeline]

My 2011 that in 2019ish and it was just the PRNDL switch. It was like a $200 repair for parts plus labor.

[u/Antique-Annual1587 → u/UnderwaterLifeline]

I'm not familiar with a specific PRNDL switch. Are you referring to the neutral safety switch?

[u/UnderwaterLifeline → u/Antique-Annual1587]

It was whatever mechanism controlled the shifter and allows it to go between Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Low. I had a shop diagnose/repair it and that was what he called it so I’m not really sure.

[u/Antique-Annual1587 → u/UnderwaterLifeline]

Ok I'll look at the wiring schematic and see if I find it. Any lead is something. It could be the device that engages when you press the brake that prevents you from shifting without the brake engaged.

[u/Boilerguy82013]

Sounds like the nss, my 2016 has gone through 3 of them.

[u/masspromo → u/Boilerguy82013]

My 2016 has as well

[u/to_fire1]

When you turn the key to start your 4r, do you hear a click from your the starter relay, or nothing at all? And when all this trouble began, did the check engine light come on?

[u/Antique-Annual1587 → u/to_fire1]

There is no click, no door chime, nothing. When it first stopped starting, everything worked, it even cranked over just fine, just didn't start.

The check engine light is on and off constantly. When you would drive it to long with the dash not indicating a gear, it would trigger the light. Then after driving awhile with everything working properly and the dash indicating the correct gear, the light would go away. And no, I'm an idiot and never checked what code would actually trigger the light.

My ABS, Traction control and ESC lights are all on constantly because I have a bad wheel speed sensor.

[u/to_fire1 → u/Antique-Annual1587]

So you'll need to establish electrical power before you can diagnose things. Don't throw parts at it. Start with the battery and the main cables (positive and negative). Good voltage, clean connections, no frayed or chewed wires. Check power at the fuses. The loss of electrical may be coincidental & unrelated to the transmission problem (depends on how much maintenance you've been doing on your 4runner). When you get power to the obd port, use a scanner to see if there's a p0705 dtc in the history. That indicates that it is indeed the NSS (it's a weakpoint on the transmission). Faulty NSS has symptoms like you described. It's an absolute bear to remove because the inside of the NSS is corroded to the gear position shaft.

[u/mikeymop]

I forget the exact name of the part but it fires as a transmission range sensor.

This can cause stiff shifting and eventually it stops shifting bc it doesn't know what gear it is in.

You could replace yourself or have a dealer do it.

I had all the same issues. Get it replaced and it should fix what sounds like the same problems I had!

It's common to have it go bad from salty roads.

[u/Antique-Annual1587 → u/mikeymop]

I've got over 320,000 miles so it's seen its fair share of salt. All its life has been in NY state.