I have an 05 5-speed xB and for the past few weeks, whenever I put put the car in reverse the left turn blinker light comes on solid. I do have the TRD quickshifter installed as well as the cold cathode interior lights (not sure if either of these might have something to do with the issue).

I'd rather save the trip to the dealer and even though I'm not very mechanical I think this may be a minor problem. Does anyone have any suggestions? I've had the cold cathodes in for over a year and the quickshifter in for several months and never had a problem until the past few weeks.

If anyone has any ideas it would be great. Thanks!!

well................. thats an interesting problem.
i wouldn't think the turn signal lighting goes anywere near the shifter, but it deos seem to be invalved.

does it stay on as long as your in 5th and turn off when you take it back out of gear?

less than a foot away from the shifter its all controled by cables, if it turns out to be directly related then id think its within the center concel.

what id do is get the whole center concel off so you can see whats going on in there.

The backup lights in the xB are in the tail light assembly unlike most cars which have them separate. Chances are you have a faulty ground or loose bulb in the left tail light assembly that causes the backup light bulb to power up the directional bulb circuit. Check the access panel in the trunk for a loose ground wire or bulb.

Thanks for the replies. I checked the wiring under the center console and visually everything looks fine. I'll try to check the trunk tomorrow.

To be more specific with the problem, when my headlights are off and I shift into reverse the light comes on very dim (barely noticeable). When the headlights are on it comes on brighter but not as bright as if the actual blinker was on. It stays on solid the whole time I'm in reverse and as soon as I shift out of reverse it goes off. Also I noticed that it only happens when I'm completely shifted in reverse.

Thanks for the help guys.

little things always don't work good on the box

I had a chance today to pop the hatch and take off the panel and on the left side I noticed a black wire that was grounded to the metal part of the hatch. The wire was attached by a bolt and the bolt was so loose it was almost off and the wire had room to slide around. I simply tightened it up and the problem is fixed!!!

I drove around all day testing it and only 2 times shortly after fixing it did the problem happen. As soon as I started the car and put it in reverse, the light came on and quickly went off. It did the same thing a few minutes later but since then it has been fine. I know nothing about wiring but I'm thinking it just took a little while to ground itself? (Not sure if that makes sense)

Anyways thanks for the replies everyone and any suggestions of anything else I can check to make sure this problem is completely resolved would be great!!!

Yeah check the other side too!

little things always don't work good on the box

another stupid post from this guy...

So that loose ground wire fixed the problem for a few days and it started happening again. To be 100% specific, whenever I am in reverse AND pressing down on the brake the left blinker light comes on solid. I believe the left reverse tail light is also dim when it happens.

I finally got a chance to go to the dealer. They appeared to be nice and went to take my car in but after they took it in they presented me with a paper saying it would be $95/hour to find the problem plus the cost to fix it. I was ____ed because they didn't tell me this until after they took my car from me and when I bought the car (bought it certified used) I got the Platinum (supposedly the best) warranty which is supposed to cover almost everything up to 100k. I had them give me my car back just in time. When I called Toyota directly they said "dealerships can charge whatever they want to diagnose a problem since they are each independently owned businesses.' So why the f*** did I bother purchasing the best warranty?

Sorry for the long rant but I had to vent...I appreciate all the help and if anyone has any other ideas that would be great. Is there anywhere else I should be looking for loose wires? Any other possibilities besides a loose ground?

Thanks

Yeah check those grounds again and also the light bulb socked where the bulbs screw in to make sure you don't have corrosion in the sockets. All the lights require grounding and when you apply the brakes that just applies more 12 volts to the bulbs that has to flow through the ground connection. Second thing to check would be the battery ground to the frame under the hood just above the driver side headlight right on top. Make sure the bolt is tight - the factory bolts it onto the painted frame so it is not a really good ground connection.

I actually gave in and went to the dealer. They looked at it for 2 hours and said it had something to do with my interior lighting (cathodes from randode) and they said just disconnecting and reconnecting it fixed the problem. They didn't charge because they weren't sure if it that was the definite problem but it seems to be fine for now *knock on wood*

Thanks for all the help everyone