2013 F150 King Ranch 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost. I hit a curb a few weeks ago and right after that the orange wrench symbol popped up. But nothing seemed obvious at first. Then a few times it seemed like I was in 4 high as I couldn't go faster than about 50 and had no acceleration. No lights were on or anything showing I was in 4wd. When I turned my truck off and start it again it was like it cleared whatever was going on. This happened 3 or 4 times over the course of a week and seemed to happen when I was driving slow. Then it didn't happen for a few days. Yesterday it did it again and when I got to my destination and stopped I switched the 4wd selector through 4A, 4H, and 4L and tried moving forward and back. When in 4L it stayed there and now will not come out. I had my mechanic look at it and discovered one of the air lines to the actuator was broken. My mechanic cut off the 2nd line connection also. He is going to try to fix it today but yesterday I rigged some temporary air lines but could not get it to disengage. Could be that my temp lines are not airtight. I'm wondering if fixing the air lines will allow it to disengage or if something is locked up. I can do a lot of mechanic work but definitely an amateur.

 

If you have driven in 4L on dry pavement, you may need to get in so sand or loose dirt and "spin the tires" to get it "unstuck". Of course this assumes your air connections are tight and the issue is the air lines.

 

Messy...

https://www.f150forum.com/f12/stuck-4-low-516302/

 

Seems like this implies a transfer case problem. If I understand the system correctly there is an electric motor that changes the gearing in the transfer case. I've seen reports of the motor losing position. Here's a video.

 

Having trouble getting out of 4lo is common. Especially if used in 4lo for an extended period of time and on surfaces with good traction. The gears inside the transfer case get bound up tight and don't want to disengage. Usually leaving it in 4 low and backing up 15-20' helps to relieve the binding. Back up a few feet, pull forward and try again. I've had to do the back and forward dance several times to get it to disengage.

And in the future, you rarely need 4lo, and never on pavement.

 

By "airlines", are you talking about the vacuum lines for the IWE system? Those have nothing to do with getting out of 4L. Do as @marshallr suggested.

 

marshallr is correct. Try that first before getting in more trouble.

 

You can also throw a jack under the hitch and lift the rear off the ground if you have access to one. If that doesn't get you out of 4LO, you got something to fix.