P11EC diagnosis

Check engine light came on for my 2017 SR5 4x4 with 54k miles.

Dealer diagnosed as Follows:
53868 P11EC BANK 1 CYLINDER IMBALANCE RAN COMPRESSION TEST AND FOUND SLIGHT INDIFFERENCE IN BETWEEN CYLINDERS 1,3 AND 5. COMPRESSION 185 PSI IN CYLINDER 1 AN 3 AND 155PSI IN CYLINDER 5. LEAKDOWN TEST SHOWS AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION LEAK IN INTAKE VALVE OF CYLINDER 5.
FAILED VALVE STEMS AND VALVE GUIDES WARPED FROM IN CYLINDER HEAD ARE THE CAUSE. REPLACE BANK 1 HEAD ALONG WITH VALVES AND A OVERHAUL KIT

Reading related posts has me very concerned and a few questions.
Is replacing the entire head the only realistic fix? Assuming I replace the one head should I be worried the other head will need replacement too? What if I don’t do anything and just keep driving it? Will it cause further damage? Currently it drives the same without any noticeable difference in power or performance.

Tacoma has been maintained and not used for off-road.

 

New head is the only way to fix it unfortunately.

There is a member on here that had the code show up around 300k and he’s currently over 400k without fixing it…

 

Unfortunately, 100% of the cases posted here have been burnt valves that no longer seat and seal properly. One tech here said he tests the closed valve with water and that water leaks right out on all of the ones that went bad. Nobody really knows for sure why it happens.

The cylinder head part numbers have been updated numerous times over the years, not really sure if that addressed the problem or not. There have been older trucks that made it to higher mileage with no problem, and newer trucks that still had the problem. Seems to be mostly hit or miss luck. It could be manufacturing defects, but then you have some trucks that make it to above 200K miles before they exhibit a problem...you would think a defect wouldn't make it that long so if it isn't a defect, then what is it? No one really knows.

As long as the tech does a good job, your truck will be good as new. What that means is that someday you could potentially have the problem again, about the same chance as a new truck has of having the problem. There is no real reason to be concerned about the other bank just because one bank went bad. They are not related. The downside is you pay $6k+ for the repair.

Honestly, I am starting to think this is a problem that more vehicles probably suffer from than we realize - we just don't know about it because many vehicles don't offer 7 digit codes. The Tacoma is one of the newer vehicles to support 7 digit codes and now we get the pleasure of finding out tiny (expensive) problems that are wrong, when we probably wouldn't have known otherwise. If it happens to my truck, I'm either trading it in or driving on it and I'll find a way to deal with the emissions test I have to pass. I'd potentially find a used engine and swap that in. I'm not paying $6k for anyone to take apart the engine and replace a cylinder head. That's just way too much money for what you get out of the deal.

 

Commenting here since I don't want to take the other thread off topic. It is interesting that your buddy has only repaired Camrys. I wonder if he sees the same codes (P11EC-P11F1), or if he sees something else. I can't find a single google search engine result showing any Camry ever having the same issue.

 

Welcome to the forum. What bothers me most about your problem is that you said that you only have 54k miles on your truck. Even though your truck is 8 years old it shouldn’t crap out at that low mileage. Mine is also 8 years old and I’m just behind at 50k miles and my extended warranty runs out next month. Sure hope mine doesn’t do the same thing.

 

Appreciate the feedback so far. This is my first Tacoma (actually my first pickup truck). Its been great —until this surprise.

Any reason to get a second opinion about the diagnosis? Or is this diagnosis pretty accurate based on the tests completed.

Live in Florida which doesn’t have emissions—so maybe I just drive it like usual? I worry that something will get more worse at a bad time with my whole family in the truck with me.

 

If I lived where there were no emissions, I would do nothing and drive it until it became a bigger problem. As @ScottThePainter mentioned above, we have a resident member here (@bigoldbeef ) who has over 400K on his truck. It has had the P11ED code since before 300K miles. I want to say he recently said it's starting to actually become more of a problem now, with misfires occurring. But at 54K and the rate you drive, I wouldn't hesitate to milk that for a while if no emissions requirements are present. If it gets worse it gets worse, but currently you have no real tangible problem aside from the code...I wouldn't be spending the 6K+ on that.

 

Jumping in here, new to the forum... 2023 Tacoma SR with 39k miles with a P11EC code… Truck runs fine but at idol sometimes I’m seeing the rmps are a bit rough. Can’t understate how upsetting it is to see the high likelyhood of major valve / engine issues after buying in on the brand for my first truck… taking the truck in on Wednesday to have it properly looked over [6.25.25]

 

That sucks…sorry to hear. Bright side is, you’re under warranty at least. Most of these fixed under warranty have been good since. Only seen one or two horror stories of it being fixed improperly.

It is a shame to have to worry about it though. It’s not “common” but it’s common enough to be noteworthy and something to have to think about. Especially since it continues to happen on the same cylinders 90% of the time.

 

Welcome to TW..

 

I am told that once you hit 300,000 mi Toyota gives you a free truck. Is that true? Maybe that's 1 million.

 

Ty, I hope this goes as smoothly as possible… I know I don’t know anything yet… but I’m already thinking if I even want to stick with Toyota at this point.. I know this is a ‘rare’ issue for tacoma’s but it really shakes me. Should have listened to Dave Ramsey and just rock beaters LOL… I’m just too OCD and love taking care of my things. I’ll try to revisit here to post updates… unbelievable

 

Dave Ramsey is a cult. His advice only makes sense if you're financially an imbecile.