2011 Head Gasket Issue

Hi All,
I have a 2011 Tacoma SR5 with about 93k miles on it. I'm the second owner but bought it Toyota Certified. Brought it in for the 90k mile service and they said that one side of the head gasket was leaking (external). I don't do any sort of plowing or towing and haven't noticed and engine temp issues to date.

Is that crazy to have head gasket failure at this mileage with normal driving? Any other late Gen2 owners experience something similar? I know there were issues in the 2005/2006 batch.

Any experience using the head gasket sealer/chemicals?

Thanks in advance

 

That sucks. Thing is, you don’t know how that first owner treated your truck. They could have towed a lot and beat the shit out of it.

 

Get a second opinion.

 

only one way to fix this, replace the head gasket

sealers or chemicals wont last long for a fix

 

Any chance the original engine took a shit and original owner tossed a junk yard replacement in that happened to be from 2005-06?

Definitely get a second opinion. Maybe Toyota would help cover repair?

 

Thanks all. Taking it to a independent garage Friday for the second opinion. I'll see in the meantime if I can find the serial numbers on the engine to match up to make sure its not a replacement sitting in there already. The dealer said they could see coolant that had dripped onto the exhaust, but I've looked both when cold and warmed up (after driving) and don't see any leaks. I also put white cardboard under it and the only thing I'm catching is condensation dripping from the AC (clear water). Am i looking in the wrong place or would it only be leaking when running and not leave any trace after evaporating?

 

Head gasket or valve cover gasket? I'd lay odds that if anything failed and is dripping externally onto the manifold or exhaust, it's the valve cover gasket.

 

^^^ This.

 

Would be surprised if it was head gasket. Op keep us posted on what you find out.

 

i work at the dealer and i have seen a few leak like that

 

2011s? Seems like the 2005 and 2006 are the ones I hear about

 

my auto insurance agents 2010 was leaking externally. no reason why it did it but new gaskets for both sides and it was good to go

 

Hi All. I got confirmation that it is an external leak on one side. It was found by Toyota 4 days outside the Toyota Certified warranty expiring on the power-train. The independent mechanic said it had been leaking for a while based on the residue and the way it looked so makes me question that it was not noticed during the servicing during the prior few months. I argued that point and put in a case with Toyota. The best I got out of them was that Toyota would cover the parts and the dealer would charge the warranty labor rate. So rather than $3300, looks like it will be $2200.

The independent mechanic I took it to said he wouldn't do the job because of how tough it is to line everything up without the Toyota specific tools and I was better off taking it to the dealer. I got a few quotes from other garages and all were pretty much the same as Toyota's. So I'm going to bite the bullet and have it done next week at the dealer.

I guess Toyota didn't have to do anything and gave me something. I think still though I'd question buying another certified Tacoma without the dealer pressure testing the gaskets as part of the inspection for certification (which they apparently do not). It pokes holes in the myth that Toyotas and Tacomas are bulletproof cars I guess. Lesson learned.

Thanks to this community for the help/suggestions on this!

 

At $2,200, would it be worth it to just swap the engine?

 

That mechanic sucks! Changing a head gasket isn't hard, just annoying and time consuming and you don't need special Toyota tools either... post your location, maybe some local members can point you towards a better shop to get this done cheaper. Any certified mechanic with a shop with tools and a copy of the FSM can do this stuff

 

He's paying $2,200 for only head gasket replacement because he can't do it himself. Imagine what the estimate for a new engine plus labor to swap it would be!

 

The special socket for the head bolt removal is needed.

 

Rent it at Autozone?

 

Of course Toyota brought it too your attention AFTER it was out of warranty,nothing like making money off customers,bet Toyota knew it was leaking long before that,and that's also why the guy before you traded it in so he wouldn't be stuck with a huge repair bill.Just get it fixed and call it a day.

 

4 days out of warranty..... id definietly be that "asshole" who bitched and moaned and brought it to their attention that they serviced it last and it should of been covered then. should be freaking free.

Odd to have a headgasket leak like that though.