Help Needed. My 2020 engine misses

My 2018 had it from day one. I took it in to Toyota about a engine miss or a “bumpidy” road type of feel at 1100 - 1400 rpm’s under light throttle. This is a majority of my driving time on back roads at 45 - 60 mph.

Always told “ they all do it” or it’s designed that way”.

I had the KD MAX tune and it improved all areas of shifting except this malady continued.

I then had a check engine light pop with a P11FO code. it’s a #5 cylinder air fuel ratio imbalance port side issue.

Long story short Toyota replaced head on the #5 cylinder side and burnt exhaust valves.

I have no way to know if the misfires led to this but the truck also threw another code for rough idle. My gut say there linked, Toyota won’t own it.

I traded the truck in for a 2022 to keep under warranty and restart the mileage clock. It has the same driving characteristics

 

89 gets me there. Unfortunately Costco only has 87 and 93 so I usually alternate fuels. Even if I'm at a 1/4 tank of 93 and add 87 it runs fine for me.

 

Here lies the real problem. These trucks have so many things that can cause similar issues it's not funny. Makes it very hard to fix stuff. I spent numerous hours fiddling with my truck before I hit on what was the issue. Turns out it was the dumbest thing possible, but it is what it is.

 

This is torque coverter shudder effect. Also, atkinson cycle contributes to amplifying the effect.
We used to get it alot on early ecu id. 2018 TSB mostly fixed it.
I'm sure the dealer checked your ecu calibration And hopefully it is up to date.
Above mentioned kdmax has a new version Pro. They did some changes to vvt-i in addition to other changes . This will remedy the issue. Otherwise, keep it in S4 to get out of that RPM zone.

 

My buddies ex 2019 trd use to buck lightly at very low rpm in 6th gear...use to drive him crazy when mine still hasn't done it. From all i've read its just a characteristic of many of these v6 auto trucks.

 

It just baffles me, that a major worldwide corporation, such as Toyota, who certainly employs some of the smartest and best engineers in the world, would design something that doesn’t perform right. And especially in the year 2021. I totally understand how many have decided to just overlook it and accept the miss as something a lot of these trucks do. But I’m having a hard time doing that. I work extremely hard to have the things I do. And it is a major purchase for me to go out and buy a new truck. So it’s just extremely disappointing that after only 30,000 miles it isn’t driving right. It’s just frustrating. I appreciate everyone’s help. It has eased my mind some, to know that I’m not the only one. Hopefully Toyota can get this issue resolved for all of us. I’m certainly still a die hard Tacoma fan.

 

Update! Just put 93 octane in mine to try it and I'll be darned if it doesn't run better. Haven't been on the interstate yet but cruising around town and letting it lug where before I would sense the engine miss seems to be gone. Truck feels peppier as well. Thanks, now I just hope it runs better on 89. Premium is expensive. Give premium a try if you're having the engine miss issue and keep us updated.

 

Heck yeah! That’s awesome! I can’t wait until my current tank is close to E so I can fill it up with 93. Fingers crossed

 

My truck runs best on 89, 87 it's sluggish and I get worse gas mileage on the 93.

 

I hope the higher octane helps you out. It does suck to even be looking for a solution to a problem that shouldn't exist, but as the owner of a '17 that has countless Tranny and ECU flashes, sometimes shit happens.

 

I don't notice any difference on MPG's or power with any octane I use. I do notice the miss though on low octane stuff.

 

I think these trucks perform right...at least some do like my own one. I'm thinking more of a quality control issue with others. There's likely a fine line how these truck's need to run well, with very little allowance if something is off a tiny bit, otherwise for some guys they suck.

 

Same for mine with 92 and higher octane...less power and trans-hunting with a black sooty exhaust tailpipe tip. With 89 there is no difference from 87 except for price.

 

Not for nothing but I didn’t notice my truck Searching for gears and doing weird shit until I got deeper into Tacoma world lol. This place is a haven for pointing out everything wrong with these trucks, they are not perfect but we don’t deal with any of the crap I hear about from my coworkers with their Chevys and Fords.

 

This is true, people post about issues and things they read about on here before they even take ownership of their truck. I think my 2020 drives pretty good, never had any shifting issues or gear hunting. I think everyone needs to drive a shitbox for a few years in life. I'm curious what other cars people drove before their Tacoma in comparison.

 

“ I think everyone needs to drive a shit box for a few years in life“ -good point.
Some of my old carbureted shit boxes it took half of my commute in the morning just to get the car warmed up and running right.
I’ve read it before and I’m experiencing it now that you really need to give the Tacoma time to grow on you. It can be easy to hate it first for some people but after a while the truck really charms you. I’m about a year and a half into mine and it wasn’t Love at first sight, But the truck is starting to prove itself to me. The Tundra before it I kept for eight years and the jeep before that I kept for 10, neither one of them owe me a dime. I suspect the same will be true when I am done with this Tacoma.

 

Yep I’m hoping too. I am almost on E, so gonna filler up tomorrow with 93 and see if that helps. Vehicles are certainly crazy and a lot of times it’s just luck of the draw. There is good and bad in all of them. New and used

 

Yep I certainly agree with that. They produce thousands of these, and as with any “product”, there is usually some that have issues.

 

Haha Tacoma world def has a lot of influence on all of us. When I first got my Tacoma, I couldn’t get off of here. Reading thru posts all day long.

 

understand your point about “some people need to drive “shitboxes for while” lol I’ve had lots of vehicles, good ones, old ones, new ones, used ones. It def makes you appreciate a new one. But for me, that isnt a reason to just overlook an issue on a vehicle, and accept the issue. It’s about the fact that I spent $40,000 on a new vehicle, and with only 30,000 miles on it, it has a very obvious issue that a newer vehicle shouldn’t have that soon. But, not all vehicles run perfectly of course. There is def some that do great and some that have issues. I’m not upset about it having the issue. Rather, I just want the issue resolved. And certainly before the warranty expires.