P11EE on a 2019 Tacoma trd ?

So, just got this truck from a chevy dealer. It was a trade-in. Has about 65,000 miles. It looked like a nice truck and was getting tired of the car I had so pulled the trigger. Test drove locally and all seemed good. It did have a throaty sound which after popping hood to check oil etc I noticed it had a cold air intake which made the truck a little loud but all seemed good. Dealer said that’s why it was a little louder. On ride home, though, on highway, which I didn’t get to go on during test drive, that’s when I really noticed it was almost deafeningly loud and at high speeds and had poor throttle response. So called dealer when I got home. They had given me the old air filter housing luckily last minute before leaving so service tech said try putting that back on. I did and loud sound immediately went away and also got much better throttle response. All seemed good until a few days later I noticed rough idle and gas mileage tanked. Also throttle response was bad again. Not as bad as originally but not great. And then a day later while on highway ( typical 70-80 mph driving) the engine light came on. Went home and checked code and it came up as p11EE. Called dealer brought and it back. They said they couldn’t find anything wrong and reset code. Not sure exactly what all they did but it did seem to run a little better. Mpg went back up to about 18 mpg. Before it wasn’t going higher then 15 which bothered me. Truck did have the bigger tires on the oem rims ( I think 265 17r16 )but still was hoping for better gas mileage. Anyway, good for a few days then started noticing it was running funny again. Poor throttle response. Almost like I was pulling a trailer, where you have to give it much more gas then normal to accelerate, but w/o the trailer. It just seemed clunky, as if the truck was loaded anyway, sure enough, engine light comes back on. Same code. Call dealer back and told them. At this point I’m getting a little frustrated. I just dropped a good amount of money and should be enjoying a newer truck. Not to mention dealer is about 40 minutes so a pain to have to make trips up and have someone follow me to have a ride back home… And that’s where I’m at now. Bringing it back Wednesday ( 4th of July holiday so not open till than) but I am worried after reading up on that code. Sounds like could be serious issue and dealer ( which is a Chevy dealer…truck was a trade in) and they’re not familiar with Toyotas. I just find it hard to believe the truck would throw a p11ee code for no reason other then changing air filter assembly back to stock , not to mention all the problems like poor throttle response and poor idle it has on top of that.
So here I am asking y’all for advice. I’m pretty convinced this was a pre existing issue that either previous owner just reset code before trading it in. Carfax shows no accidents. I checked carfax service records and truck seemed to be routinely maintained…originally a lease that was sold and I believe I am the 3rd owner. Not sure when the cold air intake was put on. Anyway, my code reader just shows the code. Is there a way to see code history one these. To see if that code started before I bought the truck. I’m just trying to be intuitive here so I don’t make a bunch of trips to dealer and them tell me they can’t find anything wrong. And also now I’m super concerned that I got a lemon and even if they “fix” it I got a bad engine or something. Whatever the case, what can you folks tell me about the P11EE code. Dealer said it’s something to do with air fuel ratio in the #3 cylinder but couldn’t find anything wrong and thought it was from changing air filter assembly.Can’t be nothing, right? It’s a pretty reputable dealer I’ve bought a truck from in past with no bad experiences. But I can’t afford to wait to see if it does it again. There’s got to be diagnostics to find why that code is coming up. Hope I’m explaining it well. It was just a stressful few days as this is my primary (only) vehicle and I feel like I got a long road ahead of me in resolving this.

 

Take that truck back to that dealership right away and insist they send it to Toyota. Stop messing with the Chevy techs looking at it. Do a search here on TW, put P11EE in as the search term and read all the info that comes up. It's a lot more than nothing. That engine is going to need head/cylinder work most likely. Now you know why someone traded the truck in. Did the Chevy dealer know about it and just clear the code to sell it? Hard to say. The previous owner could have cleared the code and traded it in. In any case, have the truck taken to the Toyota dealership on your selling dealer's dime.

 

Any of the P11E(X) codes have a 100% track record of the respective exhaust valve no longer sealing properly. So far every experience with this on the forum and Facebook has required a new cylinder head and a replacement on the one bad valve. They usually reuse all the other valves from my reading.

This is very likely an issue the PO had which led him to trade it in. As far as the Chevy dealer, they aren’t going to “find” anything, you need to have them send it to Toyota or at the very least, point them to the threads here on this issue. If they just keep resetting the code and looking for hints, they’re not going to find anything except the symptoms you’ve already experienced, which are too minor for them to do any diagnosing on.

This issue sucks, sadly it is a recurring one and nobody really knows why it happens. They say the head got updated in 2020 or something like that, and repaired trucks get the new parts, but I have still seen a 2020 and 2021 each have the same issue. There is really no way to know.

 

Thanks for the replies. Definitely bringing it back to dealer. The more I find out about this code and issue, and reading your replies, it seems like I might have a serious problem here. I’ll print this out and show them if that’s cool with you guys.
Is there a way to get code history. I got previous service records on carfax so have a trail of where service was done. Didn’t see any repair log. But is there a way to show a code history on these tacomas? Thought that might help my see if it was a pre-existing problem previous owner covered up. This sucks but what can I do, right? Big thanks for the info and support.will keep this post updated as I get more info and progress.,

 

Good luck with it.

As for code history, I’m not sure. I have not spent any time in TIS (Toyota Tech-Info System) which is their software for communicating with the truck. I know things like the 4wd module can store faults. Not sure if TIS can see a code history or not for the engine control module. Maybe @tonered or @Bishop84 know.

 

The air fuel imbalance code is a huge nightmare, there's no solid way to diagnose it and dealers have been putting new cylinder heads and engines on some of the trucks.

It needs to be escalated at the dealer.

 

Any OBD adapter will report stored codes. You do need to know what some MFG specific codes are. There are apps for that along with TS. You'll still end up searching for the actual reason.

 

I’m aware of that, but stored would be erased when you erase codes, right? I think he’s looking to see a total history of all codes that the truck may have ever displayed. As far as I’m aware, no off the shelf OBD reader will do that. I’m curious if TIS would though.

 

Get rid of it. Now. Tell them you have opened a file with the State AG and they have 7 days to fully refund your money or they are going to get 2 fireworks displays, this year.

 

Battery disconnects blow out some DTCs and do flashes. So, a full history is not possible. There is no backup layer AFAIK. We had an issue with our Subaru were is didn't get a screen shot of one code that popped. The dealer could not get it.

 

Thanks for all the additional info. Scheduled to bring it back Wednesday. Not gonna lie, this sucks! I could kick myself for not bringing my scanner and scanning for codes before buying it. I’d almost bet it would have shown a P11EE code. I’m thinking that’s the case. Someone reset it. Sat on the dealer lot so computer never had a chance to cycle the needed driving requirements for the code to trigger. Whatever the case, I’m keeping a record of everything at this point and hoping it gets resolved guickly and properly.
So, to sum it all up, the problem is most likely a bad exhaust valve in the #3 cylinder? It also seems that other threads I read, it would be advised to replace oil pump as well ,as this might be a possible cause?
So what in all your opinions, would be the right fix that will fix this? I know, get rid of the truck.lol. But I’m all seriousness, getting it fixed is one thing, but now I’m always gonna fear it’ll happen again.

 

I think the Toyota dealer replaces the engine but I could be wrong.

 

and we are not talking about roman candles either

 

i would lemon law the f out of it, just make sure everything is documented

 

I definitely wanted to keep you all posted on the outcome. sorry it took so long. I literally just got the truck back yesterday from Toyota. I’m attaching a copy of the invoice showing parts and labor. Shows replaced bank 1 cylinder head and all associated valves. To be honest, not completely sure what that means. I asked the service rep for a detailed description of repair and she said the mechanic working on it usually takes very detailed notes, but this is all I got. Anyway, if you have the time, just wanted to make sure all that needs to be done was done and that it was done right. I’m just very concerned that there will be future issues. The rep said they’ve been seeing this much more often with this year and also said so far no call backs after repair… so far. Truck seems to run good. Definitely better than what is was. Only thing I noticed is mpg hasn’t gone above 14, which sucks and throttle response doesn’t seem as good as I thought it would be, but unfortunately don’t have another 2019 Tacoma to compare it to. Is that normal? 285 17r 16s on it, so I knew that would effect mpg but should it that much? (Regardless of speed highway or street still stays around 13 to 14)
Anyway, I appreciate all your help. Definitely helped me out a lot with all your replies. Right now I’m still aggravated with the dealer I bought it from. It’s pretty obvious this was a pre existing issue. When I brought truck in originally they said they would take care of it. I told them they needed to take it to a Toyota service center after they failed to repair it. which they did. But they did it through the extended warranty I had purchased without my knowledge or consent. Just seems real shady. I feel it should have been their responsibility. You’re talking a pretty big repair bill they dodged the bullet on. Nothing out of pocket for me (luckily no deductible). I called the warranty company as well and talked to 2 different reps there. Both said although it raises some red flags to have a repair that major a few days after purchase, but they said they did do a pre sale inspection on truck and everything was legit and I should take it as a win. Hmm. Not really feeling I won. Just curious what you all would do in this situation, based on the repair and potential for future problems. I’ve always had Toyota trucks and never had any issue. But this one is making me nervous.

 

Sorry. Not sure if I uploaded invoice. Let me know if I didn’t. Thanks again everyone!

 

Wow that was a close one. Happy that the warranty got you covered bud.

 

It should be fine after this repair. My 2018 Jeep had the same repair for similar reasons and never had the problem reoccur. That said, if you're not happy driving it or are worried that it's going to leave you somewhere then you have your answer regarding what you need to do. It's like when you have a job you hate. You wake up every morning hating the fact you have to go in and it's impossible to enjoy your work. You don't need a truck that makes you unhappy or worried every time you drive it. It may not be a logic based decision, but IMHO you should enjoy what your drive. Wait a bit, see how you feel. If you still feel like you do now, swap it out for something else. And if you do decide to get something else, don't go back to that Chevy dealer! LOL

 

Damn. $175 rate is the daylight robbery

 

Aha, gm dealer I worked at was cheapest in town at $200/hr