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Toyota Echo

18788909293115

Comments

  • tsnooktsnook Member Posts: 18
    The transmission oil should be fine. The mechanic that told I have a bad transmission replaced the transmission oil and said that although dirty, he didn't really find any metal in it. He believed that is was a bad bearing in the transmission that was making the grinding noise. He also added that when the transmission did finally go out, that it could lock up and cause my wheels to stop turning putting me into a skid. (wherever that may be)
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    >could cause my wheels to stop turning<

    Never heard of it. I think the guy is trying to scare you into letting him do the work. I would be looking for a junkyard trans which ought to work great considering how old they are. Maybe he is on the level but I doubt it. Youre call but Id let it run.
  • ldlopezldlopez Member Posts: 13
    I'm thinking of getting a used Echo and I was wondering what would be the best way to proceed. What years might be best, what MPG I might get.
    Where I am I'll need 4x4 in Winter 80 % of the time and the Echo would be used at all other times. I want manual transmission and air. I'd love the Canadian hatchback if I could get it.

    Are there any real deals on them ?

    The local car dealer in NH autofair Toyota doesn't even sell them any more. There are about 8 of them (or so on EBAY), and a ton on cars.com

    Any comments observations, ...

    I'm driving 106 miles per day, 20 miles at 40 MPH, 33 miles at 60 to 80 MPH.

    I like the 15" tires, remembering the tiny tires on the '87 toyota corolla fx that were always getting dinged.

    By the way, I have a 1200' drive which is why I need 4x4 in winter. Not withstanding that, I learned "how to drive in snow" with the '87 Corolla but I also learned how to walk up 1200' on ice.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    The year doesnt matter they are all the same. There are no problems with the ECHO no matter what the year. I get 40 mpg from my ECHO which is used only to go to work about 6 miles away and for running errands. I DONT recommend you change the tires to 15 inch the ones already on the car work fine. See post 4528 for a url to an EXCELLENT article on the ECHO in Popular Mechanics. It also has an extensive owners survey which is HIGHLY favorable. You can also read the comments here and you will find almost NO ONE who has anything bad to say about the ECHO, except for EDMUNDS themselves. But they are hopelessly infatuated with BMWs, Lexus etc. Apparently they have self esteem problems and driving an fancy car helps them cope.
    Cant advise on the best place to buy one. There are a lot of them going for $$$$less than they are worth but you might have to travel to get one of thiose. Worth it in my opinion. Good luck and tell us what happens!
  • ldlopezldlopez Member Posts: 13
    thanks for the article number.
    It may take some time for all this to happen.
  • ldlopezldlopez Member Posts: 13
    Could you elaborate on that amazing feat ?
    Was it all on the level or any hills ?
    Was it going through 10" of new snow with no existing ruts ?

    I'm asking because I have 1200' of all up hill driveway to go up and what you are saying is pretty encouraging.
  • bryanwbryanw Member Posts: 12
    This past week I've been through one snowstorm and one freezing rain storm. The Echo did much better than I expected of a small, light, FWD vehicle. I'm comparing to the Honda Civic I had a few years ago which got stuck in 3 inches of snow on a level grade with it's puny 13" tires.
    The Echo has more ground clearance and the Michelin MX4 all seasons are grippy enough for city driving in the Canadian winter. I drove through the mess left by the snowplow at the end of my driveway which was at least a foot of wet muck no problem. I drove through ruts and stopped at several intersections on an uphill grade where I would have been left stuck my old Civic with less ground clearance.
    I feel the car is safe and stable enough with the stock all seasons to drive through the miserable winters we get up here in Ontario.
  • bryanwbryanw Member Posts: 12
    I'm curious if anyone else with an automatic Echo driven in winter finds the shifts sluggish for the first few miles. I notice on these cold mornings that the shift is slow upwards throught the gears and seems to hang especially from 2nd to 3rd. A few blocks down the road no problem.
  • reba05reba05 Member Posts: 36
    Read the "Problems and Solutions" forum on this site - that may help to narrow down what years have issues. I bought a 2003 because I thought I saw something negative about the 2001-2002 models, I apologize but I cannot recall what exactly it was....I'll respond if I can find it.
    Plus I like the restyled model which was done as of '03 - looks less "unique."
  • reba05reba05 Member Posts: 36
    Yes! I have this all the time! I try to heat my car up as much as possible, however, I never have the time. I notice it mainly when getting on the freeway after work and then once I get going it seems fine. Is it bad on the engine to drive it when it in this condition??
  • sluglineslugline Member Posts: 391
    Is this before the "cold" light is extinguished? I think the car is delaying upshifts so that the engine heats up to operating temperature faster. You might even see this mentioned in the owner's manual.
  • bryanwbryanw Member Posts: 12
    I noticed this morning that the shifts are delayed until the moment the cold engine light goes out. It must be a program to save wear and tear on the overdrive and warm things up faster. This is the fastest warming up car I have ever owned. The heat just pours out compared to others I have owned.
  • rossm2rossm2 Member Posts: 96
    I think that you will find that the "heat pouring out" is due to the fact that the ECHO has an electric heater, not the fact that the engine warms up especially quickly. :-)

    Ross
  • tsnooktsnook Member Posts: 18
    Do all the years of the echo have an electric heater?
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    My 2001 ECHO does not have an electric heater, nor does the heat come on any faster than any other car I have owned. I thnk it unlikely that such a device would be physially possible for a 12 volt electical system powered by an alternator of approxamately 800 watts, especially given the electrical requirement of the rest of the car.
  • rossm2rossm2 Member Posts: 96
    Oops. I do not yet have an ECHO, but in my research I ran across the statement that the heater (in the hatchback version at least) was electric. I was surprised but it seemed like a wonderful idea for Canadian winters. Now I can't find the reference so I apologize for the post. I will check with the local dealer just on the odd chance that I was NOT in error.

    Ross
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    This pops up from time to time. I wonder where the origin of this rumour is? BTW I suspect a DEALER is the wrong place to get this type of question answered! Many of them are spring loaded to agree with what they think the customer wants to hear...not to answer questions factually.
  • devaldeval Member Posts: 1
    I have a toyota echo 2000, i dont know how to add windsheild washer in my toyota.

    I opened the froant bonet but i dont see any tank where i fill the water.

    Can anyone help me with this problem.

    I dont have a car manual.

    thanks
  • pulgopulgo Member Posts: 400
    Well, I have a 2001 and the heat comes on within 30 seconds of starting the car. Even when it is below freezing. The only explanation is that I have a car with an electric heater. The engine can't possibly warm up that soon.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    The washer tank is on the right hand side of the engine compartment, near the front. Theres only the cap of the tank visible, the tank is hidden under other parts of the car. But look in this area to find it. Or maybe theres a picture of the location in the owners manual.
    After you take into account all the other electrical equipment it has to operate, the alternator would have barely 200 watts left over for a heater, if that. Which wont make much heat. Why your car has heat so fast is a mystery to me also. Maybe you could test for an electric heater by turning on the ignition without starting the engine with the heat and blower on. If it blows hot air...maybe there IS an electric heater.
  • bryanwbryanw Member Posts: 12
    I talked to the service manager of the Toyota dealership where my car was bought and he tells me that the Echo has an auxiliary electric heater operated through a relay from a separate winding on the alternator. This is to discourage people from idling their engine while waiting for heat to come. Apparently some European countries have strict time limits on how long you can idle a car.
  • rossm2rossm2 Member Posts: 96
    Aha! Thanks for the information. I hadn't gotten around to checking with the local dealer yet. That will be yet another great advantage for me as I park outside and typically do short drives in the morning. Effect defogging is important to me.

    Ross
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Maybe this is put on Canadian cars.
  • ldlopezldlopez Member Posts: 13
    Thanks bryanw, much appreciated.
    I'm always of two minds.
    One want's somehthing that gets
    good MPG the other is actually
    getting home. I drive a Tacoma
    4x4 to work and it seems to get
    me home. Years ago I moved to
    rural NH and learned to drive
    in an appropriate manner in
    a Toyota Corolla FX '87. Sadly
    it was lacking in power and I often
    couldn't get it up my driveway.
    A VW TDI '99 had the same fate.
    The FX went to my brother and the VW
    was sold because although it got a
    solid 45 MPG it was would was always in
    the shop.

    With gas prices at $2 I'm paying
    something like $200/month !!!!

    I have a '93 Totota & a '00 Tacoma now.
    I'm thinking of replacing the '00 with
    an Echo, and use the '93 to plow.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Idlopez maybe you need a moped! Im not sure even an ECHO will help!
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    This electric heater... Im wondering...is there an indicator light on the dash to tell when its working? Is there switch to turn it on and off? If there is no switch, what happens in summer?
  • babyboomerbabyboomer Member Posts: 205
    Some have posted that Echos are hard to find at dealerships and that the lack of sales could mean that the Echo would be discontinued. Yet somewhere, and I can't remember where, I thought I read that a redesign is due for the 2006 model. If true, the demise of the Echo seems premature. Does Toyota ever officially comment on the future production of their models?
  • simonizesimonize Member Posts: 3
    I have a 2000 Echo that has been a dream to drive and am very happy with it. I have 76 miles on it and about 2 months ago I get the check engine light. I take it to a toyota service center in New York and they check it out and tell me they find nothing wrong. They reset the sensor and I drive 10 mins and it's back on. They check it out again and say could be a bad sensor but they have to back order it. Ok. I was moving to North Carolina and I take it in to get it checked out and they say the same thing except this time it was more like could be a lot of different things> I mention the sensor thing and they say it could be but could be other things too depending on what I want to spend to be checked out. They reset the sensor again as they find nothing wrong. 10 minutes after I leave it goes off again. Anyone every heard of this?
  • simonizesimonize Member Posts: 3
    The error code was P0125.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Consumer Reports' April 2005 issue noted that an ECHO redesign is due for 2006.
  • rossm2rossm2 Member Posts: 96
    You might want to look at this thread:

    lexi4life, "2006 Toyota Echo" #1, 13 Sep 2004 8:45 pm

    Ross
  • simonizesimonize Member Posts: 3
    I have a 2000 Echo that has been a dream to drive and am very happy with it. I have 76,000 miles on it and about 2 months ago I get the check engine light. I take it to a toyota service center in New York and they check it out and tell me they find nothing wrong. They reset the sensor and I drive 10 mins and it's back on. They check it out again and say could be a bad sensor but they have to back order it. Ok. I was moving to North Carolina and I take it in to get it checked out and they say the same thing except this time it was more like could be a lot of different things> I mention the sensor thing and they say it could be but could be other things too depending on what I want to spend to be checked out. They reset the sensor again as they find nothing wrong. 10 minutes after I leave it goes off again. Error code is P0125. Anyone every heard of this?
  • bryanwbryanw Member Posts: 12
    The window sheet that was on my 2005 Echo listed a cold weather package. Maybe this includes the electric heater.
    Does anyone else have an auto transmission shifter that is stiff to move into reverse especially on cold mornings? I'm a big guy with muscles and it's tough to move some mornings-my wife needs two hands to shift it. The dealer says there is nothing to lubricate on the shift mechanism and of couse when they tried it the car was partly warmed up.
  • tsnooktsnook Member Posts: 18
    I bought a K&N Air Filter and opened up the hood to switch out the old one but don't know where to start. Do you have to unclip some of the air tubes?

    Also, should I even have bought a K&N. I see a lot of reviews supporting it and a few that don't.
  • sluglineslugline Member Posts: 391
    The answer depends on why you bought it. In just about any modern engine, the biggest restriction to airflow isn't the filter, assuming it's not clogged, of course. Paper filters are designed with lots of pleats for an large cross-section for airflow.

    Moat of the time when you're driving, the bottleneck is the throttle plate. At full throttle, the biggest restriction ends up being the intake piping itself. On the ECHO, I think it makes at least 2 turns on the way to the engine. So don't be surprised if you don't see any performance or fuel economy improvement; the ECHO is already well-tuned for that.

    It can be nice to have a re-usable air filter though, since the paper filters aren't that cheap (not as cheap as I remember them being for other cars!)

    As for installing the air filter, look at this posting I made awhile back:

    slugline, "Toyota Echo (Sedans Board)" #2817, 11 Feb 2002 1:18 am
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    I wouldnt resommend a K&N filter for your ECHO. By their own admission, their filter is 95% efficient, whereas the one Toyota sells is 99% efficient. That can add up to a lot of debris getting into the engine. I doubt very much if you could tell the difference between an ECHO with the stock filter and the one K&N sells in a blind test.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    I paid $12 for the filter at Toyota I recently installed. A FRAM filter was $10. Not much difference and the Toyata filter lasts 30,000 miles whereas FRAm recommends you change theis every 12k miles.
  • bach3bach3 Member Posts: 1
    If you had more money, what car would you buy...or would you stick to Echo?
  • reba05reba05 Member Posts: 36
    I very much like my Echo and I thought long and hard about what to purchase. Although if I would've had a few more bucks, I would say a Corolla. This is only because I feel the Corolla is sturdier than the Echo - I do feel the crosswind quite a bit on the freeway, but I am still impressed by the gas mileage - even in cold MN weather, I got 35 miles/gallon with my last tank. Can't wait until it gets warmer to see what it will really get!

    But I'll have to see in a year or 2 how the Echo is doing before making a determination on longevity.
  • tsnooktsnook Member Posts: 18
    Thanks for the link to the directions. I'll make sure to tell of the MPG/Power results - if there are any.
  • pesterkidpesterkid Member Posts: 18
    Hello,
    We bought a 2003 2dr toyota echo.
    Fell in love with it the first time I saw it.
    It has power nothing, but I dont care.(not even power steering!)
    The thing is, friends with SUVs and other big cars have been scaring me over and over about echo being small and how I can be in danger on the road!
    I will be using the car in New Jersey..
    Any NJ echo owners, feel free to write back with your experiences.
    Looking forward to hearing from you.
    Thanks much.
  • zhihuihzhihuih Member Posts: 1
    i bought got a 2001 Echo four years ago and i had put 116K miles on it. The horn was broken 6 months after I bought the car and one got replaced by Toyota under the warranty. The replaced one was broken again and got replaced last year. no other major problems yet. On average, i got 40 mpg.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    If you have an ECHO without Power steering that would be very rare. I looked all over for one of those. Where did you get it?
    Those people threatening you about how small your ECHO is are not your friends.
  • pesterkidpesterkid Member Posts: 18
    Hey there,
    Thanks for writing back.
    The ECHO we bought was from a used car delaer, he said it was ordered with no power steering by the previous owner...
    It has about 34000 miles on it...
    Will it be difficult to drive one without power steering?
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    I dont think it will be difficult at all. In fact, you should get better gas mileage over an ECHO with powersteering. I was told it was impossible to order an ECHO without power steering when I bought mine. Lying swine!
  • pesterkidpesterkid Member Posts: 18
    Thank you so very much, that makes me feel a lot better!
    And those who said ECHO's are not good dont get a joyride in my car!!
  • reba05reba05 Member Posts: 36
    Have you seen the reports on the news recently about vehicle safety?? A number of SUV's were listed as being highly unsafe. Size does not always matter...
    The Kia Rio was the only small car listed, but that's a Kia.
    There were a number of Toyota vehicles on the safe list so I trust the brand to be safe across the board.
    Obviously if the ECHO were up against a Semi I'd be worried but against other vehicles I'm not.
  • reba05reba05 Member Posts: 36
    The first ECHO I test-drove was without power steering and I noticed it more than I thought. If you don't need to parallel park alot, then go for it, but I would hate the hassle.
    This was the only used ECHO I found to not have power steering out of about 20 listings.
  • echorickechorick Member Posts: 27
    Looking at this old message(2772) about tires I was wondering how your final experience was with the 185/60 tires. I have a 2000 ECHO 2 door, manual and have 78500 miles on it. I bought it used with 7,700 miles and am thinking about getting new tires. The car had new tires (why I don't know) when I bought it. However, I still have 5/32(front) and 6/32(rear) tread. How is that for amazing tire life! I do about 60 miles a day in LA area freeway/city miles and usually get about 41-42 mpg.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    I advise AGAINST changing to a larger size of tire on the ECHO. Your mileage is probably going to drop and the handling wont be as nimble. I drove a Mercedes 300 Turbo Diesel the other day a car I have a lot of experience with. It handled like [non-permissible content removed]. I was thinking "What is wrong with this car?" Later I found out the owner had put on larger and wider tires.
    Also, dont count on the ECHO to help you in a crash. Youre kidding yourself if you think its going to protect you like a larger car. You need to avoid an accident in the first place.
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