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Anyway, it appears thieves here in San Francisco have a way to buy a universal set of keys for Toyotas (I've heard from Snap-On Tools, but I don't know if that's right) and just drive a car away. I would like to install a ignition kill switch and hide it in the passenger compartment somewhere. Has anyone done this or know which wire under the hood to cut to install a kill switch?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I like the hatch more than the sedan because the interior is nicer, but in typical infuriating Toyota fashion the hatch is the one they starve of options. Despite having the exact same powertrain and power package, the sedan gets optional cruise and the hatch doesn't. The sedan is easy to find with ABS, the hatch isn't. The sedan is getting easier to find with alloys and the power package, the hatch isn't (all the hatches I see get plastic wheel covers instead). When equipped with the power package with alloys and a stick shift, the 'S' hatch is a heck of a value, I think, at $13,7. I would add keyless and cruise though, so that would be $1000 extra that the dealer service department would get.
Not only is the hatch's interior better, but the pedals are more widely spaced. I find them too close together in the sedan. Apart from these minor foibles, I like the Yaris. I certainly prefer its looks to the Echo's, even though I think my Echo has an endearingly quirky quality to its exterior styling.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Me, I would definitely want the convenience package just to get the bigger rims and a CD player. But I am torn between that and the full-on power package 'S' with alloys. They seem to be shipping those now with ABS as well. And a sticker of just under $16K, not bad.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
BTW, this advice isn't Echo-specific, this happens to older cars in general whenever those rims have been on there for too long. It's even better when the lugs are frozen too - you have to break them off the hub just to get the darn wheel off.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I had a bolt in my tire on my personal ECHO last week. Tire was less than 5000 mile old. (about a year) The rim wasnt stuck but it took a few blows with a sledgehammer to loosen it off.
The actual reason for removing the wheel in the first place was there is no excuse for one of the front brake pads seizing in the caliper just after the warranty ended (actually the pads are probably not covered). The other three ‘free’ pads had about 50% or more life left based on the lining material remaining. So it seemed to be not a hydraulically problem or normal brake wear. It took quite a lot of effort to slide the worn pad off the caliper’s stainless clips while the other three slid off with relatively low effort!
In addition most all of the under carriage and suspension fasteners seemed to have very low quality plating. My nearly 20 year old Japanese made Toyotas never exhibited anywhere near that much corrosion. Of course it was well rust proofed by yours truly. Possibly the use of today’s Chinese made fasteners has come back to bite us in the wallet. With reduced longevity.
I'm rambling on so on to my solution to the problem. Do not try this at home guys and gals. I apply a thin film of Black Molybdenum High Temp brake grease to the rotor to hub (or drum) and to the wheel mating surfaces. Then I high temp anti-seize the studs to make sure they do not seize up either. Yes it’s frowned upon in some circles as dangerous. However treated New Hampshire roads in winter can do a number to unplanted fasteners in just a couple of winters. That would be only 12-15 K miles on my wife’s Corolla. Lately much less than 2000 per year on my accessible ‘97 S-10 used primarily during winter.
Prior to anti-seize I used to occasionally snap off properly torqued lug nuts due to corrosion when trying to remove them just a few years later. Specially when over tightened during service or state inspections.
Not anymore. And safety wise I have never had any lugnuts loosen in more than 20 years with anti-seize. I actually do it to new cars as soon as possible. It is so nice being able to freely spin lugnuts on or off by hand.
Currently other than me only the well trained very capable guys at Costco have removed the wheels. And they use a torque wrench to tighten the lugnuts to spec. Unfortunately they now are removing any treatment with brake cleaner. Rats!
Any opinions?
RG
But really the cure for stuck rims is loosen the lugs nuts on all four wheels a couple of turns and drive the car back and forth a few times. Youll hear the rims pop loose.
Just need to rotate your tires more than once a year! :shades:
I would like to know if someone can guide me regarding an engine stall problem that occurs once upon a time when i am about to stop at a stop sign (engine speed below 30 mph). The problem is recurring but no technician was able to help me because he cannot reproduce the stall and it occurs seldomly.
I've checked that my left foot was throughly down on the clutch pedal while the right foot is on the break pedal. So there is no way that the stall is related to my driving habits. Can someone help, please ? :confuse:
Good luck and if you have any qustions just ask!
So what's up now? :confuse: Thank you for assistance!
P.S. Knowing this, would it make any sense to keep the machine in the car so that the next time the problem occurs i could run the tests ON THE SPOT again OR it would be useless because no codes were obtained after testing it in the first place (not a code problem)
I've saw that there were more sophitiscated devices (more expensive too!) that would also verified OEM enhanced & transmission codes, enhanced SAE diagnostics (J1979 &2190), view and record enhanced OBD2 live data , and Mode 6 -02 sensor testing / mode 9 VIN identification. All those last features are not part of the device i've bought. Is is worthwhile?
Hmm no codes. Can you go through the symptoms again and maybe elaborate a little?
If the gauge says no codes there are no codes its that simple. If a code is set it stays in the computer until erased. So theres no sense keeping it hooked up.
1- the clutch pedal in fully depressed
2- the shifting gear is most of the time in 3rd or neutral
3- the speedometer is slowing down around and/or between 20mph-30mph
4- the breaks are ON
5- the engine stalls before i reach the STOP sign with loss of stirring power
I am not able to confirm the exactitude of the next one:
6- the car at the moment of stalling was engaging in a right curve (often but not always).
:surprise:
First thing to do is make sure the sparkplugs and air filter are OK. If the air filter is dirty and the plugs have the sharp edges of the center electrode worn off you need new ones. Probably not going to solve the problem but still needs to be done.
Another thing easy to check is the mass air sensor. Its located on top of the air filter housing, near the front of the car. There are two screws that hold it in and a electrical plug to disconnect. You remove it from the air filter housing, turn it upside down and look into it. There are fine wires located a few inches up inside it you can see. If these are clean its good. If they are dirty you need to clean them. If you break them while cleaning its $$$ for a new mass air sensor. If you Do find it dirty just put it back in and tell me and we'll talk about cleaning it. You dont have a K&N air filter do you? (which would be the likely cause of a dirty MAS.)
Finally its possible you have air in the clutch lines. The clutch of the ECHO is hydralically operated and just like brakes, if air gets in there it wont work properly. If the car is old you might take it to a dealer or mechanic you trust and have them bleed the clutch. If old sludgy dark brake fluid comes out of it could be the clutch isnt operating like it should. (ie you push the clutch in and it wont disengage) I bleed my clutch once a year to avoid problems!
By the way what is a K&N air filter?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Really if all else fails I have to think the dealer should be able to fix this pretty quick. Look on ebay if you need another radion.
Good luck and tell us what happens!
Good luck and tell us what happens!
Any suggestions?