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PS
Can we still post photos on this topic? If so, can anyone tell me how to do it ? I have a JPEG image I'd like to share.
When parked in garage, leave windows down about 4-6".
When parking outside, open both doors at once for about 20 secs to clear humid air, then seal up tight if snowing, or leave 1/16" gap if clear.
When driving, leave 1/16 gap in both windows until fully warmed up.
When starting from cold, leave rear defroster off initially. Set heater to full defrost, and fan to third speed (one down from max.). I do this to ensure that the alternator has enough capacity to run the electric heater.
As soon as the blue light goes out, I switch the rear defroster on, and change the heater control to 50/50 defrost/feet.
Once the cabin is fully warmed in the city, I may reduce the fan speed and set the heater to 100% feet. On the highway I leave the control at 50/50, and control the cabin temp. with the fan.
2. Slide Recirc thingy to right to allow outside air in.
3. Turn vent control knob all the way clockwise.
This will defrog the back window, too. It took me awhile, since I was used to using recirculated air w/ the AC on to dehumidify. THe symbols on the vent control knob sez it all. Very simple & it works. I was going nuts trying to find the rear window defrogger.
"The Echo is going to be your daughter's car, she is 18, and you got it for her in red? I hope she does not have a lead foot because cops seem to stop speeders in red cars more often. : ("
Look at my user name. If that doesn't give you an idea, look at my user profile. She doesn't need a red car to get noticed by cops. There are approx. one hundred and sixty officers in this city and almost all know her. There is a contest among some officers to be the first one to give her a ticket so they can see me blow up. Not at the officer, but at her. They know I can't stand parents who cover or lie for their children who are breaking the law. After driving for three years, no tickets yet.
LOL..... I haven't ever given myself a ticket. But I have certainly told on myself if asked a direct question.
Bianca
I have a question for you experienced car types. How many miles can I expect to get out of a set of these small tires? I rotate them every 10K miles or so, but I notice that they seem to be wearing rather quickly (evenly, but quickly nonetheless). I'm not that concerned about it since replacing them won't be too expensive, just more curious than anything. Thanks in advance and Happy New year to everyone!
Randy
I don't plan on getting Bridgestones for replacements. Does anyone have anything to share regarding upgrading wheel width/diameter? I am still debating keeping the 14" or moving up to 15". Thanks!
http://www.toyo.com/tire_basics/plus.html
http://mr2.com/FORMS/tire.html
Well, you're right, the car sound quiet at first, but after a week or so, the noise will be noticeable, that's what happened to mine Echo too.
As for gas millage, my Echo didn't do very well, in fact, very bad.... half tank has gone and I've only driven about 140 miles. I really don't know what's wrong, I shifted gear at the right timing, it just doesn't help. Could it because of the way I use the car:
-> early morning, I warm up the car (about 10 minutes)
-> drive to gym (take about 2 minutes/1.2 mile)
-> after gym (about 1 hour later), warm up the car (about 5 to 8 minutes)
-> drive back home (2 minutes/1.2 mile) to take shower and breakfast etc.
-> (1.2 hour later), warm up the car (5-8 minutes)
-> drive to work (4.5 miles/8-10 minutes) on highway
-> 9 hours later, warm up the car (another 10 minutes)
-> drive home (4.5 miles/15 minutes because of traffic) on highway.
So, as you can see, I spent more time warming the car than on the road.... could that be the reason that I have very very very bad gas millage?
I'm bringing in my Echo this Saturday to put on the V3 security package, should I ask them to check the car as well? If it need to be checked, what part of the car need to be checked?
However, I am a little curious if someone else has had to buy a new Michelin and what they paid. He mentioned going to a discount tire place, but I don't always trust them.
It's kind of funny-the green Echo that parks next to me at my apartment complex had a flat about a week ago-I guess it's just the season. PS-don't run over big chunks of concrete at 55 miles per hour.
http://members.nbci.com/sonatafan
Next, I think that you let your car warm up way too much Moses and that is probably the reason for the terrible gas mileage. It might be good gas mileage if it was a Focus (j/k), but this is an Echo you have. I think that you need to cut down on the warm up time and see if that improves your gas mileage before you get the service department involved.
Speaking of gas mileage, I was down to half a tank and decided with the warmer weather to fill the tank up. I have heard that if your tank is half full that water in the line can freeze when it gets colder and can cause problems. More fuel in the tank helps eliminate this problem. Anyway, I put in slightly over 7 gallons and I had 325 miles on the odometer. I about fell over when I came home and did the calculations on the mpg. I got over 46 miles to the gallon. Yes, I said 46!
Here is what I do in the hopes that helps Moses and others get better gas mileage. I do not let the car sit for more than a minute after turning it on. Turn it on, make sure everything is adjusted properly and go. No jack rabbit starts or stops. No tromping on the accelerator. Nothing really magical or hard to do.
About wheels, I have the steel wheels and alloys are supposed to be lighter and help in your gas mileage so I wonder what kind of mileage I would have gotten if I had the alloy.
About tires, I have Goodyear, but am not sure what kind of Goodyears. Someone mentioned Protenzas. Is that what I probably have? $90 for a Michelin seems kind of high for such a small tire, but who knows. I had an Escort GT that had Goodyear Eagles (I believe) and they were like $125 a tire.
This board has really helped me today. I was at a light and my car started making this strange sound like the engine was running really rough. I turned the stereo off and listened closely. Turns out I was hearing the car in front of me which was a Chevy Metro. If someone on this board hadn't posted about a similar happening, I might have worried.
Well, I just got home a little while ago and it is getting late so I better end this.
One more thing before I go, I just noticed that the spell check button is gone. There is just the post my message button below where I am typing. It was there this morning. Has anyone else noticed that?
Not sure why but the "check spelling" button is back this morning. Perhaps it missed us?
We had folder weather last week and while she complained a little she started just fine.
Haven't had any problems since.
BMW mine's an auto tarns.
Anyone else have a similar problem.
I also had trouble starting my Echo on Monday.
My car sat all day Saturday & Sunday and when I tried to start it on Monday morning, it sputtered out the first time. I tried to start it two more times and just heard a whirring sound (starter motor?). I was pretty nervous at this point. I have had my Echo since March and have put almost 16K on her with no trouble what so ever. I let her sit for about ten minutes and tried again. After a couple of seconds, she started right up. I live in Mass. and it has been very cold here as of late. I hope it was just an isolated incident as I have not had any more trouble since Monday. I will never let my little Echo sit for a whole weekend without starting her again. My wife just got a new car and we have been driving it almost exclusively, you know, the new car thing. The Echo needed a rest anyway. Can you tell by my username what kind of car she got?
-Rich
Your description sounds exactly what my car did. Sputtered out the first time, then the whirring sound. Only difference is mine had been driven the day before and started fine earlier that morning. I had something similar happen in October, but everything worked fine until Tuesday.
Re: Kneisl1 - I don't have a clutch it's an auto and I never touch the gas when starting her, I know it's unnecessary to do so. It's just this time I had to to get her to start.
I'm just wondering, 2 of the replies said don't let the car warm up too long, actually I warm it up until the blue light goes off. In the morning, it's a cold start, so it takes about 10 minutes (is that normal?) After work, it's another 10 minutes because the car was sat in the parking lot for 9 hours while I'm working.
I have to admit though the weather in Kansas City is better for these few days (around 35F) so the warm up time has reduced a little bit.
echoluvrst, you said you just jump in your car, start it, set it and go.... don't you need to wait until the blue light goes off? What kind of harm will I make if I drive the car without waiting until the blue light goes off? I'm still in break-in period, am I too gentle or what? Man, you sure like to cruise around, I got my Echo for 6 weeks now and have only put on 620 miles.
The weather has been very nice, AC echo owner, want to go out some weekend for a movie or so? Let me know.
Partly because it's a lot easier to scrape the windshield when it's warm.
My brakes are still squealing intermittently...only when being feathered coming to a stop. I will wait till the 5k check-up unless it gets worse.
I wonder how do you like the Echo dynamics in comparison to the ZX2?
Also, is it your front or rear brakes that you have a problem with.
My rear brake on the Focus, just the right side, behaves exactly as you described in the above post.
It's not a big problem with the other Foci. According to this board it's not a wide spread problem with the Echo's too.
I've been at the dealer with this problem five times total.
First they replaced the brake shoes - the problem came back.
Then they just kept cleaning the braking mechanism. The squealing noise was always back in a couple of days.
Now I'm waiting for the second set of the braking shoes.
The Echo has a much more refined powertrain and much quieter ride. Handling is stable (I cruise around 80 on hwy)straightline but heavy understeer in turns. I wish the steering wheel was thicker too.
I love my Echo and the only thing to get me to the Focus is price and content. The Echo engine is far superior though IMOA.
Good luck with your Focus!
I tried the suggested way this morning - drive away without waiting the blue light goes off.
I let the car warm up about 2 minutes and just leave. By the time I hit the first traffic light (about 1 minutes later), the light goes off.... that's a lot faster!!! Now I have another excuse to get up late for the gym - don't need to waste time in the car!!!
kneisl1, thanks for the detail explanation, I have put on about 670 miles in the car right now, which is not a lot. So I hope I'm not doing too much damage in the car, plus I have put in antifreeze treatment in the gas tank that eliminate water vapor etc.... do you think that help in the situation you mentioned?
From now on I'm going to drive the car as suggested, and will keep you guys posted about how my car is doing. One thing though I can't avoid driving less than 10 minutes, I'm living in a very convenient neighborhood... the gym is so close, and my office is not far too, so if I were able to get 38 mpg (in town + highway) I would be happy already.
http://www.epa.gov/OMSWWW/rfgecon.htm
So the difference in gas mixture, temperature caused inefficiency, poor road surface, slower traffice... can quickly add up. I'm quite suprised that governement actually did a test on a useful subject.
Although we live near family and friends, we are considering a move to a place 400 miles away for health reasons. The ECHO would be ideal for making frequent 800 mile round trips so my wife can visit our 5 granchildren and 3 daughters. Since my 99 GC gets 25 MPG (EPA rating 18 City 24 Highway) on this trip with cruise set at 80 MPH, I know I would get about 44 MPG with an ECHO by driving at no more than 75 MPH.
Just got back after several weeks away to find my auto insurance renewal package from USAA. Was surprised to find an additional line item for "Vehicle Injury Rating Discount" that equals the "Passive Restraint Discount" (air bags)on my Echo. The injury rating discount is NOT noted on our '95 Camry. Anyone aware of recent testing that would cause this additional discount?
Re the several air conditioning questions while I was away (which pipes to wrap, etc.), my post on that was #667 in Forum 6.
Cheers and Happy New Year to all.
As well the car performed well on the narrow mainly two lane road with plenty of overtaking and plenty of hills.
The current issue of that same magazine has a photo and small story about the Echo based Bb. I am not sure how to describe it, but it is geared toward the young in Japan. I thought it was a pretty neat car.
I am down here at my mother's for the weekend to do laundry, watch movies, and play on her computer. A very pleasant trip.
My mother thought my Echo is a very nice looking car while my step-father said things that are not repeatable. He thought the car was great don't get me wrong, but the way he phrased his thoughts makes them unrepeatable.
It is 1am and I need to go to bed. "See" you all a little later. I cannot say see you tomorrow because it already is tomorrow.
I got up to almost 60 in second, (she confesses red faced) Didn't know I had it in second, was very early in the morning... Thought gee the engine is revving awfully high.....
got to a red light looked down... moved object blocking gear shift markings found I was in second....
very embarrassed..
Well, it's Sunday morning, I'm watching boring iv and found this informatial "Tornado". They claims it can increase your horse power and gas millage, have anyone try that or seen it works? You can check it out at http://www.tornadounderthehood.com/
Yesterday I went back to the dealer to put on the V3 security..... Guess what? I waited about 30 minutes and the mechanic suggested me to come back during weekday... it's too crowded on Saturday that they can't work on the security in that short amount of time (I gave them about 5 hours). They told me it's their first time to put on a V3 into an Echo, and they need to remove the dashboard!!! Well, it's lucky that I didn't get after market security. If you look at that owner's manual, the security seems complicated, there' re so many detection and posibilities to set off the alarm. I guess that's the reason they need that much time.
Oh, yesterday the weather was very very nice here in Kansas City (about 50F). I finally take my Echo to wash... boy this car is pretty big, my hand get sore after washing it, the car is tall that I could use a stool to wipe the top clean. After washing the car, I parked it under a tree at the car wash center to dry it, apply paint protector (I didn't wax it... too lazy), and apply plastic shin treatmend on the clading.... guess what? I was working hard on my Echo and a absolute red Dodge Neon just finish his car wash and leaving the car wash center... he stopped at the exit and reverse back..... you know what he is doing? He was looking at my Echo's "BUTT"!!! which has four shinny alphabets "E C H O"... I guess he was curios and amazed by the Echo. I took that as a compliment and kept on working hard to give my Echo a finish shine. Now let's hope that my neighbor's cats are not going to jump onto my Echo and leave those nasty cat palms print, or I will give them a good lesson.
Ok, have to go, got to enjoy the weekend before it's over.
I live in Singapore, and I think cars are the most expensive in the world here, due to the limited land we have for roads. I purchase my echo for a grand price of $ 77, 000 may7be 5 x. what you guys have paid. I hope I'll be satisfied with my car as it is the first car I have ever purchase. I also had the diliema of choosing my car color, but i stuck with the dark blue as they don't have the black model here! Cheers to you guys and a happy new year.Keep you guys posted as i wait for the delivery of my car which should be in like 3 weeks time!