Toyota Echo

thoover

Here is some info on a Chevron website that has a table in it (from a government study) on the effects on MPG, including winter.

It confirms that winter gas has less energy on this web page also.

Info on MPG

pulgo

Thanks for the link, great source of information.

jhall7

I would like to order an armrest from JC Whitney. I have looked on their web site and have been unable to find one.

Could you provide item or parts number. Any information that helped determine how I could find this would be appreciated.

Does it install easily?

Have 3,255 miles on my black 2 door with automatic. Have installed/provided the following:

cruise control
bug shield
tinted windows
Mobil 1 synthetic oil

Decided to forego noise barrier undercoating for fear of trapping moisture or surface rust. Will replace Bridgestone tires at first opportunity.

Getting approximately 38 MPG all around driving.

A few paint chips and moderate air conditioning are the only small problems.

Car runs excellent. Very happy with purchase.

Thanks,
Jack

wrgraham

Argh, just recently passed 30,000 miles, so very happy with my green 2000 Echo. Then today when I was stopped while the car in front was waiting to make a left turn, rear ended by an inattentive driver. It was an 85 Camry that left about 25 feet of skid marks before plowing into
the rear of our Echo. But everybody is ok. My 14 year old daughter and I got our heads caught very nicely by the headrests. We could drive the Echo home but the front end of the Camry is a big mess and it got towed away. Most sadly however, I am afraid that our Echo might not be repairable. There are two longitudinal frame members running to the rear, on each side of the car, underneath. One of those is all buckled up into a Z shape. And all the metal under the spare tire area is folded all around itself. Gotta credit this Echo with taking good care of us.
That headrest felt like a big hand all around my head when we got unexpectedly hit. Now I will see what the insurance settlement comes out like.

majorthomecho

I have one complaint about the Echo and it is actually my roommate's complaint. She wishes there was a mirror on the passenger side visor.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a mirror that I can attach to the visor? I would like to find one that has straps that fit around the visor rather than something that has a sticky back.

janbee

mine has a mirror on both the drivers and passenger visors....wierd that some would come with them and some wouldnt..

vocus

You also have a Canadian Echo, and Major has an American one. I am sure some things are different as far as trim and all. Major, go to K-mart or Wal-Mart to get one of those make-up mirrors to put on the visor.

sonatafan

I have mixed feelings about the armrest from JC Whitney. It is very cheap quality and has squared edges that contrast with the Echo's rounded interior. Plus I had to make numerous modifications to it, some to install it (required drilling into the sides of the center console also), some for comfort and some to keep the thing from falling apart.

Now that I have done that work to it, I can say it's a nice addition to the car.

If you want more details from me about the work involved, email me at nick_ascencio@email.com and I'll be happy to respond.

Part # at www.jcwhitney.com is 13ZX5862T

geegee1958

I bought a visor mirror for my last car, a Honda Accord, at K-Mart, for around $5.00. It is quite large, considerably larger than the one that comes with the Echo, and it has clips on the bottom that clip onto the visor. The only thing that is not so great is that it is black, so you see the black clips on the edge of the visor, and if you use the mirror for an extended period, and then take it off for whatever reason, the clips leave indentations in the visor that may or may not disappear (the Honda visor was regular vinyl, whereas the Echo's is that fuzzy stuff). But for the $5.00USD it was pretty good.

edwarda1

I looked at a used 2000 Echo last February.Car had 1400 miles on it. Car is still on Toyota dealers lot, now with 1500 miles. They are still asking $10,500. Car is base but has cd and air. I ran the VIN number thru Carfax, but they had no info. Any opinions will be appreciated.

kaz6

gee, only 1500mi? If you saw it with 1400 then 1500 it must either be a 'lemon' or they have had bad luck with repo's. I'd personally steer clear of it as it doesn't sound like the car was given up voluntarily on more than one occassion. Even rental returns have at least 5k-10k on them.
If you really want to get it try this: have two friends go to the dealership and ask them about the history of the car/why it has such low mileage. Good luck with it!

echorick

Is the ECHO a Toyota Certified Used Car? If so I would think it should be okay. It will probably still have almost 2 years on original warranty plus Toyota certified used car get an additional 6 year 100,000 mile power train warranty (from date of first registration) and one year roadside assistance.

If any Toyota sales people are still reading this I'd be curious to see what they say.

I've had my used 2000 Echo for just under four weeks. I took it in for dealer to check air conditioning and they said there was a problem with the compressor. Just had $978 worth of compressor and labor work done free under warranty. The dealership was great about it.

jhall7

I found the item thanks to the part # that you gave me. Even though you were not completely satisfied with the style, I understand that you were satisfied with the overall results.

At only $39.00 I will purchase this and decide if I want to install it or not.

Thank you for the opportunity to e-mail you concerning help on installation. When I receive the armrest I will take advantage of your offer.

Thanks again for the help.

Jack

echovolcanist

If so what type/brand and are you satisfied with the results. I am stil using the stock radio and speakers added a fujitsu eclipse cd changer that plugger right in to the back of the radio no fm modulator needed. thanks in advance

bl2echo

hello all. i've been lurking about reading all the posts and finally decided that i had to put my 2 cents in. about the echos looks-so what! i didn't buy the echo for that reason. i needed an economical car that was reliable and would hold up to n.y.c. abuses and there are many of those. admittedly when i first saw the car in person at the dealer it looked like it would have been appropriate to see a cardboard cutout of roger rabbit behind the wheel but boy does this car grow on you fast which is also the speed it always wants to go for some reason. anyway after 1000 miles or so i'm as happy as a pig in merde. the a/c seems a tad weak but i don't think you can ask that much of it idling in stop and go traffic on a summer day. i will probably wrap it as suggested in prior posts or take it in to see if it's undercharged. if it's overfilled i think i'll leave it alone. just think-unlike me-as it grows old and leaky it will get better! a question please. does anyone know what the shift points on the auto are under normal acceleration. got to go now to get some shuteye since i have a hard day tomorrow in toontown. regards to all out there in echoland.

babyboomer

I think I might hold the record for the LOWEST mileage driven per month by an Echo owner.
Picked up my Echo on December 28, 2000 and now, June 15, 2001, have 3,466 miles on it. Reasons: Small town so very short trips (one mile to work site), four vehicles in family of four, and a wife that takes her SUV on longer trips (even though I tell her to take the Echo). Maybe there are others that have less mileage per month?

lynnann1

I have 9,893 miles on my car. I've had it a year as of May 27. My miles to work are a little more than yours about 2. We've been on a couple of trips. Almost 6,000 of those miles were made on trips that we took. I had just under 5,000 after I had had the car for 5 mos. so it looks like you're the winner so far.

dsgecho

Dec. 15- June 15 only 4166 miles incl. a 1200 mile trip. Echo did about as well as any on the long trip as far as comfort. Great little car!!

echovolcanist

I bought my 2001 coupe in oct of 2000
I only have 3,200 miles

kaz6

Sorry to hear about your accident! Glad you and your passenger are okay! I agree about the headrests...very well designed and placed. Hope the adjuster gives you $$$
Re: miles I have 9800 on mine and I bought it last December 2 weeks before Christmas!! I love driving my Echo so I need to make sure I don't drive it too much!~ The seats, space, and lack of any real wind/engine noise make it a perfect long-haul vehicle!!! With the stereo on and the a/c going I can't even hear the engine on the highway! Love that VVTi engine!

geegee1958

My Echo just had it's first "birthday" (or would anniversary be more accurate?) on June 11, 2001, and I have just passed the 5100 mile mark. Like Babyboomer I live in a small town and have a short commute to the office (1.4 miles each way), but I have also made 2 trips to Daytona Beach, which added an extra 1000 miles to my average mileage.
Lots of people have mentioned that their A/C is not as cold as it should be, but luckily I have not found that to be true, since the weather in southern Florida requires a/c almost 10 months of the year.
The one thing that does make a significant difference is the setting for re-circulated versus fresh air, which other people have found to be true also. Definately much colder when set on re-circulated air!

kneisl1

I picked up my ECHO 11/10/00 and have 4400 miles on it as of today. BTW the AC works GREAT! Just make sure its on recirculation.

lakubitz

majorthomecho

I don't think that it is a case of it being colder on recirculated air, but a case of the air blowing out harder.

Honestly, I don't consider my a/c to be weak but rather not as strong as I want.

I have gone over the 8,000 mile mark and not yet to my 6 month anniversary of purchasing my Echo.

majorthomecho

No, I have not had trouble with my horn in the times that I have had to use it.

lakubitz

I just got my Echo on 6/11 & know the horn had worked because I'd knocked my book bag against it a couple times getting out of the car. Tried to use the horn on the freeway this morning & it did a little bleep & then it died. Anyone else had this problem? Of course it happens on a Friday when I don't have to be at work till next Thursday & am going out of town for my first long distance drive.

rdeschene

Hmmm. Have you ever considered walking to work? That would take 15-30 minutes each way, no gas, and you get a free aerobic workout if you haul it! :-)

I did so for several years, and I still miss it (I now live two blocks from work) as it gave me a chance to de-compress.

kaz6

I replaced my oem horn with a FIAMM unit. It is much louder/deeper in tone than the stock one. I did not experience any problems with the stock unit and currently, the only problem is that on occassion, some drivers don't connect the sound my horn makes with its appearance...the horn sounds like a GM fullsize car! LOL

majorthomecho

The roommate and I went to the grocery store and I ended up parked next to a silver Echo. I left a note on the windshield complimenting them on their taste in cars. The note was returned to me with a note from them saying, "Right back at you."

majorthomecho

I really did not like the looks of the gold colored Echos that I have seen in photos. I saw one in person the other day and I must say it looks better in person. Turns out to be a very pretty color.

jbear87

ThomEcho,
It has always been my understanding that when the AC is on recirculating air, it takes air from inside of the cabin, and blows it back out. The fresh air setting bring it from outside, cools it, and blows it into the cabin. On warm or hot days, recirculating is the only way to go. If not, the AC will have to pull in the 100 degree air and cool it down. It will not be able to cool it down as well as the recirculating. If I am incorrect, someone please let me know.

bl2echo

a interesting incident. since i use my echo in the city i usually dont get a chance to hit highway speeds often but yesterday when i finally got er up 65 mph i encountered a pigeon intent on committing suicide by echo. out of nowhere it swoops down right in front of me and is about to hit the windshield dead center when it is suddenly blown by the slipstream right over the roof-never even touching the car. i wonder if its going to reconsider its future now that it was given a new lease on life. on another point about the A/C. i was told that the best way to cool a hot car is to first open the windows and use outside air to clear it out for a few minutes before using the A/C. then when the inside temp drops turn on the A/C to cool it further. when the inside temp is lower then the outside temp recirculate works better but you can't keep it on indefinately because you are recirculating stale air that is becoming increasingly humid so periodically alternate it with outside air. i also use recirc if i start to smell any outside fumes being sucked into the car.

lynnann1

I have considered it, but since I would have to walk along a major highway (Rte. 40) with no sidewalks (not to mention no other pedestrians )- not a good idea. I could take the bus; however, since I have a granddaughter in first grade and sometimes have to pick her up, that's not an option either...

Besides I like driving my ECHO.

rdeschene

Lynn-Ann,

I think that modern city planning is a major reason there are so many people in so many cars, driving such short distances. The example you give is a prime one: no sidewalks. I once stayed in Syracuse in a hotel with my wife, and we wanted to walk down to a restaurant that we could see. Guess what: there were no bloody sidewalks along those streets. Given that that was a residential area, I don't understand how cities could allow that - i.e. if a road is to extended to create residential areas, then the sidewalks, just like the electrical and sewer and phone services, have to be put in to accomodate it. None are free to build, so what's the difference?

Another example I see of this is modern subdivisions where there are no "more direct" pedestrian walkways built in. Thus, a pedestrian has to walk the circuitous route of cul-de-sac, crescents, etc. that are designed to minimize CAR through traffic and it can be literally 2-3 times the distance than "as the crow flies" to the grocery or convenience store.

Just my pet peeve, I guess.

kneisl1

jbear87 is correct IME with leaving the lever on recircuation instead of fresh air when using AC. Its MUCH colder that way. (this is my 1st car with AC so I still learning) bl2echo last summer riding my mc in a very empty part of Nebraska I had a bird fly directly into my headlight from the side of the road. SMASH! This was upsetting because I had never seen that happen before (birds are usually smart enough to stay out of the way) and I was worried about dammage to the bike (none as it turned out) to say nothing about killing the bird. Well, after that it happened twice more in about 10 minutes! I had blood and guts and feathers all over me and the bike. (I imagine had I crashed and been killed the locals would have talked for a long time about the motorcycleist they found dead with feathers all over him) Same kind of bird. After the third time the birds wised up and stayed out of the way.

majorthomecho

All this bird talk reminds me of the time I was running the secondary highway between two cities and a quail ran into the side of my tire. I looked back in my mirror after the impact and I was going so fast that the quail spun around several times before dropping over dead. Thankfully, this was before I had my Echo.

kaz6

while it's true that the a/c doesn't have to work as hard on recirculate you don't want to leave it too long as it can ice up the condensor. I have noticed that after a while the air isn't as cool when left on recirculate so I flip it to 'fresh' and it instantly drops a few degrees. When on the open road I generally leave it on fresh and turn the fan to the lowest setting; the air coming into the cabin is naturally strong and doesn't need much assist from the fan.

wrgraham

I just want to follow up to my message of a few days back when I got rear-ended while waiting for another car to make a left turn. The claims adjuster man came and decided that my Echo is definitely fixable. The 86 Camry (wasnt 85) hit the bumper but went mostly underneath instead of into the trunk area. So the frame support behind the rear wheels is all messed up, but the basic frame into those wheels from forward is ok. The Camry is too messed up to be worth fixing, so the owner is selling it for parts. Looks like her insurance company will pick up the tab for my repairs, that way I dont have to pay the $500 deductible on my collision insurance. And I sure feel fine, and my daughter is away with my wife just now, so she must be ok or else I would have heard about it. Good thing the driver of the Camry was wearing his seat belt. Gist of all this for those following this discussion group is that experience shows the Echo holds its own very well when hit from behind. (primarily in terms of protecting those inside.)

majorthomecho

I see that the Kia Optima and the Kia Rio now have owners' clubs here on Edmunds. Given that we have had a lot more posts than those two sedans, shouldn't we have one too?

pat

I'll pass your request on.

Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards

kneisl1

What is an owners club?

jhall7

I saw three Echoes in less than one hour. This is a record. I have gone three weeks and not seen this many.

Location was downtown Frankfort, Kentucky. Two black and one forest green.

Good to see more of those who are environmentally aware.

Jack

pulgo

Here in the Vancouver, BC area I see so many that I don't count them anymore. More than 20 today! No wonder with our gas prices!

geegee1958

I see more and more Echo's here in Southern Florida also, and my next door neighbor just got one last week. Her red 4 door is the first one I had seen without the body cladding, and I like the way it looks, and almost wish I hadn't gotten it (my car is silver). I definately do like the spoiler though.

mpgman

Having sent my 88 Festiva to the great car resting place in the sky, I am determined to get the full load of safety features in whatever I buy next. Echo lists ABS and side air bags on its brochures and options list, but no dealers I have talked to from northern VA to NJ have ever seen one with either. Have any of you? Have you asked about it? How about up in Canada? Any word on possible 02 model year changes? Thanks.

majorthomecho

The 02 model has the addition of package three which is the keyless entry and power windows. I don't believe that there are any additional equipment offerings or any cosmetic changes.

I have been on this board for a long, long time, and I do not recall reading any posts from a United States owner with ABS.

I think the only way to get an Echo with the full load of safety features is to special order them from the factory and even then you might not get it. Dealers will tell you that it will take anywhere from four to six months. At least they did me, but I had one dealer tell me six to eight weeks.

I did not wait and got an Echo without side air bags and ABS. Personally, I have not missed the ABS. The car stops very quickly. Won't know if I miss side air bags or not until I get in an accident and hopefully that will never happen.

As I posted elsewhere, my condolences on the passing of your Festiva. Glad to see that you are considering the Echo.

cliffy1

As you noted, the ABS isn't being shipped to the Central Atlantic Region. We did get a small number of them with side air bags about 6 months ago, but those are long gone. I haven't heard of any changes for 2002, but we will get more information on them in a month or so.

majorthomecho

Owners' clubs are where the owners of a vehicle can hang out. Besides the regular discussion thread for a particular vehicle, a thread will be created for people to display pictures of their particular vehicle and there is a thread where the owners can introduce themselves.

To get an idea of what an owners' club is, check out some of the owners' clubs by clicking on the link at the main town hall screen.

mpgman

Thanks for the posts. I unfortunately need 2 new cars and the Echo remains high on my list for the local workhorse. I can wait a bit on this one, so I might hang out and see what the 02s have to offer. Maybe some will be made with what I am looking for.

Majorthomecho...thanks...I saw the post and responded to it on the other board. Have you seen the Roxy edition of the Echo yet? The waterproof seat design pattern can make you dizzy!

rdeschene

When I test drove an Echo last fall in Canada, I was told that ABS was not available AT ALL. Personally, I have spent a lot of time these last six years to learn to drive a car with ABS so that I think I would do the right thing in a panic situation. I certainly don't want to try to unlearn what I've learned, especially since this is retrograde. I can only assume they're worried about price points.

I did of course write Toyota Canada to let them know why I would not be purchasing an Echo, as only about 1/10 disatisfied customers/potential customers do. Working in manufacturing as I do, I think that constructive feedback is the only way you achieve continuous improvement.