Last week I made my ECHO's second oil change appt (she has just over 8,000KM) I called and made the appt no prob. When I went in they said they would be rotating the tires as well, I asked how long that would take because they did not discuss that on the phone with me and I had a lunch appt. They said it would be an hour and I didnt have time to wait so I just got the $27 CDN oil change...was it really necessary to have my tires rotated already and how much would that cost???
Given I have almost 15,000 miles on the Major, I have been to the dealer twice for routine maintanence. Neither time was very long and I had the tires rotated and the oil changed. The total cost was about $50 US (half for the oil change and about half for the tire rotation). FWIW, getting the oil change and the tires rotated on my Escort costs about the same when done at a Ford dealership. The cost for the Echo's service work included checking the items listed in the maintanence guide and the price would not have been any less if I had not had them checked. And they actually checked a few items not in the guide.
Don't know if the tires (I have Goodyear Integrities) really needed to be rotated, but the manual says to so I did. I trust the guys, but you can never be too careful so the second time I had the tires rotated, I numbered the tires in a spot only I knew about. When I checked afterwards, the presence of the numbers confirmed that the tires had been rotated.
I noticed something fairly interesting. I bought the car on 12/29/00 with about 55 miles on it. I had the first oil change at 5,171 miles on 4/19/01. Three months later on 7/26/01 with the mileage at 10,114, I had the oil changed for the second time. Now just two months later (and nine months from having bought the car), I am having the oil changed for the third time. I sure have racked up the mileage.
But they have been fun miles and I enjoy my car today as much as I did the day I bought him.
Dont know how much a tire rotation costs, but that would indeed be something required to be done at that mileage. I change my own oil for about $11, cost of oil and filter. Here is my suggested list of maintainance for the ECHO: (which also applies to any other car)
Change oil and filter every three months. I do it on the first day of summer spring winter and fall.
Balance tires once a year at Sears. Lifetime balance $10 per tire. They will rotate tires at that time for free.
Change sparkplugs and air filter at 30k miles. Inspect air filter every two years if you drive less than that. Platinum spark plugs last longer, like maybe every 60k miles.
Change brake fluid every two years. Also the clutch fluid if you have a manual transmission. Inspect brake pads (front) and shoes (rear) once a year. Sears lets me look at the car when its up on the lift for the tire balance which is when I do it.
Change the transmission oil every 30k miles if you have a manual.
Normally I change the coolant in my cars every two years, but the ECHO has long life coolant which Ive never had a car with before. Change it whenever it says to in the owners manual and use the same coolant that came with the car.
Check your exhaist system once a year by starting the engine and before the pipes heat up, covering tail pipe with a rag to make an airtight seal. If the exhaust system is good you will feel air pressure build up and hear a pop when you remove the rag. Dont let the pressure build up too mcuh or you might blow the muffler off the pipe! If you feel no pressure at all, that means theres a hole in the system. (probably the muffler) Id have Toyota change it because if they do it after that its free for the life of the car.
After the car has like 60k miles on it, every year check the waterpump by grabbing the pulley and rocking it feeling for play. Also, check under the car with the engine running for leaks. Also after 60k miles or five years, check the boots on the front axle (four of them) for cracks every time you change the oil. You want to catch the boots before they really go because if you drive around with cracked boots youll ruin the joints which cost like $$$ to replace. When you see one boot go bad, have them all replaced. Also at 60 k miles, the valves need to be adjusted. Let Toyota do that as its complicated. (almost no other car uses the method ECHO does to adjust the valves) After 60k miles you can expect the water pump, muffler, and axle boots to go at some point. Quite possibly they will last longer, but at this point you want to keep an eye on them and replace then BEFORE they go.
Consult your owners manual for what needs to be inspected at the interval suggested. This is things like balljoints, tie rod ends, gas cap gasket (important on a FI car!) Whatever the manual says inspect at that interval. Read the owners manual from cover to cover regarding maintainance and do what it says. If you have a question, the answer is porbably in the OM>
In general, use Toyota air filters, mufflers, coolant, shocks. You dont need to use Toyota oil, oil filters. But in general, its a good idea to use Toyota products you wont go far wrong.
Not saying they did it just because of me, but I wrote a very strongly worded letter of complaint and now Edmunds has changed what was written about the Echo in their Top 10 Fuel-Efficient Cars story.
They have eliminated the erroneous paragraph that says you would have to roll down your own windows if you got a fully loaded Echo.
You bought your new car with 55 miles on it? Good Lord! Mine only had 2 on it when the dealer pulled it off the lot. I peeled off the white contact paper myself from the hood. It came in on the truck the same day I looked for it!
It was "my" first new car and was exactly the way I wanted it equipped. I compromised. What can I say. By "my" I mean that all the other new car purchases I was involved in, another person was with me signing the papers. On this one, only my name is on the title and only my funds are being used to pay for it.
I noticed that the ad for the used 2000 Echo with 4k miles is back in my local paper. The ad states that the Echo has all options and the seller wants like $8900.
I will admit that curiosity got the better of me last time the ad appeared and I called the number listed.
I talked to the supposed seller and asked, "So the Echo has ABS?" "No," came the reply, "Echoes don't even have ABS as an option." I did not tell him that ABS is available as an option.
I asked him about the price and he said that he got a good deal on the car when he bought it and so he wanted to see someone else get a good deal.
I have a feeling that there is something majorly wrong with this Echo and some car dealership is having one of their salesman pretend to be private selling it.
If its too good to be true it probably isnt. Id be VERY suspicious of this car. Possibly its stolen. No one passes their good fortune on to someone else for nothing.
I am thinking about taking my roommate and going to look at this Echo for myself. Not like I have anything to do tomorrow anyway. Will just take my other car.
Well, let us know what you find out. Check the car for dammage underneath. Actually, the car should still be under warranty so if anything doesnt work Toyota should in theory fix it free. That leaves an accident as a possibility. Test drive very carefully and look for replaced wheels, tires, or body panels. Look to see if the engine has been removed and replaced. (components of the engine removed, wrench marks on many botls and nuts. Loose wires.) Also possible is stolen car. Ask to see the title and match up the VIN numbers with those on the car. Better yet take the VIN to the police and ask them to run it through their computer. Ive seen ECHOs advertised in the Phila Enquirer for like $10,500 with like 5000 miles on them. It would be nice to score a cheapie ECHO!
Actually, I am not in the market for another car and my roommate is not quite ready to buy her next car.
Some would say I am wasting this guy's time and if he and the car are legit, I apologize. But if the guy is some kind of scammer, he deserves to have his time wasted.
Kneisl and others, it's my good fortune that you all have been on the maintenance cost topic. My Echo has now passed 30k miles and I took it to the Toyota service in Hilo on Thursday. They told me it would cost $300-350, but after leaving the car for half a day they called and said they didnt have the parts and I would have to reschedule. When I look at my scheduled maintenance and Warranty manual I see that at 30k I am only getting new oil and air filters, a change of engine oil and coolant, a tire rotation and a new air conditioning filter. Plus the inspections. Seems too much. Maybe I should just order the parts myself and get any work done by myself or my local service station. Years ago I bought a new 86 Toyota pickup and never did any special warranty servicing. Just changed my oil and filter. Recently sold that pickup with 203k miles, it was a solid one all the way.
Perhaps Hilo is just expensive for almost everything. I'm assuming its Hawaii. 30,000 mile maintenance in NC was $160 for the same things, including automatic transmission fluid change.
I just got done with a 325 mi. trip thru the hills, valleys, and some mountains in TN. Lots of rolling hills, curves, and speeds often in the 45-60 mph range due to roads and terrain. Maybe inaccurate based on a quick fillup but only put in 5.935 gal. and drove a lot using tehniques learned while driving a Prius. At least 10-15% city driving during this trip to get thru various small and med. sized towns along the way. Some folks will say the one trip was too small sample size but I have thought for a while that the ECHO could get over 50 mpg if the opportunity came up for more ideal conditions. Certainly have gotten 46-47 mpg on a long trip of abou 500 mi. @65 mph so I think this is possible. BTW, no drafting of large vehicles done on this trip. This is the first time gas gauge has been slightly above the 1/2 mark at this point of a tank. 5-speed manual, no AC. Great car!! Toyota quality. Still the best $9995 I ever spent. Don Nashville, TN
$300 is a ridiculous price for the routine maintenance that you mentioned. Have the oil, antifreeze, and automatic transmission fluid (if applicable) changed at Jiffy Lube or a similar oil-change place; it will cost less than half what the Toyota dealer charges. Air conditioner maintenance? I have owned a Mazda 323, Toyota Tercel, and Toyota Corolla, all with air conditioning. I owned each car for six years (I still have the Corolla) and I never did any maintenance to the air conditioning at all. The A/C in all three cars always worked perfectly.
Hi, i've had my 2001 echo since december and it has 14,000 miles on it today i got stuck in the sand at the beach, and got unstuck, and went on with the trip and i noticed when we got back on the highway after i hit 60 mph the steering wheel shook really bad, well i figured there was sand in the wheel wells or something so we went to a do-it-yourself carwash and i cleaned under the wheels and even the engine compartment (where there was also sand). it still did it , i don't know what to do, it gets very shaky after 60 mph, if you have any ideas please e-mail me at smonk59@hotmail.com, thanks
Thanks for your comments on my 30000 mile scheduled maintenance. I think they push me over the line, to where I am not going to bite for that overcharge from Toyota. Save the money for when I buy my next set of tires, which is not too far away. And do what is needed for maintenance at the moment, but not at Hilo Toyota, I think.
Go to Toyota.com and do a dealer search. You can do a search for Toyota dealers near you that also rent Toyotas. From what I understand, most dealers only rent Corollas and Camrys, but you might find one in your area that rents Echoes.
I'd check the tire pressure all around to make sure it's even. If that doesn't cure your problem, check the front tires for balancing weights. You might have lost a weight getting the car unstuck. An unbalanced front tire might lead to the symptoms you describe.
There might also be sand in the wheels. I had this problem with my Mazda when it snowed. There was ice stuck in the wheels, which made the car shake violently. And try not to take your car on the beach. It's not good for the parts inside.
Hi have not posted in a long time. Have 21000 on my white 4 dr love it geting 40 most tank full. Time to get ready for winter who knows were the gas filter is?? About the sand thing its either a wheel weight came off or you bent a axal shaft hope it the wheel as thats about $20. and the axal is probley $200. or more. Thanks Jeanne happy Echoing
There is no mention of a fuel filter in the service manual, nor do I recall anything about it in the owners manual. I dont remember seeing anything in the OM about changing it. The fuel filter in my wifes Honda is supposed to be changed every 60k miles. Unless you are having a problem with the fuel system, Id leave it alone. You might want to ask Toyota, but of course you know what theyll say...$$$. If you do ask them, please post what they tell you.
Smart Money recently looked at 169 vehicles to select 29 finalists for ten categories. The categories were based on price or type of vehicle. Some categories had as many as four finalists and some categories had as few as two finalists.
The Echo made the cut and was a finalist in the Under $18,000 category. There were three finalists in this category. The winner was the Honda Civic LX. The other finalist was the VW Golf GLS.
I found the fuel filter. It is bolted to the fuel pump, which is inside the gastank. Unlike some other FI systems which use a cheapo fuel pump inside the gastank to feed the fuel to the main pump, there is only one pump (the expensive, main fuel pump) in the ECHO and its in the tank. They dont even tell you in the SM to change the fuel filter when you remove the pump for servicing, so I assume its replacement is not a regularly scheduled item. Incidently, this brings up a good subject about modern FI systems. One thing that WILL ruin your FI system sooner than quicker is to run lousy gas through it. When I drove the old Volkswagens I was a cheap gas freak but with the new FI its a good idea to put the best gas in your car. I put cheap gas in my ECHO on a x-country trip and the exhaust gas smelled like rotten eggs. The smell went away after the trank was filled with Mobile again. Find a gas station with good gas and stick to it.
I was pulling out of a parking space the other day and misjudged the distance from the car ahead of me. I touched the other cars bumper going about 1 mph. The other driver got out and made a big show of inspecting his car, but there was no dammage to it. MY bumper oilcanned in about a six inch circle and also tore the "Bumper cover" in two places about 1/4" size hole. This from a 1 mph "impact". Yes the ECHO is a lightly built car which gets good mileage, but its laso lightly constructed and easily "bruised"!
My bumper got messed too, by someone that didn't even leave a note. Modern bumpers are junk and a bad joke. Look at the back of a RAV4.
My early 80's Tercel got wacked so hard in a grocery store lot that it jumped up in the air, and ended up part way out of the parking spot. Not a mark on it..
I read a story about bumpers not too long ago. I think they need to go back to the way they were in the 80s with the 5mph standard. Some of the bumpers were a little unattractive, but at least they could withstand an impact without damage.
A local dealer is offering to sell me a new 2001 Echo Roxy Edition for $13k flat. Car has upgrade packages 1, 2, and 3 plus the Roxy junk, although the roof rack is a nice touch. He tells me that the "make you dizzy" Roxy seat covers can be removed, revealing the normal seat covers. Good price for a leftover or not discounted enough? Guess I would be stuck with the side striping if I bought it. The car has an automatic transmission. Not sure yet if it has the cold weather group but suspect it does. Thanks.
Went to see the car and drive it. No package #3 like the salesman said on the phone but it did have the cold weather group and all of the Roxy stuff. The seat and headrest covers come off. Underneath is a normal interior, I believe. Also saw a dark blue 4 door with both packages, the cold weather group, and package Z2 which included floor mats, cargo net, and the remote entry VIP security system. Went from Toyota to drive a Golf...well...what can you say....it costs about $4k more for the 2.0 liter GLS four door (list $18,250). Then went to drive an Accent. The Accent has the most for the money, including a very good adjustable driver's seat, but the mpgs are really no better than my Elantra GT's rating. The Golf has it all, especially on the safety side with side air bags, 4 wheel discs, ABS, and head curtain air bags, plus all the other goodies like tilt/telescope wheel, heated side mirrors, center arm rest, hatch and all. But the Golf's mpgs are only 23/29. The Echo is probably the best mechanical car with the best mpgs short of a TDI. Golf and Echo should both have very good resale but Golf will cost more to repair and maintain, even with the new 5/60, 4/50 warranty. Why can't one car have it all at an affordable price?
No comments on the high mpg on that trip with the echo but it STILL blows me away that this car can get up into mpg territory that I thought was possible only in the Prius or TDI as far as 4-seaters go.
My first thought is "How much of a rear crumple zone is there?" My second thought is "What kind of performance do you get out of a 1.3L engine?" (I find the US standard 1.5L plant quite suitable to task.)
Hey, just for fun, let's imagine what could be possible if Toyota dropped in the VVTi engines from the new Celica or RAV4 into an ECHO hatch. . . . It would make a compelling alternative to a Focus ZX3 or Civic Si for the thrill-on-a-budget crowd.
is sufficient. I drive the Yaris Verso 1.3 (the mpv version of the Yaris/echo). O.k., to be honest, below 3000 rpm the engine is not that strong, but over 3000 rpm the performance is very good. Max speed of the Yaris Verso 1.3 is 165 kmh (103mph). My experience while driving through Germany (no speed limit) is that the car can cruise at that speed for hours. On a very fast downhill section the speedo even showed 198 kmh (123 mph). Thats quite impresive for a 1.3 L engine! The car is quiet and feels safe even at very high speed.
this hurts. it is my sad duty to report that nipper and i had a more serious accident then what has been appearing on this bb(no parking lot kiss here). it was raining and i was going about 50mph in the left lane, minding my own business when the driver in the right lane lost control of his car, an 86 corolla. he shot diagonally into my lane and the impact was immediate. my right fender hit his driver side door and then with both cars together my car was driven into the lane divider retaining wall. damage to my car was extensive($3500.00). the air bag did not deploy. both fenders and doors, grill and hood had to be replaced but i was able to drive the car home after changing a flat tire(LF) and prying the right fender off the RF tire. the repair shop commented that they were very impressed with the way the car was constructed. i've now driven nipper a few hundred miles and am glad to inform everybody that she is purrfect and apparently has not suffered any lasting trauma. it is pleasing to report that our ECHO's can take a licking and keep on ticking.
They are putting those retaining walls up here in SC.They look pretty ominous to me.To bounce off one at 50 mph must be something.Given the speed and other traffic I'd say you are a lucky guy. Did you have the work done at a Toyota dealer and use original replacement parts.Also did you look for undercarriage damage?Why did the airbag not deploy?Are they designed to only deploy in certain situations or was it a malfunction?
I don't know what the hold up is, but I have not talked to any townhall hosts. The only talk I remember is my asking why we did not have one and someone else asking what that was. I then responded to their post. The host of the board never responded to anything.
Oh PAT, why don't we have an owners' club for the Echo? This board is pretty active and it is mainly active from posts of actual owners.
Had an opportunity to talk to the owner of a green Echo. Pretty interesting conversation.
He has his Echo tinted with 12% tint all round and he has a strip of tint at the top of his windshield.
He says the tint and putting up a sunshield keeps the Echo about 20 degrees cooler than before the tint, but he has a thermometer and he has seen it get one hundred and forty degrees inside the car.
Legal limit in Missouri is 33% (I believe) so that is what I am going to get.
Have any ECHO owners experienced driving the ECHO in winter? I'm debating on getting either a good set of winter tires like the Bridgestone Blizzak, and/or some Diamond brand car tire chains (for nasty ice conditions). Any comments would be appreciated. I've read the Bridgestone Potenza's rating is somewhat low for winter driving.
It's good to here that BL2ECHO and the car came thru the accident OK. I've read where the ECHO uses a new higher strength steel for its body. In addition the ECHO's low engine placement and high seating help avoid engine intrusion into the cabin. Would be nice to get the opinion of a Toyota design engineer...the local dealer has claimed that crash results are similar to the 2001 Camry. Regardless, I find that I'm more comfortable off-freeway driving using secondary roads then dealing with the 18 wheelers traveling side-by-side at 80+ mph, although the ECHO handles quite well at high speeds and feels comfortable.
Yes I also agree the Potenza's are not all they could be for winter driving. But for NJ they are adequate. When I lived in upstate NY and commuted to work, studded snow tires on all four wheels were everything I could ask for on icy roads. Forget chains. You can only go 20 mph with them. Blizzaks are $$$ and wear out fast. Not worth the expence IMHO.
I got my Echo in December of last year. In fact today is my Echo's nine month birthday. Except for one incident (which I will get to later), I had no problem driving through the ice and snow the latter part of winter brought and my Echo has Goodyear Integrity tires.
The one incident was when I hit a patch of black ice and I ended up sliding all over the place. Fortunately, there were no cars that close and I kept my cool. I was not going very fast (under 20mph) when I hit the black ice so I don't think the problem was speed, but I don't think it was the car either.
As winter gets closer and closer, I feel confident that the Major (my car is Major Tom) will see me through.
thanks for your thoughts. to reply to your questions-BLESS that retaining wall. if it wasn't there i would count myself really lucky if i would be able to write this from my hospital bed because i would have probably been pushed into the opposing traffic and had a head-on. i don't think the airbags deployed because the front end didn't collapse inward towards the cabin but rather was squeezed together and there was no abrupt stop but others here may know better. As far as parts and examining the undercarriage-it looked ok which was why i drove it the few miles(off highway) home. it did pull slightly and had to be realigned. Parts were genuine toyota. my shop guy told me that the echo is new and relatively rare so there really aren't aftermarket parts for it available yet. this may change in the future because i see more and more of them here in nyc. it really hurt to see them scooting around while i had to wait for the others guys insurance co(geico) to pay off and then have my collision shop complete the work. all told it took about a month.
I've put in a request for it to be created. It might not happen this week, but it will happen - so sit tight. KarenS, the Owners Club Board host, will make an announcement here when it's ready.
Comments
Don't know if the tires (I have Goodyear Integrities) really needed to be rotated, but the manual says to so I did. I trust the guys, but you can never be too careful so the second time I had the tires rotated, I numbered the tires in a spot only I knew about. When I checked afterwards, the presence of the numbers confirmed that the tires had been rotated.
I noticed something fairly interesting. I bought the car on 12/29/00 with about 55 miles on it. I had the first oil change at 5,171 miles on 4/19/01. Three months later on 7/26/01 with the mileage at 10,114, I had the oil changed for the second time. Now just two months later (and nine months from having bought the car), I am having the oil changed for the third time. I sure have racked up the mileage.
But they have been fun miles and I enjoy my car today as much as I did the day I bought him.
Change oil and filter every three months. I do it on the first day of summer spring winter and fall.
Balance tires once a year at Sears. Lifetime balance $10 per tire. They will rotate tires at that time for free.
Change sparkplugs and air filter at 30k miles. Inspect air filter every two years if you drive less than that. Platinum spark plugs last longer, like maybe every 60k miles.
Change brake fluid every two years. Also the clutch fluid if you have a manual transmission. Inspect brake pads (front) and shoes (rear) once a year. Sears lets me look at the car when its up on the lift for the tire balance which is when I do it.
Change the transmission oil every 30k miles if you have a manual.
Normally I change the coolant in my cars every two years, but the ECHO has long life coolant which Ive never had a car with before. Change it whenever it says to in the owners manual and use the same coolant that came with the car.
Check your exhaist system once a year by starting the engine and before the pipes heat up, covering tail pipe with a rag to make an airtight seal. If the exhaust system is good you will feel air pressure build up and hear a pop when you remove the rag. Dont let the pressure build up too mcuh or you might blow the muffler off the pipe! If you feel no pressure at all, that means theres a hole in the system. (probably the muffler) Id have Toyota change it because if they do it after that its free for the life of the car.
After the car has like 60k miles on it, every year check the waterpump by grabbing the pulley and rocking it feeling for play. Also, check under the car with the engine running for leaks.
Also after 60k miles or five years, check the boots on the front axle (four of them) for cracks every time you change the oil. You want to catch the boots before they really go because if you drive around with cracked boots youll ruin the joints which cost like $$$ to replace. When you see one boot go bad, have them all replaced. Also at 60 k miles, the valves need to be adjusted. Let Toyota do that as its complicated. (almost no other car uses the method ECHO does to adjust the valves) After 60k miles you can expect the water pump, muffler, and axle boots to go at some point. Quite possibly they will last longer, but at this point you want to keep an eye on them and replace then BEFORE they go.
Consult your owners manual for what needs to be inspected at the interval suggested. This is things like balljoints, tie rod ends, gas cap gasket (important on a FI car!) Whatever the manual says inspect at that interval. Read the owners manual from cover to cover regarding maintainance and do what it says. If you have a question, the answer is porbably in the OM>
In general, use Toyota air filters, mufflers, coolant, shocks. You dont need to use Toyota oil, oil filters. But in general, its a good idea to use Toyota products you wont go far wrong.
They have eliminated the erroneous paragraph that says you would have to roll down your own windows if you got a fully loaded Echo.
I will admit that curiosity got the better of me last time the ad appeared and I called the number listed.
I talked to the supposed seller and asked, "So the Echo has ABS?" "No," came the reply, "Echoes don't even have ABS as an option." I did not tell him that ABS is available as an option.
I asked him about the price and he said that he got a good deal on the car when he bought it and so he wanted to see someone else get a good deal.
I have a feeling that there is something majorly wrong with this Echo and some car dealership is having one of their salesman pretend to be private selling it.
Some would say I am wasting this guy's time and if he and the car are legit, I apologize. But if the guy is some kind of scammer, he deserves to have his time wasted.
Don
Nashville, TN
today i got stuck in the sand at the beach, and got unstuck, and went on with the trip and i noticed when we got back on the highway after i hit 60 mph the steering wheel shook really bad, well i figured there was sand in the wheel wells or something so we went to a do-it-yourself carwash and i cleaned under the wheels and even the engine compartment (where there was also sand). it still did it , i don't know what to do, it gets very shaky after 60 mph, if you have any ideas please e-mail me at smonk59@hotmail.com, thanks
The Echo made the cut and was a finalist in the Under $18,000 category. There were three finalists in this category. The winner was the Honda Civic LX. The other finalist was the VW Golf GLS.
My early 80's Tercel got wacked so hard in a grocery store lot that it jumped up in the air, and ended up part way out of the parking spot. Not a mark on it..
I think the bumper laws need beefed up..
A local dealer is offering to sell me a new 2001 Echo Roxy Edition for $13k flat. Car has upgrade packages 1, 2, and 3 plus the Roxy junk, although the roof rack is a nice touch. He tells me that the "make you dizzy" Roxy seat covers can be removed, revealing the normal seat covers. Good price for a leftover or not discounted enough? Guess I would be stuck with the side striping if I bought it. The car has an automatic transmission. Not sure yet if it has the cold weather group but suspect it does. Thanks.
And if you can't take off the ROXY seat covers, you can always cover them up.
Don
Nashville, TN
My first thought is "How much of a rear crumple zone is there?" My second thought is "What kind of performance do you get out of a 1.3L engine?" (I find the US standard 1.5L plant quite suitable to task.)
Hey, just for fun, let's imagine what could be possible if Toyota dropped in the VVTi engines from the new Celica or RAV4 into an ECHO hatch. . . . It would make a compelling alternative to a Focus ZX3 or Civic Si for the thrill-on-a-budget crowd.
O.k., to be honest, below 3000 rpm the engine is not that strong, but over 3000 rpm the performance is very good.
Max speed of the Yaris Verso 1.3 is 165 kmh (103mph).
My experience while driving through Germany (no speed limit) is that the car can cruise at that speed for hours.
On a very fast downhill section the speedo even showed 198 kmh (123 mph). Thats quite impresive for a 1.3 L engine!
The car is quiet and feels safe even at very high speed.
Did you have the work done at a Toyota dealer and use original replacement parts.Also did you look for undercarriage damage?Why did the airbag not deploy?Are they designed to only deploy in certain situations or was it a malfunction?
Oh PAT, why don't we have an owners' club for the Echo? This board is pretty active and it is mainly active from posts of actual owners.
He has his Echo tinted with 12% tint all round and he has a strip of tint at the top of his windshield.
He says the tint and putting up a sunshield keeps the Echo about 20 degrees cooler than before the tint, but he has a thermometer and he has seen it get one hundred and forty degrees inside the car.
Legal limit in Missouri is 33% (I believe) so that is what I am going to get.
The one incident was when I hit a patch of black ice and I ended up sliding all over the place. Fortunately, there were no cars that close and I kept my cool. I was not going very fast (under 20mph) when I hit the black ice so I don't think the problem was speed, but I don't think it was the car either.
As winter gets closer and closer, I feel confident that the Major (my car is Major Tom) will see me through.
:-)
Pat
Host
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