Toyota Echo

echoluvrst

Just to have complete information, I have talked to one of the dealers I am working with and he told me that here in the USA, Toyota Finance has dealers tell people that interest is 9.5%, but that it might change (to a higher rate) based on a person's credit history. It will also change 2 to 3 percentage points for a longer loan of 72 months.

bklynboy

The dealer rep I spoke with said Toyota finance was 9%+.

For those who haven't seen it, the front cover of the 2001 Consumer Reports Buying Guide (the book edition of Consumer Reports) sports a red, four door (drum roll, please)....... ECHO! Pretty cool.

janbee

Thanks for braggin bklynboy! Ill have to take a look!!!

cliffy1

Rates vary by region. The standard rate is around 9% right now but in some parts of the country, there may be subsidized rates. Each region sets its own incentive programs and if there is a serious surplus of cars in a region, they may "buy down" the rate to stimulate buying.

A person with little to no credit can get approved much quicker if they are putting 20% down or if they have a recent college degree and a job in their field.

danny28

I'm back. My wife's got me ripping up the floor to fix it before we get a new carpet. What fun!

Shalene
I'm in Manitoba and had my Echo since May. The Manitoba dealers here have got together and gotten Toyota Canada's support to "stick to" the published "Access Toyota" prices shown on their website at:

http://www.toyota.ca/avalon_index.html

If you haven't been there, you need to go because these prices are about $100 less than the MSRP, and you can see exactly what the various option prices, body styles etc. do to the "Access" - (I read as ) starting point price.

You see, what I found is they may stick together on this no trade price, but there is a way to get around it and negotiate, if that's what you want to do. I found that none of 4 dealers would budge on this, for cash, with a written RFQ (request for quote), or for even 2 cars in one deal! (my brother was buying too).

However, the way around it is to bring in some kind of a trade. Any old piece of junk will do. When I brought my truck into the deal, the competition really began. I worked with 4 different dealers here in Winnipeg, and got down to what I thought was a "rock bottom" deal. They would trade me straight for a $16,100 (access price) demo unit.

Then I went to a 5th dealer out in the country and got a $15759 brand new coupe (2 dr, auto, silver) PLUS $1440 cash for the same truck. That works out to $17173 for the truck ! The thing is, once you bring a trade into the equation, nobody can say for sure what you're paying for the new car. Of course, most dealers know a lot more about trade in values than their customers , so they use this to their advantage and try to convince you that you're paying less for the new car, when really they're not giving you enough for the trade.

I had advertised my truck in Auto Trader, and kept on top of their website for Canada-wide listings of the same make and model, so I had a pretty good idea what it was worth. If you do this, however, you really have to do your homework and move cautiously because some dealers really tried to pressure me to buy when it turned out they were giving me as much as $3000 less for my truck than what I finally ended up getting.

I hope this helps you...

danny28

Note that the above prices are in $ Canadian. (about 65c US per $CDN)

echoluvrst

Yesterday, My roommate and I were coming back from Stroud's (the finest fried chicken in Kansas City) and I stopped off at QuikTrip to get gas and a Saturday paper.

My roommate was looking through the paper and she saw an ad for an Echo at a very good price. So good that I thought it was worth the look.

I am looking at a 2001 four door automatic with upgrade packages 1, 2, the all weather guard package, and floor mats. It is not manual like I want, it does not have abs like I want, and it does not have side impact air bags like I want, but life is a series of compromises.

I went to Carsdirect.com to see if the price was a good one and it would not let me configure a car like the one I saw. It would not let me combine an automatic with the all weather package.

Was I mistaken in thinking the car I looked at had the all weather guard package and automatic?

My roommate and I have an appointment to go take a look at the car again tomorrow. It was about thirty minutes to closing when we got there yesterday and pretty cold so I did not want to stick around and talk turkey.

I slept on it and have decided that even though it is not my dream Echo, I could see myself in the car. If they can finance me with no money down and payments of a certain amount a month, I will be driving home in a brand new Echo tomorrow.

jimr1818

In the new Consumer Reports Buying Guide, the Toyota Echo is well regarded and received their coveted recommended rating, while the Ford Focus did not receive their recommended rating because of poor reliability.

mong1

Cool, how is the car test drive goes? What color is that Echo, did you get it? Man, you're lucky...

I still have to wait. Did I tell you that the dealer call me the other day? Well, this is what happened, the dealer and said they have a Seafoam Blue Hybrid going out... she said the Seafoam Blue is killing... she asked me if I want to drop by and have a look at the Seafoam Blue color, kind of get me excited. Too bad I was working and can't find a time to drop by to look at it.

Anyway, I'm counting... man, still have 7 weeks to go. BTW, have you notice that there're tons of Focus driving on the street lately? Man, I sawa at least 5 yesterday. When I was following a Yellow Bettle yesterday, I kind of admire it a little bit. When you look at it from the back, it looks so balance and the curve is so well design, and the height of the car (it's higher that Echo)... All of the sudden, I just realize there're more Bettle than Camry on the road.... nah.... I still like my unique Echo.

janbee

Got pulled over in my ECHO this weekend for speeding, its my first speeding ticket!! ECHO is bad!!!! LOL, its hard not to go fast in these little cars, they have such great pep!!!

melodyecho

The suspense is killing me. Did you bite the bullet and buy the Echo? They know you love the car, so I hope you stuck to your guns about price. Let us know. I saw my cars twin in Brookside this weekend. I almost stopped to leave a note on the windshield. They would have probably thought I was a little nutty.
To the post about the Red Echo on the Consumer Reports Buying Guide. I am glad to see my little red car on the cover. It makes me feel even better about my choice of car.

echoluvrst

There is no Echo sitting in my drive way. We just could not come to financial terms. I told them I wanted the Echo at the price they advertised a similar Echo. They said no problem. I said I want to pay no money down. No problem. I said I want to finance the sales tax. No problem was the answer. They wanted anywhere from $299 to $311 a month payments and I told them no. The salesman went to see what his sales manager could work out and they refused to budge. My roommate and I then walked. It would have been a Black Sand Pearl. I just got home and did some number crunching to figure out the interest rate they wanted to charge me and it came out to 17.5 percent. Yikes! Oh well, God just did not intend for me to have that car right now.

ernieecho

Mong1-what did you mean by the comment that they are killing the Seafoam blue? Are they not making them anymore? Mine is Seafoam blue...

MelodyEcho-I left a note on a fellow Echo and got a very excited note back. Lots of happy, excited exclamation points. It was neat.

The Bug I think is the only car that is taller than the Echo. Echos are cuter though.

echoluvrst

The Echo I saw advertised was "on sale" for $12,442. Sales tax added on would have made the amount financed around $13,312. I went to my credit union's website and used a basic loan calculator to figure out the interest rate. I put in the amount financed, the length of term, and then kept plugging in different interest rates until the payment amount equaled $299 which showed me the interest rate was 17.5.

mong1

echoluvrst,
Sorry about your finance problem... Have you try all dealers? I'm not sure if this is true, people said the Echo price will drop after this year... as we enter year 2001, the 2001 car is no longer that new, so price might be slightly different. When I told people that I will get my car next year January, that's the kind of response they give me : Wouldn't it be cheaper if you buy that car a few months later?

17.5 financing is way too high...


ernieecho,
Well, it could be a culture difference thing... when I say the "color is killing", that mean the color is so fantastic/perfect/nice (all the possible best words you can use to describe something good) that you will kill yourself to get one of those.

They do have Seafoam blue, I mean you have to special order it from the manufacturer. The 2001 Echo brochure is still shoing it, if you go to toyota.com and click on the Echo link, you will see a seafoam flue echo at the front page, and the color is available in isthistoyota.com as well. I call 1-800-gotoyota (something like that, the number is available at the website), and they said if the color is shown in the website, that mean they are making it, it's just a matter of it's not available in all region. For instance, someone from Canada posted here saying that the Seafoam blue is not available in Canada.

Oh, the Bug is shorter than Echo... hmm... something too short but tall, kind of wired, did I tell you that when I was tailing the Bug.... its back look so big.... like a big butt! Does anyone know why the bug is so tall? Does it has mroe head room? My ex-roommate got a blue bug... hmm... looks like we have a competition here.

echoluvrst

I felt the price was pretty good so it was not a matter of it being too high. It was the interest rate. If you can read between the lines of some of my posts, you may have figured out that my credit is not that good.

I just got done talking to a lady at my credit union and she holds out hope that even with my credit history, I can get 10 to 12 percent money.

If I go the ordering route, they would pre-approve me for 90 days and then extend that if needed. When the car came in, they would do the final paperwork then.

Just to be prepared, I have asked a couple of the dealers I have been dealing with to give me a quote on a car similar to the special order, but without ABS and side impact air bags. I might just get my car then and not do a special order.

Time will tell.

melodyecho

Get a finance package in place at a local bank or credit union before you go to the dealership. It was a big help. One dealership did try the monthly payment scam on me. Keeping the financing separate from the purchase of the vehicle made my purchase much less stressful. I knew up front how much credit debt I could actually afford by doing the leg work with the credit union up front. Several banks in this area of good rates also. I was able to get an 8% interest rate because of a 1% discount incentive and setting my payments up as an automatic deduction. I actually like this better, I will not have to worry about getting a late fee for not getting a payment in on time. Do not let yourself get scammed by the dealer just cause you love a car.

echolalia

It has been 1 year ago since I purchased my red 4 doors automatic for 14K. I drove it over 16,000 miles...a good mixtures of city and highway driving. I prefer driving it in the city but not on the freeway due to its supersensitivity to crosswind.
I used to average 35 miles to a gallon but lately that number dropped to a recent low of 29 mpg due to my new aggressive driving habit.
The wheels cover I guess making a lot of bothering noise if I leave the windows open (I am too lazy to take it to the dealer to complain). The ECHO car has a bumpy ride compared to my other car a 91 corolla DX due to its light weight body. It has less gut than the Corolla (weaker acceleration feel). I bought the car solely because of its tall upright sitting position sort of minivan_like which ease my back pain a bit.
Plastic body molding start popping out from both sides of rear fenders. The variable VVTi engine start to make louder tingling noise at idle due to my previous harsh driving habit(I enjoy pushing this little toy to the limit whenever I have a chance). I hope it will last me for a while before I'll trade it in for another car with a V6. I am not happy with the late mpg that the ECHO gave (same as the automatic Corolla) eventhough I gave it a fourth oil change already....maybe the lowered mpg is due to quick worn cylinders lining.

echomania

I don't know what you are doing to that car to get 29mpg. My Echo is getting ready to turn 16,000, and the lowest mpg I've had to date on a tank of gas is 37 mpg. It is averaging right at 40 mpg, about 80% highway. It's is a 4 door automatic and a lot of the 40 mpg tanks were achieved with a/c on. I also drive between 65 and 70 mph on the highway.

sonatafan

I traded in a 91 Prizm (Corolla) automatic for my Echo 5 months ago and I haven't noticed less "gut" between the two. Of course my Echo is a five speed, which brings me to a question: Why drive an Echo to it's limits if it is an automatic? I'm on the road in mine 6 hours out of my workday and sometimes I really have to push her to the limit, but the manual gearbox makes this little car fly.
As far as the gas mileage, maybe youv'e damged a spark plug or something is amiss otherwise. Remember just because there aren't any idiot lights on the dash lit doesn't mean there isn't a problem.

danny28

I think it would be a good idea to take your Echo to the dealer because:
Sudden reduction in mileage + mechanical noises + loss of power = mechanical problems !

danny28

So far, I have tallied up at least 7 errors that various reviewers have made in their assessments of the Echo. It's not so much that they considered the following features to be problems, as that they didn't see the positive side of the feature they discussed. I think that other readers of this topic may find this list interesting, and may also be able to add to this ad hoc "error report".

1)"air vents don't close" - this is simple a matter of not bothering to ask for training from the salesman. Like my old Austin Mini, the vents close by rotating them 90 degrees about the pitch axis.
2) "vibration at idle" - since this is an ecologically friendly vehicle, and designed to maximize mileage in stop and go driving, naturally the idle speed is set as low as possible to conserve fuel at idle, even at the expense of the occupants sensibilities.
3) "skinny tires" - most reviewers point out the down side of small tires, but very few note the advantages of: low unsprung weight yielding a smoother ride, lower rolling resistance, lower coefficient of drag, better in most wet conditions, and lower cost.
4) "funny styling" - some reviewers fail to mention that this styling is similar to the Prius and Insight Hybrid vehicles and that it results in the lowest drag coefficient (0.30)of any vehicle in it's class, and the only compact interior volume in a vehicle of subcompact exterior dimensions.
5) "loud engine noise at high RPM" - this is due to an unusual valve in the muffler that only opens under maximum performance conditions. I.E. it only bypasses the muffler under extreme need to wring the last drop of performance out of the vehicle. For those of us who are concerned about the fact that gasoline is a finite resource and know that we will live to see the day when we can't afford to fill our tanks, the extra noise produced in the few situations calling for full performance is not an issue.
6) "wide front pillars" see post #244
7) "offset speedo" see post #244 .

echolalia

Have anyone noticed rattling noises from her(his) ECHO's dashboard? Mine is pretty bothersome especially on even minor bumpy roads. Maybe I need to bring my little cuty to the dealer soon for them to fix the rattling dashboard, replacing the 4 noisy wheel covers, and the pop out rear plastic fenders... under warranty (hopefully). I have noticed the rubber cover of the handle which lower the 60/40 back split seat also fell off. I had to snap it back by myself.

echolalia

from driving 60 % city and 40 % highway. I am pretty heavy footed on my automatic ECHO. I expected to get at least 31 mpg. Maybe I need to bring it to the dealer for a check up. My ECHO just past 16000 miles.

echolalia

When I first bought the ECHO...I was scared to death on the freeway when there was heavy wind. One day on highway 5 the wind was so strong that it pushed my ECHO off my driving lane several times(luckily there was no cars nearby).
On normal freeway driving I did noticed that I had to adjust the steering wheel constantly to avoid crosswind...unlike other cars that I had. You feel like getting pushed over when driving pass large cars or trucks at speed over 65 miles per hour. Now I am getting use to correcting the steering wheel and it does not bother me much anymore. But we ECHO owners need to be aware that the danger of being a tall light weight is always there.

bklyn_echolvr

Hi - I've been reading these messages for a while as I researched prices on the Echo, and was happy to find that people seem to love the car, which made it easier for me to actually decide to buy my own. I loved the way it looked when I first saw it, and now I love it even more since driving it - all 68 miles so far! My only problem is that when I went to pick it up at the dealer, there was a tiny dent in the roof and some mini scratches. So I have to bring it back and let them fix it. I hope it comes back looking its best, and I'm not too thrilled about getting a Corolla as a loaner!

babyboomer

Received my December issue and I very
pleased with the positive review. And the wife
was impressed too. I wonder if the infamous
Edmund's reviewer read it?

kneisl1

Does anyone know of a repair manual for ECHO? I know there is a mantainance manual mentioned at the end of the owners manual, but I wanted something that shows how to take the whole thing apart so I can work on the brakes, adj the valves, etc. TIA

Paul

leeaaron

I purchased my 2001 Toyota Echo in early October of this year. I have had it for a little over a month now and the car is superb. The only thing I could possibly find to complain about would be that the pick-up is not always consistant and it picks up quite slowly on a slightly uphill slant. On flat land it sure accelerates real well though. Does anybody else notice that their Echo is not consistant in acceleration? It just seems to me that sometimes pushing the pedal doesn't register quite right. If anyone notices this please post a response. Other than that the car is much better to drive than any other 4-cylinder that i have ever put my foot down on, and what an excellent stereo for a factory system.

sonatafan

Every manufacturer offers a complete service manual for their vehicles that is available at your local dealership's parts department. The service manual can range in price from dealer to dealer but I think MSRP on it is $50. Call your local dealership and ask about it.
By the way, I don't think you'll need to adjust the valves on the Echo!

kneisl1

The owners manual says adjust the valves at 60k miles and gives clearance values. Is it true that the camshaft is chain driven? And where is the waterpump and how is it driven. I don't see a belt for it.

jlb43

could someone please tell me the advantages and disadvantages of an echo vs. a corolla on issues such as handling (cornering and hazard avoidance), ride smoothness, safety in crashes, price/value, comfort and fuel economy? Is a head air bag, which you can't get on the echo, an important safety feature? I like the style of the echo better but wondered if the corolla was a more prudent choice given the relatively modest price difference. Is there any data yet on the echo's maintaining its value in resale, or is it just far too early to tell? And which car would be less expensive to insure? Thanks!

echoz

I was wondering whether the highly engineered engine in the Echo has a knock sensor or not. If so then it must perform better with the better quality of fuel, i.e. higher octane.

danny28

Jonathan
I compared the Echo with the Corolla and several other compacts before I chose the Echo. These were the deciding factors for me:
1) More head room.
2) More interior volume with less exterior dimensions especially width.
3) Folding rear seats that were only available here with an expensive option package on the Corolla.
4) Better gas mileage.
5) Lower cost if minimally equipped as I wanted.
6) Better performance due to lighter weight.
7) More advanced styling.

danny28

Hi Paul
Yes, the Echo does have a timing chain vs. a belt. the longer life expectancy of the chain vs. belt is something one salesman dwelt on with me.

Sorry, I don't know where the water pump is. Now I'll have to go and see for myself. But remember, it's a Toyota. You probably won't have to change it for another 300,000 miles or so !

danny28

I don't know about the knock sensor, but it's likely, given the high compression ratio and regular gas requirement.

I accidentally filled up with Premium on one tank and it didn't help my mileage though. I check it on every tank. How's that for compulsive behavior !

lynnann1

I've found that since it's started to get cold if I don't let the Echo warm up, it's a little resistant shifting from 3rd to 4th (auto trans). Anyone else noticing this? Once the cold engine light goes out its fine. Did not have this trouble in warm weather.

Leeaaron - We have found that when in 4th gear going uphill sometimes there is not enough oomph to the car. Generally rather than pushing down on the pedal I hit the O/D off button, the car downshifts nicely and pulls up the hill.

tickbitty

maybe you can tell me a couple of things about aftermarket cruise controls - I have a unit my dad was going to put in my new car, (he used the same one in my old car and his miata) It would basically be free. But then I was warned that with new cars, and the computers, airbags, etc, you can really screw things up trying to wire anything else into the steering column. It scared us out of doing anything, but I do miss my cruise, and it would be like 2,000 dollars or something ridiculous like that, to get aftermarket put in by the dealer. (I have a focus ZX3, not an echo) Thanks for any info you can impart on this...

echoluvrst

Given that I may end up buying an Echo that is already on the ground, I asked the dealers to submit some quotes for a car without the ABS, side impact airbags, and (I thought without) alloy wheels.

One dealer has already responded and gave me a quote which listed the codes for the options. To decipher it and to see if alloy wheels were included, I went to Edmunds.com.

I notice that Edmunds now has a price generator where it adds up the price for you. One word of caution! Actually, several words.

It does not prevent you from double selecting. That is you can select an option package and also select an item in the package. You can also select items that cannot go together. You could select the 3in1 and also the 6 CD changer.

After checking the invoice price against what the dealer was quoting me, I went back to see if I could double select items. I ended up with an Echo that had an invoice price in the mid 15s and the MSRP somewhere in the 17s.

Hopefully, Edmunds will fix this eventually and people will not be able to double select.

echoluvrst

I really think the problems you are having with your Echo are due to your abusing the car and no inherent defect. I think you really need to take your "baby" to the dealer and you need to stop abusing your car so badly.

kneisl1

The advantages of "skinny" tires: less rolling resistance, less wear on front end components, rolls easier through deep snow, less chance of hydroplaning, less chance of belt separation (a la Ford Explorer) Actually these are series 65 tires, which refers to the distance from the rim to the tires outside diameter, which is what most cars these days come with anyway.
Having had my ECHO for a week I do have one "complaint". The shifter is notchy. NOTCHY! NOTCHY! NOTCHY! At least as bad as the three on the tree in my 78 Chevy C10. I mention this not to stir the [non-permissible content removed]...just in the hopes Toyota will fix it someday. Perhaps it will improve with age. EVERYTHING else about the car has been a pleasent suprise. For a small car the car is QUIET, even at speed. It has plenty of get up and go. Getting into it with the two bulged and one ruptured disk in my back is easy...easier than ANY other car I test drove. It's very roomy inside. The trunk is way bigger than it has any business being in a car this small. The car appears to be very well made, unlike the KIA and DAEWOO I drove, and not that much more money. No one needs a sedan any bigger than this one. I've always thought that no car should be made with an engine bigger than 2 liters because of the environment and because we're begging for another gas crisis with all the SUVs with eight cylindar engiones running around. I'll have to change that to 1.5 liters after owning ECHO.

Paul

vadp

The Echo like the majority of the cars is designed for the regular grade.
Using the higher-octane gas will not improve performance since the engine's compression is not high enough.
Actually it can make things worse.

sonatafan

I have had mine for 14,600 miles and the shifter is still very notchy. It seems the faster you try to shift it, the more it resists moving through the gate.
lynnann1: The transmission prevents upshift to overdrive when the engine is cold. This is normal behavior for a Toyota. Even my 84 Cressida was this way.

thoover

My local Toyota shop could not get the molded mud guards to fit the Echo for some reason. Here is a source - I got a set to fit my Echo (with body cladding) and they fit good and look nice (as far as mud flaps go).

http://www.toyotapart.com/accessories/index.htm

melodyecho

Read your owner manuals. I read mine the first night I got my car. My husband and I both noticed that the manual advices you not to drive over 60 miles per hour for the first few thousand miles. It says the life of your motor will be shortened drastically if you do not follow this guideline. I am really watching it. To the owner who has been abusing their little Echo. Shame on you.

tgeezer

There is a current auction for mud flaps on eBay, search "toyota echo". I picked up a set last week for the reserve of $ 44.99 plus S&H of $ 5.00. The seller is the parts department of a Toyota dealer in Coravallis, Oregon who get them from Canada (which would explain the French writing on the box) since the US dealers apparently can't get them yet. This is less than your source and in the photos they really look sharp. Installation is by backing out a few screws on the inner wheel well shroud plus having to drill one additional mounting screw.

This auction comes and goes about every week and maybe one could e-mail the seller directly if you choose not to mess around with the auction.

I am still looking for a set of the small rain deflectors that mount above the windows that allow you to crack the windows open without getting rained on.

cwo4

Just got back from a 2000 mile, 2 week trip from Eastern NC to Key West Fla and back. Just the Mrs. and I. No kids or grandkids, just us kids. FYI I got 41.6 mpg at 55-65 mph, 34 mpg at 85mph and a $50 speeding ticket in South Carolina. Kinda offset the great fuel economy. Ride was great hour after hour. Only saw 4 or 5 ECHOS the entire trip. All going the other way. I highly recommend the ECHO to anyone wanting solid reliable transportation.

danny28

I'm really happy with the aftermarket cruise control I had installed. It's made by "Specific Cruise Systems". They have a web page. I'll try to find it for you. The unit cost me $370 CDN plus taxes installed. That's about $240 US. Your dealer is ripping you off.

My Toyota service manager said that he would install it for the same price, but he didn't care if I had it done. As long as it was by a "reputable" I.E. professional installer, it wouldn't affect the warranty. The only caveat he threw in was that the warranty wouldn't cover damage done by the cruise control or it's installation, but I think that goes without saying.

I talked to the installer ahead of time who said he wouldn't cut any wires and only had to put in one insulation dispacement type of "t-splice". That's the same kind used by most trailer connectors. they don't damage the wires much. Your dad could probably explain this to you if this sounds like Greek.

I also insisted that he not drill holes since the servo motor mounts on the inner fender in a place where there's lots of spray from the right front wheel. We get a fair amount of rust here in the spring so I was concerned about creating bare metal in a critical area. The installer fashioned a special bracket out of two of their universal brackets and was able to install the servo motor on two existing holes in the fender.

I hope this helps.

P.S. See my cautions in previous posts about the aftermarket throttle arm. Make sure it doesn't come near the fan shroud! This is important. Otherwise there is a risk of a stuck throttle ! Very dangerous !

danny28

well said !

danny28

About what kneisl1 said about the automatic not going into overdrive when cold. I believe that this helps the engine warm up quicker. It also ensures that the alternator is putting out lots of juice to run that electric heater.

Leearon
When you taled about a lack of oomph on slight inclines, were you referring to operation at highway speeds in 4th gear (Overdrive)? If so, in addition to what lynnann reported, I'd like to add this:

Toyota have advertised new electronic shift logic in this vehicle which minimizes "hunting" between 3rd and 4th gears on mild inclines. In case you're not familiar with the term, hunting is short for "hunting for the right gear", and refers to the tendency of some automatics to switch back and forth repeatedly between 3rd and 4th gears on hills.

Presumably, what Toyota did was to hold the transmission in 4th gear longer when it senses an increasing incline, so that once it finally decides that a downshift is necessary, it is less likely to shift back into 4th as soon as it has gained a little speed. This may account for the "mushy" feel you reported. Lynnann1 reported on the remedy.

Additionally, I have noticed that my automatic is very aggressive about upshifting when I accelerate slowly. In other words it gets into 4th gear very quickly when compared to other automatics. This is undoubtedly a fuel economy feature since, most engines are more efficient at a lower speed for a given power output. This is particularly true for the low power outputs used to accelerate gently.

The downside, of course is that you may find yourself operating in 4th gear when traveling relatively slowly while encountering an incline. Once again, Lynnann1's remedy holds.