Toyota Echo Owners: Meet the Members

Karen_S

Please take a moment to introduce yourself and share some details about your Echo!

My name is KarenS and I am the host of the Edmunds.com Owner's Clubs. Please let me know what discussions you would like to see in your Club folder. I will create them ASAP. You may want to take a look through the other clubs to get ideas for discussions.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

KarenS
Host
Owner's Clubs

astro8

Hi, I am Astro...I bought a 2001 Echo in May..I will post pictures as soon as I can..Have over 12,000 miles and no problems..A great car and great gas mileage..5 Speed, averaging 42-46 mpg in combined driving. Has anyone changed there gear oil yet?...Thanks!!

majorthomecho

As you can see, I go by the name Major Thom which is a variation of the name I call my Echo, which is Major Tom. I was going to call myself MajorTomEcho, but someone has that name. Anyway.

I like David Bowie and the song Space Oddity and it fits the Echo. The Echo is a space oddity in that it is bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside.

My "baby" is a 2001 four door in black sand pearl with a five speed manual transmission and I have over 17,000 miles on him. Some pretty serious mileage for a car that I purchased slightly less than eleven months ago. I usually average about 40mpg in combined driving with my last fuel economy numbers being over 44mpg in combined driving.

I look forward to continuing to converse with everyone in the main thread.

FYI, Astro, the gear oil was changed in my Echo when I had my 15k maintenance done although the book says it should be done at 30k. If you have any further questions, why not post them in the main Echo thread?

Thanks to Karen for putting an owner's club together for us.

cwo4

Have a 2000 ECHO with almost 55K miles. Bought it new from Cliffy1. I'm mostly a reader, seldom a writer.

janbee

Ive had my 4 door, auto, black sand pearl ECHO for one year now and she almost has 10,000KM..I have had no problems and still love driving it..I am planning on getting the windows tinted sometime this winter and also wish there were more accessories for the ECHO.

slugline

There's an "Echo Owners: Care & Maintenance" topic in this club that is looking rather lonely right now.

rajmoran

My name is Randy Moran and I've been reading and posting occasionally to the town hall since February of '00, the same month I got my ECHO. It's a silver 4-door automatic. I bought it from CarOrder (ahh, the heady days of the Internet gold rush) before they went OOB. I love the car and enjoy reading the many perspectives on it here.

geegee1958

since June of 2000, and I am extremely happy with it. It is my first new car, and I had little trouble deciding to buy it, once I drove it. I live is southern Florida, so there's no ice or snow to drive in, but we do have lots of rain, (and hurricanes), but I've had no problems of any kind (and the a/c is plenty cold enough!). My only regret is not getting a 4 door, since I have 2 cats, and it is a bit of a struggle to get the cat carriers into the back seat, through the front door, because even with the front seat pushed all the way forward, the carriers are wide, and it's a tight fit. Oh well... maybe on my next Echo.

kaz6

My name is Kazuma and I own a '01 4-dr w/5spd in Electric Green. I just passed 17,500 miles and love my car more and more. I average 36mpg in mixed (LA) traffic.

lynnann1

My name is Lynn. I had to talk my husband into the Echo (he was leaning toward buying a Focus, but since this was going to be my car he conceded). He has decided he really likes the Echo, especially when we went on a long trip 2 weeks after we bought her and got 41 mpg. We bought her Memorial Day weekend in 2000 and she now has a little over 13,330 miles. My car is silver with the sport cladding, only thing I wish it really had is the split rear seat.

qabrb

My name is Brian. Have had our 2001 Echo for about a 2 weeks now. The wifes old Mazda Protege died, and she drives my 2000 Dodge pickup for her occasional long drives from the LA area up to Sacramento or Watsonville, so I use the Echo to commute each day from Agoura Hills CA to work in Thousand Oaks CA (10 miles each way). Our Echo is the silver version, fabric seats, fold down rear seats, security system with auto locks on the front doors, CD/Tape/radio, spoiler on the rear. I just ordered the armrest from Hasco, hope to install it next week when it gets here from CT. I am a little over 6'2" tall (188 cm) and am impressed by the roominess found in a compact car. The trunk is impressive as well. Love how far you can go on the 12 gallon (45 liter?) tank of fuel.

blackjellybean

Hi all, my name is Mike and I have a black 4 door 2000 Echo that I purchased in January of 2000 from CarOrder.com before they went belly up. I am a commuter so I put about 500 miles a week on it. Currently I have a little over 68,000 miles on it and still runs like it is brand new. It has seen the likes of Las Vegas, Washington DC and New Orleans to name a few.

morefaves

Just bought a 2002 Echo from Star- Toyota in Queens, NY. Compared to Cavalier, Accent, Rio, and Corrolla and decided on Echo. Only complaint is I wanted to get ABS and Daytime Running lights, was told by several dealers that was not available on Echo, even though it's listed as an option.
So far, so good.

krakato

I have a 2000 silver automatic 4 door ECHO named "Gecko" and absolutely LOVE it! I've only got 8600 miles on it because it's a commuting car and I live fairly close to work. After I'd owned it less than a month, I was hit in the left rear door in a multi-car collision caused by an irresponsible driver in a Nissan. It was in the bodyshop for over a month. I sure missed it!

Just recently I've been experiencing a slight problem with acceleration when the engine is cold (Seems crazy in 100 degree temps, but of course even in Tucson in the summer one starts out with the blue "cold" engine light on!) I posted a message about it on the Problems discussion. If anyone has any thoughts, please send them along.

lily888

Hi, It is my first time to buy a car. So a little scared.
I live in Detroit. I am I'm interested in 2002 Honda Civic Dx Auto 4 Dr. and Toyoda Echo Auto 4 Dr. Which one will be fit for the snow weather in Detroit? I usually use my car to commute to work and occasionally drive 4 hours to Chicago on holiday. Could anybody recommend me which one I should buy?
BTW, some people told me that it is a better deal to buying a one or two years used car than buying a new car? Could anyone also tell me your opinion on it?

kneisl1

I have a 2001 silver 2 door ECHO which i paid $13.1k for out the door tax and all. Basically I prefer motorcycles, but one does need a cage now and then. I have a 2001 BMW F650 Dakar which is new and I plan to take out west this summer and a 1992 Honda ST1100 with 84k miles on it. I love the ECHO also however and when I look at it I almost cant believe I have the car I most want to own and drive. (although I would prefer it had a diesel engine. Toyota, make an ECHO diesel and Im there, do you hear?)

jmeyers1

I drove a Cadillac Sedan Deville for 4 years... it was in the repair shop at least once a month... so I first downsized to a 1997 Honda Civic LX... loved the Honda but, after 100,000 miles I was ready to trade in the year 2001... the look of the Toyota Echo caught my eye as well as Toyotas reliability. I have driven this car all over the southeast and recently had the 30,000 mile check up... love the car and I plan on buying another one when I wear this one out!

dfwecho

Hi, I'm DFWEcho. I have a 2000 4dr Electric Green Mica. It has body cladding, auto, CD changer,
( nice stereo )factory installed cruise. I've added Very Dark tinted windows and tinted vent visors, and wrapped my A/C line, thanks to this board.The car was purchased April 01, 2000. The car just turned 60,000 miles with NO mechanical problems to date.
The mighty Echopod as we call it, has grown on my family. Initially the car was an appliance, or device. Affordable transport. After 2 years, we are Echo-ists (sic) and extoll their virtues at the drop of a hat. Mine runs well, gets great mileage, and I can haul around an unbelievable amount of camping gear, shopping bags,etc, or even 4 adults in comfort. I have personally grown very fond of the Pod's looks... I've driven the Matrix, and know about the Scion's, etc.. Are there Any plans for a station wagon based off the Echo, for the US?
Well, thanks for letting me brag on my baby..
DFWEcho

coolguyky7

The closest thing we will get to an ECHO wagon will be the Scion IST. It's based on the ECHO platform, I believe.

mralan

Hey blackjellybean:

How many miles do you have on your ECHO now?

Any problems yet?

Ile

I bought mine on 24 th december 1999. The car's got 68,000 miles. I drove through Indiana, Ohio and Mississppi once not under 105 mph. The car redlines every day at least 3-4 times. I wonder how long will it last. The worst fuel economy was 29.4, the best was 48.2. I love my car.

3nt3rnam3h3r3

Hi, I'm megan, and I just got a 2001 silver echo. It's the manual, and so far has been fun learning to drive it (replaced my 1991 acura legend AUTO. trans.). I live in CA and gas prices are too high to NOT have a car that's great on gas. My echo has 34,000 miles on it, and I'm thinking about upgrading some of the accessories. For example, anyone peeved w/ how dim and yellow the headlights are? I'm not getting used to it... might have to get some hyperwhite bulbs. =]

cpiedrahita

Hello!!

My 2001 ECHO's Scheduled Maintenance Guide states that at 30.000 Miles or 2 years spark plugs need to be replaced, which is required under the Emission Control Warranty. I would like to know if there are any newer model owners that can share with me if this is the same guideline for their models.

I am puzzled by the fact that it seems to soon to change spark plugs. The Corolla 2004 I just bought requires the same change but at 120.000 miles or 96 months.

Any ideas?

THANK YOU!!

jojomonkeyboy

I was just looking for a car to get me back and forth to work. I wanted an inexpensive car that got good gas mileage.

I ended up purchasing a Toyota Echo - I compared, Kia Rio, Ford Focus, Saturn Ion. I didn't go near the Neon, I researched it and it seemed like a mediocre car, with mediocre quality at a not-so-mediocre price. I liked the Saturn Ion the best, as far as the ride, and its clutch. But I wanted a reliable car with a proven history and the Ion was new and didn't have a history. Consumer reports rated the 2003 Echo high on reliability. I drove the Kia Rio and didn't like the ride, or the interior. The car is 169.9" x 65.9" whereas the Echo is 163.2 x 65.4 so the Rio is about 3 inches longer than the Echo - but even with the driver's seat all the way back on the Rio I found the ride uncomfortable. My left leg was bent at an uncomfortable angle, and it was bumping into stuff on the drivers side door - I just thought that it was cramped. The specs say that the Rio has 42.8" legroom and the Echo has 41.1" legroom - but it seemed to me that the Echo has more legroom for the driver. It's amazing that the Echo which is 3" shorter had a more comfortable interior - at least for me, I'm only 6"1'. I can't see why the Rio gets such poor gas mileage compared to the Echo - except its 400 lbs heavier. My feeling at the time was that the 2003 Rio was not going to be a quality car, and I was going to have to hassle with the dealer to get stuff fixed under warranty.

I didn't try the Hyundai - I owned a Hyundai Excell and it was the lowest quality car I've ever owned and my experience with the Service department at the dealership was the worst I've ever had in my life.

I've heard good reviews and bad reviews anout Kia and Hyundai quality. I only know that I owned a Hyundai Excel and the thing was not a very good car and the Service department treated me poorly when I brought it in for warranty repairs. I also put a fair amount of money into the car after the warranty was up.

After my experience with the Hyundai - I wanted to get a high quality car with a proven record of reliabiltiy. I wanted to have as little liklyhood as possible of having to take it into the shop and I was willing to pay more money for that quality.

Yes - Hyundai supposedly has fixed their quality problems - but they will NEVER get me back as a customer.

I paid $11,300 in October of 2003. It's a manual base model. I don't know if AC is standard on the base model but that's the only thing that I can think of on my ECHO that's might be an option. I think I got an OK deal. The 2004 model that they had - which is basically the same car was going for $14,000 and the salesman would'nt budge on the price. I think I got a good deal on the car becasue they wanted to make room for the 2004 and time was running out to sell the 2003 models. I've got 22K miles on my ECHO now, no major problems. My Echo is rated 35 / 43 - I actualy average 37mpg. I'm happy with the purchase so far.

bryanw

I picked up my 2005 Echo four door automatic last week. It's a big change for me. First new car and first import. I have usually bought cheap used cars and kept fixing them until the junkyard beckons. I wanted something eonomical, reliable and simple to maintain that didn't leave fluids all over the driveway. More to talk about at a later date. thanks Bryan

toyotaboi82

I placed a bit on a 2001 Toyota ECHO for $3,900 with 59,500 miles on it. Well I won the bid! Payments are $125 a month for 3 years, and my insurance went down $15 a month from the 1998 Toyota Camry LE I also have. I owe $2,400 on the Camry and am letting my parents pay me for it until it's paid off. The only thing the ECHO needs is a passenger side mirror as the previous owners somehow knocked it off. It has a small dent near the base on the front hood but it does not affect opening and shutting what-so-ever. Hell Toyotas hold value and I believe the value on the car is $8,000 so I did very well! Happy motoring!

ashtonybb

I have an 2002 ECHO 4DR bought on Oct 6, it is still alive with 51K kilometers, more than two years. with regular change oil, change oil filter, i haven't change my air filter! not yet!

dansmith56

I have a 2001 Echo 4 door 5 speed with 52,000 miles. Around town I get about 35 to 38 mpg and on the highway from 30 to 44 mpg.

I would like to know metric or US, what size socket wrench and regular or hex to pull the
top engine black plastic plate to change the spark plugs and also what size to pull the
tops off the plug covers and also what exact size for the plugs so I don't strip anything.

Also, is the oil drain plug accessible without a lift and also the oil filter and what size
ratchet wrench for the oil drain plus. Where are both located?

Where is the radiator drain plug and what size socket also?

Your help is greatly appreciated. I would like to start doing my own oil changes and
also want to install four NGK iridium spark plugs I bought from rockauto.com for
$6.22 each plus shipping. A good place to order parts. Air filters from themare only
about $6.25 plus shipping. rockauto.com

If you have pictures or diagrams, that would be even better.

PS Anybody have any RECALL INFOR on 2001 Echos to share as I have moved
several times and Toyota no longer has my address.

How do I contact Toyota in North America to give them my new address?

thank you!

Dan

nippononly

Hi everyone! I didn't even know the little Echo had an owners club.

Bought my silver 2002 4-door last week, manual shift, 60K miles. It's got A/C and cruise, the stereo is a very decent aftermarket Pioneer CD.

So far I am totally sold. Very comfy seats, six speaker stereo, and almost 40 mpg in mixed suburban driving. Mine has the certified warranty, paid $9000 which included four new Toyo Spectrums.

I am wondering if anyone else here has put on tires that were wider than the stock size. I am aware that would reduce gas mileage, 175s just look so skinny though! I am hoping to keep this car a very long time.

rathore

HELLLP PLEASEEEEE heyyy i have a 2001 manual echo and im working on the sound system...i was just wondering if anyone could tell me how to remove the passanger and driver side speakers...i took out the door panels no problem but now the speakers are embedded and it looks like i need a special drikk bit im stuck so if anyone could help me it would be greatly appreciated

moparblue2

we have 2004 echo just had front speakers change a local stereo shop. 30.00 dollars & a warratiy. 30.00 dallors is good peace of mind. did not have to worrie about breaking anything.

ogalvan

Hi,
I have a 2003 toyota echo. Great little car. I decided to change the oil myself. Got under may car and tried to wratchet the drain plug and could'nt get it loose. It accured to me maybe this is not the drain plug. Soooo the bolt I was trying to loosen is right by the oil filter. Is this correct? Please respond my car is up on two wheels right now. I would appreciate it.

retaliator

Hi i am Asad Khaliq. I am from Pakistan. I have Toyota Platz 2001. Platz is the Japnese name for Echo. I bought it second hand, 35000 km driven. It has a 1.0 L engine. car seems underpowered after driving my Nissan Sunny 83-fitted with a 1.7L diesel engine. But it is okay for Pakistani roads. Its a nice car. comfy but not luxurious. suspension is not as tought as that of my sunny. you hear noise if it passes over bumps. Digital guages are nice and practical: their placement in the center of the dashboard is not at all inconvenient. roomy interior: i am 6' 2''.

Platz/echo/yaris/vitz are not easy to maintain in pakistan as they are not support by Toyota Pakistan. people have some trouble finding spare parts. the good thing is these cars doesnt require much maintainence.

I am facing a problem right now: i dont have its owners manual. i cant find it here. ebay doesnt deliver things here in Pakistan. even if i find it, it would be in Japnese. So i am looking for Toyota Echo 2000's owners manual. If anybody has a soft copy of it then kindly mail me at asadkhaliq@gmail.com.

xntrk

Hey.

cK here from Toronto, Canada. I just purchased a 2004 Echo RS and I can't wait to get going. I've been looking fwd to getting an echo for years now and the last 3 months of doing my homework has really opened my eyes to one of the best sub compact out there. I loved my civic and have been a Civic owner from the start. It's time to venture outside the realm of tuners and get into something economical.

Wish me luck!
*wink*

nippononly

mopar71

I love my echo,great gas mileage.

koneill

Help!! I need an owner's manual for my 2001 Echo, ans cannot find mine anywhere. I have looked online but have come up empty. Does anyone know how I can get a manual? Thanks in advance.

Kevin O

kneisl1

The only place i can think of is a Toyota dealer. Theres really not a lot in it. Whatd you want to know?

dustymoonrise

Have had my Echo since Aug., 2004. Have 120,000 miles on it. other than normal tune-ups, oil changes, etc., I have had no problems with this car! I think that Toyota would have done well to have kept this model on the market for a couple of more years at least! I like the look of the Echo far more than that of the Yaris!

nippononly

"I like the look of the Echo far more than that of the Yaris!"

Me too. The Echo is quirky, yes, but the Yaris disappears in the parking lots of America. They went so mainstream they dulled the model a lot when they brought out the Yaris.

My Echo is at almost 93K, nary a problem so far. 4 doors, 5 speeds. :-)

dustymoonrise

True, but I like "quirky"! Nissan could do well to stop "recycling" styles on their models...i.e., the "new" Altima looks like the old Maxima. the "new" Maxima looks like the old Altima, the Rogue looks like the Murano, etc, ad nauseum! The only "new" style they have is on the Versa hatchback, but when they rolled out the sedan version, they made it look like the Sentra! At least Toyota has some "stand-alone" styles!

The neatest thing about my Echo? The "nose down" front end. With the downward slanting side windows, and the short hood, the visibility for the driver is phenomenal!

dake

I'm late to the game, but might as well dive in. I bought an '01 Echo back in '04 with 75,000 miles on it. It was a single-owner and had been bought new and serviced at the same dealer who sold it to me, so I got all the service records. I drive far less than average (about 9000 miles a year), so I still haven't broken the 100K mark, but it'll happen within the next month or so.

I love my Echo, it's been such a great little car. I've had Toyotas pretty much my entire life. I started with an '85 Van that I traded in at 225,000 miles on an '87 Celica in '94. The Celica got flooded in a tropical storm in '01 at 199,000 miles (otherwise I'd probably still be driving it! ). After the Celica I got an '89 Chevy Nova which was just a rebadged Toyota Corolla. The CV joints started going out on that around 100K (the boots got torn, so it was only a matter of time), so instead of fixing it, I donated it and got my Echo.

I love knowing I've got a car that I can drive for as long as I need to. A car I can always just get in to and start up. There's a reason Toyota is becoming the number 1 auto maker and it's quality like this across the board, from the least to most expensive cars.

*on a side note to the poster asking about what size bolts on Toyotas, they use 10mm for darn near everything.

thegreyone

G'day. I'm Denis (TheGreyOne), father of a 19 yr old who bought his first car... a cute little red 2000 Echo Coupe with 255k km (or 160k miles) on it. It's in reasonable shape, runs purrrfectly and is a blast to drive. It took about two evenings for my son to learn how to drive the 5 sp without stalling it. It appears to have a bit of a touchy clutch for starting out from rest... the same was true of my nephews 2008 Yaris so maybe it's just the tiny (economical) engine.
We filled it up on Tuesday and with his first fill up he put in 38L for 640 km, 5.8L/100km, 41 mi/US gal or 49 mi/IMP gal. WOW! For such an old engine, I wasn't expecting that but that is what some people are getting as reported in the gas mileage forum. We have fairly rolling terrain and since we live in a suburb... about 50/50 city/hwy driving.

I think we are going to love this little car!

Thanks for hosting this forrum you guys!

gbeatty

Someone cracked a short piece of my sports cladding over the right wheel-well.

Any ideas on cost of replacement and where to find? Googling cladding and sports cladding lead nowhere.

johnnyecho

Hi I am John from Oklahoma. Ok it's not new. It is a 2001 with 42k on it. The car looks like new and the interior is absolutely perfect. I have added a toyota CD player, and she has been sitting since last Wed because Thursday morning we got snowed in. I am getting itchy to drive it again.
I went through one tank of gas and got 43. It had a half tank, and I don't know what it was. My wifes Vibe loses mpg with the ethanol blend they sell around here, so I am looking forward to a few good tanks of gas with the ECHO.

thegreyone

Hi John,

You're message got me thinkin' about my son's 2000 Echo. Other than the obvious great gas mileage... I really appreciate the good design. It is easy to work on... the whole dash board snaps apart in sections allowing one to work on it without having to crawl upside down under the dash with my butt up on the seat... etc.

ALSO... coming from Northern Canada... throughout the cold spell in late Nov and early Dec. it has been starting reguarly at -38 degrees Celsius... (about -36 degrees Farenheit) sitting in the street, not in a garage and WITHOUT being plugged in with a block heater. Not many vehicles can do that. Mind you... the new battery certainly must be a factor... but STILL... it's amazing!
(Have a good and save New Year's everyone)

/denis

nippononly

Lucky you to get one with such low mileage! If you're into hassle-free transportation using practically no gas, this is the car for you. :-)

And you won't be driving a model that is on every street corner and found by the thousand at every mall parking lot. Even in import-crazy California, an Echo is a fairly rare sighting.

im4eestor

Recently imported a 2004 Echo RS 5-door hatchback from Canada to Minnesota, for my daughter's university transportation, and noticed the speedometer cluster illumination appears quite dim, particularly to the left: Might there be a bad bulb somewhere, that's relatively easy to access?

Anyone have a resource for acquiring service manuals for this wonderful little vehicle?

Thank you!

kneisl1

I have a bad feeling that car is different from US ECHOs so perhaps the service manual wont help.

I have the SM for our ECHO and will check it out tonite.

im4eestor

Thanks... it IS different - a 5-door hatchback, which is something never sold in the US domestic market 'til the recent iteration as a Yaris...

kneisl1

On the American ECHO with the speedo in the center and angled towards the driver. There is a trim ring around the combination meter as its called. Remove that and see two screws that hold the speedo in place. You lift it up and disconnect the electrical connector to remove it. Looks very easy and i think I had mine out once. From there I dont see anythings but if you look behind it perhaps you will see the bulbs that are burned out.

Good luck and tell us what happens!