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Toyota Echo Maintenance and Repair
Has anyone experienced that the clutch is kind of slow to release during quick upshifting? Also while driving in hwy with 4th gear around 75 mph, then floor the gas, the clutch is slipping. Any one with any info are welcome. Thanks.
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2 years old 90% highway mileage with 30,000km (18,000 miles)
started to slip at highway speeds when I went to pass and is now slipping in all gears.
Dealer says probably wear due to bad driving (must control fists)
other car is at 180,000km (108,000miles) on first clutch and previous honda civic was good for 120,000 between clutch jobs.
Apparently the clutch is non-adjustable and will cost about $800-$1000 CDN to replace.
They better find a defect and cover it or there will be many unpleasant conversations with Toyota coming up.
Please post if you are experiencing clutch problems.
My last car, a Ford ZX-2, had 70k of similar driving conditions and the clutch was fine. Sounds fishy to me!
Does anyone remember what this was specifically?
(I have a 2000 Silver 4 door, drove it all the way down from Victoria, BC to Durham, NC ! Terrific 3,800 mile road trip vehicle!!)
Thanks!
This is the very FIRST problem I've had with this wonderful car!
Here's what happens. First thing in the morning when I start the car up all is well. The blue "cool engine light" is still on as I back out of the driveway and drive down one block -- everything operates as normal. But after stopping at the corner and beginning to turn right, when I press the pedal to accelerate through the turn, there is a significant pause with little engine power and I have to pump the accelerator to get the car through the turn and accelerating normally again. It seems to happen primarily when I am making a turn -- although once I had trouble getting full power after stopping at a stop sign and then going straight. This only happens after the car has been sitting overnight or for a long time and the blue cool engine light goes on when I start it up.
Has anything like this happened to anyone else in your ECHO? I'm going to take it into the dealer to check it out, but wondered if anyone on this great board has any ideas or suggestions about what is going on?
Thanks!
Another problem is with the steering. It has power and minor road bumps are transmitted up through the steering wheel. I was spoilt with the Mazda for sure.
Has anyone had these problems? It looks like this model isn't sold in the US but I wondered if the 4 door behaves like this
Regards
rforbes
point is this, the a/c was weak or so it felt in my 2000 echo---my 2002 is much stronger---my brother's 2000 echo is weaker than my 2002 echo's a/c and about the same in my 2000 echo. maybe it was model year 2000.
it wasn't unbearable but the instant u turned it off the car was hot again. i was always comfortable--but i am more comfortable in my 2002 echo---stronger air it seems.
i love my echo---best car i have ever had!!! my brother thinks so too!!
mike
The commute is very hard on the car as it involves a lot of hard starts and stops and lot's of idle time in rush hour. If I use the A/C and drive during the rush hour times I get between 28-32mpg. The 11 mile trip can take as long as 45 minutes!
I had a Ford ZX-2 prior to my ECHO and it got as low as 17mpg on the same route!!!
Make sure your tires are inflated properly as even 1lb of pressure off can lower mileage considerably.
I did notice that this all started when my radio went dead. It does not work anymore and Toyota is ordering a new one. But they say it has nothing to do with the problem.
Any ideas???
MIKE
Anyone with some knowledge of this issue, please give me a shout. Thank you very much!
I also have trouble with the car hydroplaning and failing to get traction in the rain. For example, stopping at a red light on a wet day means I'll spin wheels for a good 5 seconds before the wheels grab the road. This doesn't happen every time, so it makes me even more nervous that I can't predict it!
I'm still on the original equip. for the wheels on this car, (30K mileage on them, just) and I'm wondering if they aren't just very low quality since the car is somewhat lower end? I know I'll have to get snowtires for NY winters, but I was shocked at the trouble I have even in rain.
Is this a normal experience? I freely admit I am probably a little bit of a lead-foot and have no doubts as to that as a cause, too!
Does anyone have a suggestion regarding good tires, especially for snow? This isn't really a "problem" with the Echo per se but I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience.
Thank you!
Do you have a manual transmission?
With my 01 Echo, AT, Michelin tires, now at 70k miles I never have any problems starting on a wet surface, not even going uphill. It is difficult to get the wheels to spin.
In snow the car drives beautifully, no problems whatsoever. I purchased a set of inexpensive winter/snow tires @ Walmart and use them from December to March. Where I live - 50 miles east of Vancouver, BC- I get quite a bit of snow and ice in winter and so far my Echo has handled these conditions just fine.
Get new tires, inflate them properly, be easy on the gas when you start and you should have no problems.
Important, slow down when it is wet, don't exceed 50 mph on wet surfaces, go much slower if icy, shift, steer and brake in slooow motion.
Original Equipment tires are usually not the best. I had Dunlops on my 2001 Sentra as Original Equipment and they were so bad the first winter I drove them. I ended up replacing them after accumulating only 40,000 KM's on them. Pretty crappy. I switched to Goodyear Alleras and have had no problems what so ever. My suggestion is to get new tires and be sure that they are a decent brand with a good tread warranty.
I've been told that the tires on Canadian Echo's are different than the U.S. models. This has come up before.
I suspect the tire choice just isn't the greatest for the North Eastern U.S. I would suggest you get the Michelins we have or something similar.
I've had mine for over a year now and have no problems hydroplaning or sliding, and I live in Vancouver, where it's very wet, and when it snows, well, you're on your own.
martyn
Get the Michelin Harmony for all season ( I have these and love them...wet snow dry great tire and smooth riding...
Michelin Harmony (All-Season) for your 2004 Toyota Echo Sedan
Size: 175/65SR14 Blackwall
SR Speed Rated Price: $69
If your worried about just snow and ice..then get snow tires for winter use...but I hear they wear out fast
Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 (Winter) for your 2004 Toyota Echo Sedan Load Rating: XL
Size: 175/65QR14 Blackwall
QR Speed Rated Price: $72
Toyota needs to give people a tire option based on where they live and type of driving conditions for the car...this all tire fits all is wrong...most of the OEM tires are cheap and fair weather only. Good rubber is very cheap accident insurance.
Mike
Scion XA = Canadian Echo Hatchback re-skinned and almost = to US Echo Sedan
check the forum under Echo Hatchback.
In cananda there are some nice hatchbacks running around for the Echo. I think it's been around canada for about a year. I don't remember the Cad price, but it equated to about 9-10k US.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/roadtest/images/04echo_hb1.jpg
(I really want one)
Here in the US we have the Scion (which is much more expensive, 400 lbs heavier, and uses more gas). The standard Scions seem to be about equal to a fully loaded Echo in options.
The Scions are being sold here in South Carolina, but the Toyota website is asking about 13k... more than I can pay.
thanks. april.
Toyota Echo Recall
Toyota announced a major vehicle recall on Tuesday. The automaker is calling back nearly 400,000 of its Echo models.
The company says a faulty rear brake pipe might cause brake oil to leak while driving in snow.
So far, there have been no reports of accidents related to the brake problem.
The recall affects Echo's made between July 2001 and April 2002.
Has anyone recieved notification from Toyota???
Mike
As far as i know, no accidents have been reported due to this minor problem.
I've got a 2000 w/80k miles and discovered an oil leak the other day. took it to the dealer and the rear engine seal has worn out . Any other ECHO owners experienced this? They estimate it will about $1200 to fix. Is it worth fixing?
They told me that the tires were rubbing up against the rim. And they had to take the tires off and re-bead them & put the tires back on.
I was like WHA ???
That doesn't make sense to me, a tire is firmly affixed to the rim on the wheel - there shouldn't be any rubbing going on. But the sound went away, but now, a week later the sound is back. I'm wondering if my dealer really did all of the checks on the 20K service or if they just "checked" the boxes off in my manual.
I'm thinking about taking it to a Midas shop to see if it is the brakes rubbing.
My other thought is the bearings?
The second problem is at 100KM an hour there is this buzzing sound that only happens at 100, drives me crazy.
Has anyone else had these problems.
Thanks
Robert
I have a 2002 echo, bought it used last year with about 30k miles on it. Haven't had much problems with it until just recently. I hear a strange rubbing sound on my rt side rear tire when i accelerate over 50mph. I brought it in yesterday to get my tires serviced because the rear rt side tire blew out. When i took off the tire, it was scraped on both sides, or more like shaved off. more so on the outside than inside wall of tire. the hole was on outside wall, and no one could understand what happened. i had 2 new tires put on up front and replaced back tire with old one from the front. today i heard the scraping/rubbing sound and i'm curious to know what you found out about the rubbing sound on your car. front may be very different from back tires, but any info will help!
Thanks, hope all turned out ok...
A different issue is that the trunk always gets wet with rain. Gasket seems fine. I taped around the passenger tail light where it joins the boddy, and this seemed to reduce it, but I still get water in in that corner. Ideas???
As for your flooding problem: Does the back seat fold down? (I forgot!) If it does, you could watch the inside of the trunk with a flashlight as a helper douses the outside of the trunk with a hose. Maybe then you'll know exactly where it's coming from.
The better you match your speed to the rest of the traffic, the less you will have to brake.
Look several seconds ahead of you and don't accelerate aggressively.
I am no slow poke and travel slightly above the speed limit most of the time but I rarely have to brake hard.
But, I noticed the coolant was a bit low last month (nov, 2004) and added about 8 ounces. After letting the car set for 3 days in very cold (~Zero F.) weather, I started it up put it on the ramps to check for any leaks. While it was warming up, I noticed coolant dripping from the upper right rear leap of the oil pan. It stopped after a few more warm-up minutes.
My first thoughts were that maybe the engine head gasket was loosing a good "cold seal", as I've seen this on my '93 Ford 3.8L before.
I only use Low-Tox (green) coolant (changed to it at 70,000 miles). I very thoroughly flushed out the Toyota red stuff.
I'll continue to monitor the coolant loss closely and not assume the worse for now. Doesn't seem to ge leaking from the water pump.
By the way, if you do change a water pump, come up from the bottom - otherwise you'll waste hours on it like I did (at 70,000 miles).
I have a 2001 Black Toyota Echo, my first and only car, it has around 40,000 miles on it, I bought it brand new.
I absolutely love it and it has given me absolutely no problems unit Yesterday (I think this is also because I get the oil changed like clockwork )
Yesterday on the highway, My dear Echo had a flat tire, I am covered by my insurance for road side service and that guy (road side service guy) says he did not know why the tire gave away, on further inspection he also said that all the 4 tires looked pretty used and may be I should go and get all 4 of them replaced at Costco
So is this something that all/any of you have faced, if so please let me know what tires would you recommend
Or the guy was simply trying to scare me in to getting new tires, so that what would be good for the insurance company
Or is this something I should expect, that Echo tires need changing after 40K
Please comment as it would really help me
Thanks