Toyota Echo

janbee · January 2002

Mine is making that sound too!!! It started up about a month ago (I have a 2000 echo) It only does it sometimes and it seems to stop when you really lay down the gas peddle...I asked toyota to look into it when i recently took it in for servicing but I guess it decided not to make the noise for them...and guess what the next day the noise started up...i really cant stand the noise, sometimes I turn my radio up just so I cant hear it...I know a couple ppl who are mechanics (one for honda & one for toyota) so the next time I bump into them Ill get them to take a peek and Ill let ya know! I just hope the noise isnt something that is hurting the car cause it might be a couple weeks before I get it looked at..

ethan6871 · January 2002

I have two echos I notice one makes a louder high pitch squeeky weird sound than the other. They both make the sound when they idle.
my cars are both automatics so I notice when idling in drive mostly but when it is in nutrueral too. It is awful I took it into be looked at and I was dismissed.

echo01 · January 2002

One thing that might affect the Echo's winter mileage is that, if the airflow-selector is set to defrost the windshield, the air conditioner is turned on automatically, to serve as a dehumidifier.

Using the a/c as a dehumidifier this way is really nice when you need it: for example, I have climbed into my Echo when I'm soaked from rain, and any fogging on the windows is cleared very rapidly. I would like the Echo better, however, if the a/c did not come on like this automatically; I'd rather just control it with the a/c button.

So, if you are idling the car to warm it up and you have the heater fan running and the a/c is on (automatically) that could be having a bigger impact on the mileage, especially if it's dry and you don't need the a/c on.

On my car, the a/c only comes on automatically if the airflow selector is set to one of the three rightmost positions. In the next position over, it does not. (With the engine idling, you can hear the a/c come on as you change switch positions - that's how I figured it out.) And in this position, there is still some airflow directed to the windshield, since it is an "in-between" position. Also, the a/c does not come on, of course, if the fan is turned all the way to the off position.

I don't know how much of a difference this would make to gas mileage.

Another thing I've read (on this board, I think, many postings ago) is that the Echo has an auxiliary electric heater in the heater core, to heat the car up when the engine is still cold. This is a nice feature, but again it would affect the gas mileage a little.

kneisl1 · January 2002

ECHO01 I think if you look at the control knob to direct the air flow just above the part where the front defrost turns on, (with ac) there is a setting for front defrost split with floor outlet that does not activate the ac. Also, unrelated, if you run your ac with recirculated interior air (as opposed to fresh air intake) over a period of time you will really crap up the circulation system ie it will get water logged and smelly (even with the drains open)

slugline · January 2002

The drivetrain is cold, the lubricants are a bit thck and have not been distributed evenly yet -- there's internal friction to overcome right off the bat. Although the ECHO doesn't have a tach to confirm this, I think it probably idles at a higher speed than normal at startup in an attempt to get up to operating temperature.

Something to keep in mind: The EPA testing for simulating city fuel economy is done under mild (around 68 F) conditions and the test run lasts almost half an hour. A car engine will be at proper temperature for the vast majority of that time.

Since nodaker's driving right now is in colder conditions and for much shorter durations (six miles of driving in the city might be just 10 minutes), the engine won't get as much time in its "happy zone."

Fuel economy suffers accordingly. Goolapper's right -- a highway cruise to warmer climes would give the ECHO a real chance to show its stuff!

Re the Matrix: I spotted one on the Sam Houston Tollway right before Christmas. (I have to assume it was some sort of tester.) It's a very cool loking car, but I hope Toyota can keep it on the affordable side.

nodaker · January 2002

Slugline suggests:

>Since nodaker's driving right now is in colder conditions and for much shorter
durations (six miles of driving in the city might be just 10 minutes), the engine
won't get as much time in its "happy zone."

Fuel economy suffers accordingly.
Goolapper's right -- a highway cruise to warmer climes would give the ECHO a >real chance to show its stuff!

Now this is the best suggesion yet for increasing fuel economy in my ECHO! If it were up to hubby and me we'd have been outta here yesterday -- this thing called a *job* keeps getting in the way... drat it anyhow.

7 years to retirement! 7 years until we move south and 7 years until we become Prius owners.

wrgraham · January 2002

aeroterremer recently asked what we think of the Matrix, whether it is like what we would expect of an Echo hatchback. For me the answer is no. It's a big sister, not a peer sibling.
...I like the Echo because it is light and responsive and economical. You go somewhere and it scoots without any fuss. The new Protege 5 hatchback as well as the Ford Focus ZX3 are good looking cars, very functional too. And the Matrix is of that type. But these are 2700 pound cars, as compared to the 2000 pound Echo. The old Civic hatchback was light, as well as the old Mazda 323. These are more like an Echo hatchback in my mind. 2700 pounds is the same as a new RAV4 with 2 wheel drive.
...Most people want MORE in a car, but not me. So I expect the Matrix to do well.

janbee · January 2002

I asked ppl at the yahoo forum and someone replied that it sounded like it could be a loose air conditioning belt or alternator belt....does that sound about right???

kaz6 · January 2002

Hmmm, I don't think it is as the noise disappears under full throttle or at idle. It only happens under light/partial throttle...as when maitaining speed while coasting. I wonder if it is the pcv(?) valve. My old ZX-2 had that happen. It isn't audible with the windows up but I am able to hear it with the windows down. I also notice that it is more audible when it's cold outside.
I'll wait till my 30k check as it isn't something that seems serious and hasn't affected mpg or drivability.

grnechory81 · January 2002

kneisl1 · January 2002

The ECHO gets better mileage because it wieghs much less than Scion.

breckco · January 2002

Just stopped by the forum and noticed a couple of posts about Echo's engines whistling. I had an 01 Echo (5 spd) that did that. A high pitched sound would be heard while maintaining a consistent speed or gently accelerating in 3rd, 4th or 5th gear. The sound would go away during normal acceleration.

I had the car at the dealership a few times for this and involved Toyota's area rep. They tried swapping parts such as the air box and intake manifold and nothing resolved the issue. They admitted that some Echo's do it and some don't. Ultimately they couldn't figure it our and said they would research it in the engineering department of Toyota.

My suggestion would be to contact Toyota and ask them if they have found the solution to this known problem before the dealership starts experimenting with your car.

BTW, for me this issue was a nuisance but did not cause any drivability problems.

Hope this helped... Good Luck

vocus · January 2002

Except for the spoiler on the back (a little too boy-racer for my tastes), it looks pretty damn hot!

kaz6 · January 2002

Thanks for the insight! Yes, it's more a nuisance thing than a problem...I'll ask about it while getting my 'safety upgrade' done aka child seat tethers.

goolapper · January 2002

nice job gussying that bad boy/girl up!!! Tell us about yer rims & exhaust....also yer
spoiler sure don't look like ya picked it up at your Toy dlr's!!! give us the skinny...with
a car that sharp u need a bigger back seat

grnechory81 · January 2002

hey my rims are enkeis...i chose to go with enkei because enkei makes trd and factory wheels for toyota...they are the sportline series and they are called sazukas =o)...and my tires are bf goodrich t/a scorchers...my exaust is a custom job, its a dynamax muffler..im gonna upgrade to a carbon fiber muffler here soon...im obcessed with carbon fiber!!!!!! =o) and my spoiler was custom done by me and my dad..had to modify the base up to make it fit onto the trunk...and i shaved the keyhole too and everything off like the emblems and put my own =o)...yeah yeah yeah, i like the ricer look =o)....ive put an aftermarket intake on it...WeaponR dragon intake...anyone intersted they can check out www.dragonintakes.com or www.weapon-r.com .... painted up my engine cover...and breath filter...i got a greddy oil catch tank, but i didnt like the hoses they sent me so i havent fully installed it yet, in the search for some high quality, high vaccum hose..i need 15mm and 20mm if anyone knows where let me know! PLEASE! ive installed a tach and some other stuff...ill give u a shot of the inside after this post! its pretty much self explanatory in there =o)

grnechory81 · January 2002

grnechory81 · January 2002

forgot to mention...my echo has been lowered 2.5 inches =o)

nnb · January 2002

Who makes the front strut bar?, also what kind of spring did you use and what size tires ? I have a APEX spring on mine, it only lowers 1.8 in. Other question is, is your car AT or MT. I was wondering if you have complaints on the clutch if it's MT. Did you buy the weaponr from NOPI?

goolapper · January 2002

U definitely need a giant backseat!!!!

pat · January 2002

The majority of our Town Hall membership use 56 kbps dial-up access (or less). And many are not able to use the very high resolution displays.

Large pictures take a very long time to download - especially if there are more than one on a single page - and also skew the screen, making all the messages on the screen very difficult to read - you have to keep scrolling left to right to read every single line.

There are two good ways to go here - either post links ONLY to large pictures, especially multiple pictures, or cut the size down to load reasonably quickly on a dial-up AND to fit an 800x600 display with no scroll bars.

Thanks - these methods are considerate of the rest of our community and we very much appreciate it.

Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board

grnechory81 · January 2002

hey sorry ill will take more consideration next time...sorry didnt know, will you forgive me? =o)

grnechory81 · January 2002

no i didnt buy my intake from nopi, i had mine before nopi listed...you can get a better view of my intake by either going to www.dragonintakes.com and going into the gallery section or you can ask me for a picture, ive got like 30 pictures..including ones of my underbody neon =o)...and my springs are currently eibachs but they are the Ground Control Coilovers...also i have the MT and right now i really dont have any problems with it...im sure thatll change as my hp figures change..working on that soon =o) just hard to go to school and pay for the car and put parts on it at the same time =o)...but if anyone wants anymore pictures of have anymore questions hit me up! you can get me through aim at ryan811869...or email me at grnechory19@aol.com PEACE! =o)

majorthomecho · January 2002

I have seen those pictures before, but I just noticed something. You are doing your car a disservice by having so many keys on the keyring. You will put a strain on the starter or so I have heard.

vocus · January 2002

I know what you mean by that. I blew the ignition nin my mom's 1994 Bonneville because I had a huge keychain. It cost me $400 to get it fixed, because I also blew the car's starter and theft system at the same time. I now only have 2 keychains and 4 keys on my "car" ring.

grnechory81 · January 2002

yeah ive got em posted on the yahoo club...just thought ide share them with edmunds group =o)....hmm maybe i should buy an aftermarket brace for my keys? its such a strain to hold 5 keys...just pick'n =o) dont take it personal =o)...but i have a question...how is the starter gonna know if u have more than 1 key on a keyring? that just doesnt make sense at all...the key doesnt even go into the starter...

vocus · January 2002

I am sure he meant the ignition, not the starter.

My starter and theft system went because I kept trying to jump-start the car, not knowing it was the starter that was bad on it. Because of the repeated tries, I blew the ignition and the theft system (Pas_key or something like that it was called) where the thingie on the key keeps the car from being started if it doesn't match up.

cmeijning · January 2002

Where have you been? I e-mailed you some pictures. Did you receive them?

echogirl3 · January 2002

I am wondering if the Echo has good safety features and is very reliable since I am a teen driver.

coolguyky7 · January 2002

If you were to take the time to read through all the posts on this board, you'd see how much ECHO owners love their cars! You are better off with an ECHO than a comparable Hyundai or Kia. I'm not saying they are bad, but they haven't proven themselves in the long haul. Toyota has proven itself. ECHO was rated number 2 behind Toyota's Corolla in a JD Power quality award. Consumer Reports recomments the ECHO too. I'm glad to see that you are over its unique styling which I personally like. I don't know if you are getting a new/used ECHO, but antilock brakes can be hard to find however, they do exist along with side air bags. As for safety, ECHO received 4 stars for the driver and passenger in a front end collision test. The ECHO is a fine car and will serve you well for many miles! Anyone here at the ECHO board will happily answer your questions.

blue_echo · January 2002

Hey grnechory81, great pictures! I love seeing other people's cars. About the size, I find a good rule of thumb is to make the width of a photo no bigger than 500 pixels at most, yours is 916 wide, which is bigger than most monitors will accomodate. Fixing the size will also speed up the download time. Just a suggestion... : )

majorthomecho · January 2002

CM, yes I got the pictures, but I did not open them. I meant to write you and tell you that I do not open mail with attachments from someone I do not know, but I waited so long that your mail was deleted from my AOL mailbox.

Thanks for the thought in sending them though.

majorthomecho · January 2002

All I know is that having a lot of keys puts a strain on the car. Don't ask me why. That is a question better asked of click and clack.

As for me, I have one key on a key ring that I use when driving my Echo. I have the spare keys together on a separate ring.

babyboomer · January 2002

My 2001 Echo is at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida. My 24 year old son needed the most reliable transportation and he too loves that Echo. He says it has many attibutes but the best is that he can park it anywhere. I have inherited his 1990 Toyota Cressida. I told him when he graduated and passed the Bar exam that I would sign over the title to him. I miss that Echo.

ml91 · January 2002

It is difficult to comment on the long term reliability of an Echo, since they have only been around for a little more than two years. As far as Toyota vehicles in general: I used to own a 1994 Tercel; the car had 75,000 miles on it when I sold it, and the only things that I ever replaced were the front brakes, front tires, battery, and exhaust system (the exhaust system lasted almost six years). I now own a 1996 Corolla that has 85,000 miles on it, and it still runs like a new car. Again, the only things that needed to be replaced were the tires, brakes, and battery. My 2001 Echo only has 2,700 miles on it, but so far it has run perfectly. Supposedly crash tests have proven the Echo to be as safe as the much larger and heavier Camry.

slugline · January 2002

I believe that statement was made by a Toyota spokesperson based on internal company testing, and I have yet to see those results released. The IIHS has not tested ECHO yet, but the NHTSA has. In the government frontal test, the ECHO earned four stars on both the driver and passenger sides, while the last Camry tested scored four stars on the driver side and five stars on the passenger side.

However, the NHTSA itself will caution consumers that you can only compare vehicles in the same weight class. This is because the frontal test into a fixed barrier simulates a collision with a another car of similar weight. I would wager that there are a lot more Camry-sized vehicles out on the streets than ECHO-sized ones. This, of course, is a problem facing all subcompact cars. If the ECHO had posted five-star scores all-around, I would be more inclined to believe the like-Camry claim.

An interesting note: Because of the way the side-impact test is conducted, the side-impact results ARE comparable across all vehicle classes. You may be pleasantly surprised to know that the dummy in the back seat of the ECHO fared better (4 stars) than the dummy in the back seat of the Camry (3 stars).

kaz6 · January 2002

Took my car in for the child restraint safety upgrade and had them check out the whistling noise coming from the engine. When I picked up my car, the service rep said that it is 'normal' for the Echo's engine to make that noise.
I don't really buy that but it isn't a major enough annoyance.

cliffy1 · January 2002

The whistle you are hearing is probably the alternator. Toyotas tend to have fairly loud alternators, although it is more noticeable in other models. The Sienna and Camry are the worst. If your service department thinks it is normal, they may be correct.

sonatafan · January 2002

Well, my Echo has now reached 57,000 miles!

At about 40,000 The manual transmission started grinding intermittently going into fifth gear. I took it in to the dealer but (of course) I couldn't duplicate the problem in their presence. By the time I reached about 53,000 my Echo was grinding fifth just about every time so I made another trip to the dealer.

I have a good automotive background and had ruled out cable misadjustment, slave cylinder leakage, pretty much anything outside the tranny. I put my best possible guess as the synchronizers.

The dealer checked it out and decided they were going to order the fifth gear synchronizers and associated parts (without any input from me). But they also warned me that those type of parts would be hard to get and probably be backordered.

The parts were backordered for a month, until last week. When the parts finally came in, I dropped the car off for them to work on it. The parts they needed to replace did not require removal of the trans from the car so they said it would take one day.

I got a call that afternoon from the dealer telling me the fifth gear assembly was frozen to the hub and they had to damage it to seperate the two. They didn't have a hub available to replace it however. They then surprised me by paying for a rental car for the remaining duration of the repair (a severely abused `01 Escort from Enterprise).

It only took them three days to get the last part and the car shifted smoother than new after I picked it up!

Kudos go to Nourse Toyota in Central Ohio for their excellent customer service!

majorthomecho · January 2002

What? A Toyota dealership actually admitted that they did something wrong and did not try to blame you for improper maintenance.

Don't tell those on the engine sludge board. You might just give Toyota a good reputation. ; )

janbee · January 2002

the sound from my echo is now getting worse, not only is it making it while the car is moving but now its also annoying me at a stand still...and turning up the radio doesnt seem to help anymore. I just took it in to have its recalls 2-3 weeks ago and told them about the noise, typically it didnt make the noise for them, is this what we all have to look forward too???

echo01 · January 2002

There are now some insurance loss statistics available for the Echo.

While the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has not crash-tested an Echo, they do compile statistics that summarize injury, collision and theft losses for various cars. (That is, they examine the actual data on the claims insurance companies pay.) And they now have this information for the Echo.

To find it, go to www.highwaysafety.org and scroll down to the story that has the 1999-2000 results and click on "results". Select "four door cars" on the pulldown menu and you will find a table of results grouped by car size; the Echo is near the end, being a "mini" car.

The web site has a complete explanation of what all of the numbers mean. Higher numbers are worse, with 100 being "average".

In summary, the Echo's injury losses are "substantialy worse than average", at 178, and its collision losses are "worse than average" at 124. There is no theft loss number given, probably for lack of data.

Other people on this board have compared the Echo and Camry recently; the Camry's numbers are 102 and 87, respectively, i.e., "average".

The site doesn't give any data for the two-door Echo, but I can't imagine it would be a whole lot different.

I hope the Insurance Institute crash tests an Echo soon; I'd like to see the results.

slugline · January 2002

The chance of your car being targeted for theft is small. The vehicle isn't really worth that much intact, and there's probably almost no underground market for ECHO parts in the U.S. Any money-minded crook would certainly move on to your neighbor's Camry. I assume this small car has been selling better overseas, and for a longer period of time, too -- I bet the theft rates are higher.

kaz6 · January 2002

Thanks Cliffy!
Re: transmission woes...I really think the synchro is the weakest part of the tranny. Glad to hear it was easily fixed!

dsgecho · January 2002

The ratings at some points are gard ti interpret. The Chevy Prizm is rated much better than the identical Toyo Corolla.And it gets better marks than the Honda Civic???
Any expanations............
Thanks,
Don

alpha01 · January 2002

Does anyone have any information on the changes Toyota will make to the 2003 Echo, which will be the car's fourth model year, since Toyota typically "restyles/upgrades" at that time?
I'm hoping for a new front fascia that makes the car look less cartoony.
~alpha

slugline · January 2002

http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/summary_small.htm

slugline · January 2002

With about 16,000 miles on the odometer, I checked the ECHO's tires yesterday. From the way the tread looks, I'm guessing that the factory tires that may be finished by 30,000 miles. Is this typical?
What are some good replacement tires that people have been happy with?

pulgo · January 2002

My Echo just reached 26,000 miles and the tires still have 80% usable tread. They are Michelin MX4's, more expensive but well worth it.

Toyota Echo

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles