Toyota Echo

pesterkid · May 2005

CONGRATS on ur new car! You'll love it!

kneisl1 · May 2005

Wow thats amazing the car fits you so well! It IS the best small car on the market today in many respects. Stay away from the quad cabs though.

echorick · June 2005

I am thinking of buying Goodyear Integrity 175/65/14 at WalMart. Does anyone have any experience with this tire on an ECHO? :confuse:

babyboomer · June 2005

Engine light came on and then off. Problem was the cover to the air filter was not put back properly.

mcdawgg · June 2005

I have experience with Goodyear Integrity on a Corolla. I hated them because of the terrible traction in wet weather, and I think you will find many people that agree with me. I would go with a Michelin Weatherwise, Harmony, or Hydroedge.

backy · June 2005

Another nice tire (quiet, good handling and wet traction) at a really good price is the Kumho Ecsta HP4 716. Available at Sears, Discount Tire et. al.

echorick · June 2005

Thanks for the info. I finally decided on Pirelli P3000 tires. Hope I didn't make a mistake!

reba05 · June 2005

I am having worse gas mileage now that summer is here, around 30-32 city driving and prior to that, it was consistent at 35 mph city.
Is it due to the A/C being on most of the time??

toyotaken · June 2005

A/C will effect it somewhat, but also check the engine air filter. That can have a 10%+ difference in fuel milage if it's dirty.

Toyota Ken

skatebird · July 2005

Hey guys, anybody knows what are dimensions of all four stock speakers on a 2000 echo?

thanks

reba05 · July 2005

On my 2003 they are 6 1/2 in front and 6x9 in the back. Can't see it changing between years so I would assume it is the same. I also have 1 inch tweeters in the dash, it actually came with the tweeters which was surprising....

sapooh · July 2005

A/C will affect your fuel efficentcy for sure... try it windows down... it feels more like summer

and it's cheaper!
for those previous messages... canada sells almost all of its gaz to the USA, the reason why gaz is more expensive in some part of canada it the provincial taxes... (just compare prices between quebec and ontario... it's awfull)

sniffles · July 2005

I have absolute proof that using AC during the summer really sucks gas and that driving on the highway with the windows down and no AC really saves gas. I've always heard that in hot weather you use more gas with the windows down than with them closed and the AC on. I have a 2003 Echo with a 5 speed manual and the first 2 summers of ownership I always used my AC and got around 41-42 mpg on my mostly highway driving. This summer I decided to sweat a lot and not use my AC while driving. Here is my mileage for the last 3 tanks.

43.5 mpg
43.9 mpg
45.3 mpg

I think that proves it! The heat/humidity in the Baltimore, Md. area this summer has really been bad!!

Sniffles

kneisl1 · July 2005

If you were REALLY keen on saving gas you would drive with the AC off AND the windows rolled up. Think of the potential!
Speaking of savings gas I heard the Honda Accord V6 hybrid saves all of 2 mpg over the four cylinder Accord. Apparently the car is bought for its wicked acceleration with both a gas and electric motor. Nuts!

babyboomer · July 2005

Using the air conditioner is a necessity for many people so they should not have a guilt feeling about wasting gas. I remember as a teen I drove a black car with black interior in the August south Georgia heat and the only ac was when I manually rolled the windows down. I had to sit on a towel to keep from burning my legs. Even after a short ride the fatigue was overwhelming. Now that I am older and aware of the dangers from the heat, the ac that sucks some gas is literally a really keen life saver.

Babyboomer

pesterkid · July 2005

I'll be happy if I get 28-29mpg on my car this summer and on this forum I see ppl not happy with 38-40 mpg!:)
Are there any special attachements/fittings that you put in your cars??
Please write....Id really like to know.
Also, I bought mine used, maybe thats the prob:(

kneisl1 · July 2005

Has your car been maintained properly? Does it have auto transmission? Do you drive agressively? (or even know whether or not you really do?) Do you take mostly short trips?

reba05 · July 2005

I agree - I am not THAT concerned about the gas when I am still getting over 30 mpg with AC on - don't want to look like I just ran a marathon upon arrival anywhere!
I did just get 41 mpg on a long distance drive with AC on for half the tank, so that's not bad - it may just be the combination of AC and strictly city/rush hour driving that's the killer.
Overall still a great car!

pesterkid · July 2005

Yes, the maintenance is up to date...
No aggressive driving....short trips, well yes...work and around NJ.
But even when we went to OH last month....and thats about 500 odd miles, the top mileage was 40.
I dont know whats wrong, the service guys at Toyota have no answer either.

kneisl1 · July 2005

Parking brake dragging? Main brakes dragging? Fuel return lines to gas tank working normally? Fuel filter plugged? Spark plugs correct? Thermostat not in open position when engine is cold? Test the theromstat I think thats it. Im thinking 40 mpg on the highway is pretty normal for an auo.

habscout · July 2005

Hmm, I am trying to decide between the Echo and the Accent. Would you [kneisl1] tell me why you want to get rid of your Accent hatchback?

kneisl1 · July 2005

Hmm I dont have an Accent I have an ECHO. I think the ECHO is a much better car than the Accent, although a hatchback would be a good thing (ECHO doesnt have a hatchback here in the US) But it doesnt get as good mileage as the ECHO, doesnt have the room/ergos the ECHO does, and isn't made by Toyota. I am very happy with my ECHO.

pesterkid · July 2005

Has this happened to anyone else?
Sometimes when I start my car and am ready to drive, theres some strange sound that occurs....for about 3-4 seconds....almost a screeching sound....(not extremely loud, but loud enough so,I can hear even when the windows are rolled up)
It goes away after 3-4 secs and does'nt happen every time...
I heard another car in the parking lot make the same screech sound....though it was not an echo..
Any ideas?
Thanks

pesterkid · July 2005

I dont really know how to look for all these....do you suggest I make a list of all the suggestions you made and take it to the dealer?
Thanks.
Ofcourse...no brake dragging...

kneisl1 · July 2005

I think you could ask them to remove and test the thermostat and that would be OK. Ask them how much first. They need to see if the thermostat is stuck OPEN when cold thus preventing the engine from warming up fast enough.
Im guessing the screech you are hearing is a belt noise. Have the belt tension checked and also check the pulleys that the belt drives for binding. Also, have your power steering fluid checked it might be low. Tell us what you find out!

tsnook · July 2005

On my 2001 ECHO, the black paint stuff between the front and back side windows is all messed up. I bought the car used and don't know how it got like this. Here's a link to a picture of it. I was wondering how I should go about dealing with this. It is really ugly and I'm tired of seeing it every time I get in the car.

http://www.awfulfilms.com/echopage.htm

Any help would be appreciated.

Oh, and also, whenever I am going through a drive through at a fast food restaurant, I hear a sort of oscillating spring noise. I have a 5 speed. The noise occurs when I push in the clutch after moving car forward a few feet.

kneisl1 · July 2005

Get a can of black spray paint and mask the area off with masking tape and paint it. Unless you want to spend $$$ for a body shop to do it.
Pretty hard to figure out what the noise is you are refering to. How many miles on the car?

tsnook · July 2005

I bought the car with 120,000 on it. The guy I bought it from commuted 100 miles every day. The transmission was making a grinding noise when I bought it so I had that replaced. (even after the transmission the car only cost me $4500 - and the rest of the car besides that one spot of paint is in great condition!)

Regarding the noise - the only way I could really describe it is this: Imagine somebody jumping on a spring pogo stick 30 yards away. That is pretty much what I hear. I only hear it at the drive through because that is pretty much the only time I drive stop and go with the window open. (it reached 114 F last week). I was just wondering if this is a somewhat normal sound for a manual, because I was guessing that it was related to the clutch.

kneisl1 · July 2005

Im guessing youre hearing it because the noise is reflected off the wall of the drive in. The same thing might happen when driving with a concrete barrier to your left. See if you can get the car to make the noise (or any noise for that matter) when going around a tight turn, like on a cloverleaf entrance to a highway. It might be a CV joint. You can grab the joints and wiggle them to see of any are loose. The outer ones (next to the wheels) tend to go first. Basically, my advice is to drive it until it breaks. Thats way it will be easier to tell what is wrong. Dont laugh! Take it to a shop and they will charge you to fix whatever their theory is even if it turns out wrong. You might try putting the front of the car up on jackstands so both wheels are off the ground. Run it through the gears and see if you get the noise. If you are feeling brave, you can lay under the car while someone else runs it through the gears. You just might find it! Dont do this if you never had a car up on jackstands.

rossm2 · July 2005

As far as the noise is concerned, I have a very odd suggestion since what you describe sounds like something I was hearing in my current (non-Echo) car. Turns out it was the roof aerial bobbing up and down after I came to a stop. It drove me crazy until I finally figured it out.

It's unlikely your problem, but it is a thought. I pushed the aerial in about 1/2" and no more pogo-stick.

kneisl1 · July 2005

My ECHO does that too!

tsnook · July 2005

I have my antenna pushed into the car all the way. Do you think that it could be shaking around inside?

rossm2 · July 2005

I doubt it, but pull it part way out and see if there is a difference.

reba05 · August 2005

I just happened to check out www.toyota.com and the ECHO is no longer listed as a vehicle. Will there be a replacement for '06? I do not see anything listed under Future Cars on the website.
Any thoughts on if this will cause issues with resale?
I have to admit, after another long distance trip I feel this may not be the car for me, battling the wind for 5 hours takes the fun out of the drive.

backy · August 2005

Check here for info on the next-gen ECHO, or Yaris, or whatever it will be called in the U.S.:

sniffles, "2006 Toyota Echo" #57, 8 May 2005 10:32 am

reba05 · August 2005

Thanks for the link. That's not a bad replacement if it happens - looks like a smaller Matrix or Scion xA. Hopefully it handles wind gusts better than the current design, and a few more standard options would be nice.

kneisl1 · August 2005

I was out driving yesterday in my ECHO and the only other vehicles I saw were mopeds and motorized scooters. And I was on the New Jersey Turnpike!

kneisl1 · August 2005

I looked on the Toyota web site and theres nothing about the ECHOs replacement. There isnt anything about the ECHO there either. Anyone know anything about this?

kneisl1 · August 2005

Wikipedia is reporting that in 2004, the ECHO sold 3,593 units. That is not a lot.

pulgo · August 2005

31252 Toyota Echo were sold in Canada in 2004.

kneisl1 · August 2005

How many people live in Canada? 31,000 isnt an aweful lot either, but perhaps as a percentage of population its worth Toyotas while. Those hatch ECHOs are so good looking! Ive heard local used car dealers near the border are selling examples of them in the US. True? :confuse:

a_l_hubcaps · August 2005

It's coming. See the 2006 Toyota Echo thread in Future Vehicles.

-Andrew L

rossm2 · August 2005

Canada has about 31 million. The Echo is usually in the top 10 in sales.

pulgo · August 2005

There were more Echo's sold than Ford Focus. Gas taxes are also higher in Canada than in the US and that explains the many small car sales.

pesterkid · August 2005

Sorry for taking so long to write back.
You were so right...they said it was bcos of the pulley...
I dont know exactly what they did, but the noise is gone.
Thanks so much...this time around it was so much easier to get them to fix it, the last time I went, they had no idea what to look for.

kneisl1 · August 2005

Good! I just hope the noise doesnt come back!

kneisl1 · August 2005

Thats what I figure it will cost to drive my ECHO if gas hits $3 a gallon. My wifes Camry will be more like $20 a week.

reba05 · September 2005

That must have been recently posted because I had checked that a couple months ago. Not bad - seems like it may be smaller though and that gets to be a little impracticle for most people. Interested to see it when it comes out! However, I still like my car and don't plan on replacing anytime soon.

rossm2 · September 2005

Look at this thread: lexi4life, "2007 Toyota Echo/Yaris" #1, 13 Sep 2004 9:45 pm

The new Yaris (Echo replacement) is significantly roomier than the Echo hatchback - 3" longer, 3.5" longer wheelbase, 1" taller, 1.3" wider. While I don't have the interior measurements yet, it is said to have the same room as the current Corolla, other than the trunk.

kneisl1 · September 2005

My 2001 ECHO has its first problem. I was changing the transmission oil today and noticed some oil over on the right hand side of the undercarriage. Come to find out the power steering pump had oil all over it. Usually when this happens its a leaking pressure hose. Going to look at the service manual and see what is involved.

Toyota Echo

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