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Toyota Echo

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Comments

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    No, you have that backwards I believe. They are thinking of putting the 1.3 from the iQ in the Yaris as a base model to compete sticker to sticker with the $9995 Versa.

    But the iQ is expected to have the 1.3, the biggest gas engine offered in that model elsewhere in the world. And I would expect mileage well into the 40s, so if a 3-seater is your thing (I think of the Echo as a 2+2), it could be just the ticket. Certainly it looks like a good candidate for a commute car.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Where did you read about the 1.3 in the Yaris? I will be upset if I bought a 1.5 and I could have had a 1.3! Oh well I got free cruise control! The articles Ive read on the internet say 1.5 liter for the iQ. No way (they say) anything smaller will be offered. But of course if it happens I would welcome it.
  • babyboomerbabyboomer Member Posts: 205
    So would your future Echo have solar roof panels?
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    No they dont work. My dream car would have a 500cc diesel engine and weigh about 800 pounds. If everybody had one of those we could have fuel for 50 cents a gallon! With the right emission controls we could stop global warming!
  • dakedake Member Posts: 131
    Do a google search on TPMS, I found a site awhile back where I guy took the TPMS sensors and sealed them inside two PVC endcaps. He put a valve in one end and pressurized it and threw the ball in his trunk. That way the computer can read the sensors and is happy, but he doesn't have to worry about the hiccups.
  • rjgeerjgee Member Posts: 27
    Finally... anyone hit 300k yet?

    See you at the next 50k!

    RJ
  • babyboomerbabyboomer Member Posts: 205
    Toyota’s 1/x hybrid concept, whose bioplastic exterior contains seaweed, has the same interior space as a Prius, but weighs only 926 pounds — about one-third the weight of a Prius — and aims to double its fuel efficiency.
  • babyboomerbabyboomer Member Posts: 205
    http://editorial.autos.msn.com/photopopup.aspx?cp-documentid=1057565&mediaid=dd3- 8ee29da9d4bd99ce8853be219d0da&topart=hybrids&rf=http://editorial.autos.msn.com/a- rticle.aspx?cp-documentid=1057565&topart=hybrids#mediaid=dd38ee29da9d4bd99ce8853- be219d0da
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Well if it doesnt work you could always eat it! Tasty! Hmm 900 pounds for a HYBRID sounds very optimistic. But at least they got the small motor/light weight thing right.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Join Consumer Advice Editor, Phil Reed, and other Edmunds staff for an auto industry chat TONIGHT, Wednesday, 9:00 -10:00 pm/et (6:00 -7:00 pm/pt). To enter the chat, click on the banner at the top of the page.

    See you there!
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Original engine and trans? And which do you have, manual or auto?

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • rjgeerjgee Member Posts: 27
    2000 Automatic. Original engine, trans, alternator, starter, battery, etc. Changed the struts and exhaust once, 1 coil pack, the ECU (early generation had a defect), and the radiator (hit deer).
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    That's awesome. But can you really be driving around with a ten year old battery?

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    My ECHO battery (nine years) would still be in the car. But the clutch switch stuck open one morning and the car wouldnt start so I changed it. This was at seven years...
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    just on principle I would replace a battery that old, even if it was still cranking OK. All you would need is a day or two of temperature extremes, and you could well be stranded.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Id be more intreged to see how long the battery would last. Youll never know unless you try! Besides I have AAA.
  • dakedake Member Posts: 131
    What part of the country do you live in? Down here in Houston, these temperatures wreak havoc with battery life. I just buy Die Hards b/c I know I'll get credit for my next battery in a few years.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    I live in NJ. My brother lives in Houston so I know what you mean! He cant even grow tomatos there its so hot! (maybe he should start them in january?)
    I think a large part of my excellent battery life is I drive the car exactly the same every day. 6 miles to work and back. Very consistant. Of course the ECHO is a very high quality car and that counts for a lot too. That and I add water to the (nonsealed) battery every four months.
  • babyboomerbabyboomer Member Posts: 205
    Had a chance to drive the Echo I gave to my son. It is holding up well except the back right door handle will not reset next to the door. It stills works and does not bother him. I surprised him by vacuuming, hand washing and waxing it. He knows I would love to have it back but he is on the road so much. And he gets 41 mpg highway while using the air conditioner. The Jeep he swapped for the Echo gives me 19 mpg. He says it's the best deal he ever made. When the Jeep has only one-fourth of a tank, start looking for a gas station. When the Echo has only one-fourth of a tank, keep on motoring and smiling.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Why not sell the Jeep and look for a good used ECHO?
    I bought a 2000 ECHO with auto for $3000 and 117,000 miles a year ago for my son to drive to school. (it was used for a 50 mile daily communte) Its been a year and the car has been no problem at all 9000 miles later. He got 43 mpg driving to the Catskills with two friends last weekend.
  • dakedake Member Posts: 131
    Huh... my Echo's door handle did the exact same thing (same handle and everything). Strange thing is, it almost never gets used - especially compared to the other three).
  • babyboomerbabyboomer Member Posts: 205
    The Jeep was the last vehicle my wife's dad purchased before his death and it works fine. The wife loves the SUV she drives but the Jeep could some day replace it. Although I don't like the mpg of either, both vehicles are paid in full and work fine. We usually keep what we drive until the wheels fall off. Lastly, the auto industry is still on a roller coaster so we use what we have.
  • babyboomerbabyboomer Member Posts: 205
    I drove the 2002 Echo the length of Georgia.
    Auto tran, fully loaded with books and clothes, air con used the whole trip (Georgia in August!), 5.5 hours: 42 mpg.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    How many miles on the ECHO now?
  • babyboomerbabyboomer Member Posts: 205
    65,000.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Ha! A babe in the woods. I'm closing in on 125,000, should be there by Labor Day. Still going strong, and I'm in cheap-out mode on maintenance until Christmas, although I may finally have to replace the battery before then, after four years of use.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • jsilver03jsilver03 Member Posts: 3
    Hello to all I am an owner of an 03 Echo now with 140,000 miles and it is running strong if this is any help to the breaking of the door handles remove then window crank (use tool sold for these or a small flat head to bump up the pin looks like omega sign) and door skin being easy on all retainers and the door lock that sticks up. then cut the plastic liner its ok you can rig a homemade liner all day long I have done so on all my doors. then most likly you will not see copper/golden spring so use a mechanic style magnet that extends into the skelital frame in the door until you feel it connect to the mag. now from my experience one side of the springs home or channel we will call it is cracked. the channel will be visible with lithium grease whitish grey color now paying attention to the only way it will really fit push the spring in the channel making sure the spring ends are seating correctly in the grooves. now use that badass billy mayes type mighty putty and put good glob of it over the cracked area and do not do open that door untill the next day - I hope this helps I have done all but my driver door and many other mods
  • allyjay123allyjay123 Member Posts: 1
    I just bought a 2000 Echo from Craig's List, and it looks like it's in great condition and I really love the car, but I am having a couple of minor problems so far and am looking to find the solutions without having to go to a mechanic and spend money I dont have. Does anyone have any advice? :(

    The main thing is that my radio and clock stopped working about two days after I bought it, I plugged in the cigarette lighter and the radio and clock shorted out. I was sure it was a fuse, and I replaced all of the 15amp fuses in the fuse box, and the 30amp too. The radio still doesn't work. Either I still cannot find the blown fuse, or it's not a fuse problem?

    Also, the car is generally really noisy. When I have my foot on the break at a stoplight, it makes a noise like something might be rattling and causing a noisy vibration. When I accelerate, the car is pretty loud as well. Is this normal?

    I am hoping I bought the right car, I have faith in it, but I'm a little nervous! its has 92k miles which didnt seem too bad. Do you have to get the timing belt changed or is it a chain instead? The car didnt come with a manual.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    No there is not belt the cams are driven by a chain.

    Is the check engine light on? If so have the codes read at Auto Zone for free and tell us what they are.

    There are more fuses in the engine compartment perhaps one is blown in there. Look for a plastic box under the hood that looks like it might be a fuse box.

    Sounds like you have brake and muffler issues which need a mechanic to fix. Hes a test you can do. In the morning BEFORE starting the engine. Start the cold engine and go to the tailpipe with a heavy rag. Use the rag to plug the tailpipe air tight. You should feel back pressure and perhaps air hissing out of the exhuast system. If you have ZERO back pressure on the rag then there are holes in the muffler/exhuast pipe and the exhuast system needs work. PLEASE do this test with the engine cold so you dont get burned.
  • dakedake Member Posts: 131
    The vibration at a stop light, is it a metallic rattle or is it a general vibration or is it a knock? If it's a metallic rattle it could be something in the exhaust or loose under the hood.

    If it's a vibration that shakes the whole car but lessens while in neutral and stopped, or when you take your foot off the brake it's probably the motor mounts. That's actually a fairly common issue with the Echo it seems, and is more annoying than anything else.

    If it's a knock you could try bumping up a grade in fuel. I know it says you only need 87 but I've found as the mileage rises the engine benefits from running on 89 instead.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    cross-post this over here, since I'm not sure where the traffic is more frequent:

    So, for me it's tire time. Tell me out there in Echoland: what tires are you running? I could get another set of Toyo Spectrums, the ones I have now did the full 65K they promised, but I'm also thinking of spending a bit more money for Michelin Harmonys, which are supposed to be quieter and give me 80K miles, in addition to better wet-road traction.

    So do tell, what tires do you have on your car, and do you like them or hate them?

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • babyboomerbabyboomer Member Posts: 205
    Michelin Harmonys and no complaints but that was when millions of Chinese made valve stems were defected. So after two new stems, all are okay.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    I just got a set of FUZION HRI's for my wifes Camry in 205 65 15. $53 each from TR. They are made by Bridgestone and look like EXCELLENT tires. Very nice quality for cheap.
    But something tells me your not a cheap tire guy? :D
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    No, not a cheap tire guy, and Fuzion isn't in my vocabulary! Neither are Kumho or Nexen. But it doesn't have to be Michelins, the Toyos are decent for less money, I could get some Hankooks that would save me another $100 overall, Yokohama and Sumitomo make a decent tire for fairly cheap too. I find that there aren't a MILLION choices because of the tire size. I am leaning AWAY from the Korean tires.

    I got a quote for $100 less than the Michelins on four Yokohama Avid H4s, which are a great tire for medium money, but I know that they would knock down my fuel economy by a solid 10% and I don't want anything to do with that. The superlative fuel economy is the main reason I still have the Echo, and am contemplating keeping it for another three years. I don't even want to THINK about dropping below 40 mpg! *shudder*

    Hey kneisl, what tires do you have on YOUR Echo?

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Right now on the new Yaris I have Bridgestone Potenza 92s. These are the same tires that came with my 01 ECHO and which I had such terrible traction on snow with. So we shall see what happens this winter! If they are really bad like the ECHOs I just might get different ones and trash them. No sense having an accident! On the 01 ECHO are three Kumhos (cant remember model) and a General tire (get lots of nails in tires here in NJ and have to replace them) The Kumhos are not wearing too well maybe 10,000 miles on the fronts and half worn out. But they have excellent traction on snow. We just use the car as a "spare" now and drive it maybe 25-50 miles a week tops. My sons '00 ECHO came with Goodyear tires pretty basic model cant remember the name. They are old (maybe six years?) but only have 20k miles on them. They are in pretty good shape.
  • dakedake Member Posts: 131
    My Echo has Sumitomos on the back and Falkens on the front. Obviously snow is not an issue down here in Texas, but water is and they do really well in the crazy, heavy downpours we get from time to time. They same to wear evenly, but I'm pretty aggressive with my driving so I never get the full mileage out of a set of tires. I think they're both 60k mile tires but I probably won't make it much past 40k - fortunately I only drive about 10k a year tops, so I'll be good for awhile yet.

    My wife's still got the original Bridgestones on her Yaris and I don't know that I like them that much - I'll probably get Sumitomos for that when it's time.
  • lhansonlhanson Member Posts: 268
    I have the same tires on my 07 Yaris with 19000 miles on them and they still look new even though they have a very poor wear rating. We don't get much snow here in the Memphis area so I would be more than happy to "recycle" your tires for you if you are just going to "trash" them.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    $100 and theyre YOURS! The wear rating means nothing.They are very long wearing tires and they have excellent traction wet or dry. Worth your life on snow however.
  • rep5858rep5858 Member Posts: 45
    I have Michelin agility touring. First set gave me 85,000 i believe. The Potenza's were terrible( had them with car new ( 2001) . Second set of Michelin's doing well.
    BTW I have 218,000 miles on the car and looking for the 2 door hatch Yaris 5 speed. .Nothing wrong with car, just giving it to my son.

    Test drove one . What a car! Very fast to merge speed on highways. Quality bulit like my echo The car I test drove was sold next day. Now im looking most dealers around here are out they say becasue of CFC.Im in eastern PA
  • flambe16flambe16 Member Posts: 2
    The console light which looks like cool water lite up but after two minutes it goes off. Does this indicate the time the vehicle needs to warm up? The water levels are fine, I don't know why it does this?
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Its just telling you the car is warming up from a cold condition. When the light goes out the warm up is complete. Everything is fine and your ECHO is running as its creator intended it to!
  • flambe16flambe16 Member Posts: 2
    I wanted to extend my deepest appreciation and gratitude to you for taking the time to respond to my concern. Thank you for giving me a peace of mind!
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Sure no problem. If you have any other questions about your ECHO feel free to ask any time!
  • dakedake Member Posts: 131
    I almost wonder if there should be a sticky for this one particular item (both here and in the Yaris thread) since it's an exceptionally common question but the answers get lost in the general maintenance thread.

    It could be titled: "Echo/Yaris Instrument Lights - blue/green Temperature light/Automatic doesn't up-shift" or something to that effect followed by the basic explanation:

    It's completely normal. The light stays lit until the engine is at it's appropriate temperature at which time it will allow the automatic transmission to upshift.

    Hey Mods... what do you think?
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    We don't actually have the traditional form of stickys here. On the other hand, we do have outstanding search features that can be accessed from many levels. That's the way people can find the things that have been previously discussed. :shades:
  • lhansonlhanson Member Posts: 268
    I think that most dealer's are out of the 2009 Yarii. We have three Toyota dealer's in Memphis, one dealer has one left in stock, the others have none. The 2010's should be out soon. They will have upgraded standard safety features. Probably worth waiting for. You can find quite a few used Yarii on Ebay and even a few on the dealer's lots.
  • blazer6973547blazer6973547 Member Posts: 24
    never bothered to take apart the gear box yet of my 01 echo but it grinds in 2nd which is horrible going uphill cuz once you get to 2nd your doing 10 and and got to shift back to first....but anyway, does this gearbox have traditional synchronizers or like some people have tried to explain...snychro gears? cant wrap my head around it and dont want to take apart a gearbox if i wont understand it....PLEASE HELP!!!!
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    How many miles on it? Have you tried double clutching? The books says for wont go into gear:

    1) shift cable faulty
    2) synchronizer ring worn
    3)shift key spring dammaged

    I looked at the pictures and there are two synchro rings on the output shaft and two on the input shaft.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    I'm $500 poorer this evening - got the Michelin Harmonys put on today, and had an alignment done and an oil change since it was there and it was about time.

    Right off I notice it is a softer tire (the Harmony is S-rated as the original tires were; the Toyos I had before were T-rated) but that's not a bad thing. Echo is no race car to begin with. ;-)

    There is less impact harshness over bad pavement than I ever had with the Toyos. And supposedly this is an 80K-mile tire, which means if they perform to expectations, these may well be the last tires I ever buy for this car.

    Now I'm crossing my fingers that I will also get better wet traction when the rain starts in a month or so......

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Weeee $500! Actually thats cheap for the quality you got....
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