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I brief history that may or may not apply. I just traveled from Colorado to Virginia. When I lived in CO, it was winter and I encountered more mountainous terrain when I did drive, lots of ups and downs. I had also driven to CO about 4 months prior before coming back. So it's had its share of long drives in short periods and steep terrain that its little engine might normally not be accustomed too.
I am militant on oil changes(Mobile1) and air filter changes. I noticed when I used a fuel injector cleaner or a higher grade of gasoline that this helped for an hour into the drive but then I'd hit a 2 minute uphill and eventually I'd be a turtle again.
Any insight would be most welcome.
I noticed that it was not cooling well in stop and go traffic. If I get it up to 70MPH on the highway it will freeze you out. I did have the freon level checked and it was fine. One person told me it was the condenser, but after looking at prices, I want to hope otherwise.
Thanks
If you can take the belt off you can turn each pulley (the water pump, the AC, the ac compressor) by hand and see if they turn smoothly. If one of them doesnt there is the problem.
Its just a matter of finding the two bolts on the alternator that tighten the belt. One is on top and easy to see, one is underneath and you have to feel for it. Its cramped to work on the right side of the engine bay but its doable. If you cant just take it to a garage.
I will find something soon though I'm sure.
If it's something I can do myself, where can I find info on doing it?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Your next move is to have the code read. Auto Zone reads them for free if one is near you. When you find the error code(s) post them here.
1 - Dealer said the plugs were 30k plugs & not changed yet. Can I switch to 90k plugs without worry?
2 - Can anyone tell me where the fuel filter is & a quicky how to change note? Is the line pressurized? How often should I change?
3 - Should I add/change anything to this schedule?
-Oil 4 - 5k
-Air filter 30k
-Plugs - 30 - 90k Question #1
-AT fluid 30k
-Fuel filter Question #2
-?????
-?????
Note - How does the Echo do in the snow and ice?? I'm in Michigan.
Thanks in advance!!!
Jill
Fuel filter is on the fuel pump which is in the gas tank. Access is under the rear seat. There is no requirement to change it. Only if there is trouble. I would leave it alone as long as things are OK. Yes there is pressure in the lines!
I see no reason to go changing the AT fluid. A lot of people do it but doesnt do much good. You might change the AT filter however and have a look see for gunkyness etc. Its easy to do...
My 2001 ECHO was UNBELIEVEABLY bad on snow and ice and I grew up driving in upstate NY. (lake effect mean anything to you?) It was the TIRES however POTENZAS by Bridgstone. They handle well and wear well but suck on snow REALLY bad and I know what Im doing driving on snow. I put a set of Kumho on and it was like night and day. Much better. The car is OK in snow Ive driven better. (Ford Granada and Pinto) I think you want a really godd set of tires on there or better yet four dedicated mounted snows if you have to drive in snow conidtions.
Yes the little ECHO is a great car Im sure you will love it. Any questions ask. PS I would look at the ball joint boots tie rod boots and CV joint boots real good.
Thank you so much for the answers. It is clear you are the board guru and I appreciate your time and help. Thanks again.
-Boy, do we know about lake effect snow in Mi: ) The Echo came with new Kelly tires so I will see how they do.
-One more question
Now that it is warming up a bit I notice the A/C seems to be a little slow to cool. Once the car get going the air seems to be good. Is this normal or do you think I may need a little recharge?? It will be hot here soon.
Note - I hopeing for this to be my first car to make it to 200k. Only 152k to go!!!
A couple general techniques to aid in quicker cool down. If the car has been sitting for awhile, put the AC in "fresh air mode" and turn it on full blast. Even if it's hot outside, it's still cooler than inside and this gets rid of some of the hot air. You can even roll down your window for the first minute or so just to help empty the cabin of the hot air. Let it run in fresh air for a couple minutes and then switch to "Recycle" and it will start to re-cool the interior air.
Down here in Houston we've been up over 100 heat index for the last two weeks and while it will take a couple minutes to cool down, our Yaris will still freeze you out once it gets going.
Now I still have a little leak in the trunk. Anyone have an idea about that one?
Thanks in advance for any cheap suggestions.
My Echo has an old set of rims from a 90's era Tercel Firehawk/Paseo. I made the mistake of going a little big on the tires (195/70/R14) and they rubbed a little - I had to remove the mud flaps from the back.
Now I use 185/60/R14 and they work no problem. The other thing I noticed was on the larger tire I lost 4 or 5 mpg. Some of that may have been b/c it threw off the odometer (I don't really know), but when I went back to the smaller size tire, the mpg came back.
I'd guess the MR2 rims are 15 inches at least, so you'll probably have to go with a 60mm or less sidewall to keep from rubbing. 7 inches is only 177 mm, so you can get a 185/55/R15 tire and you'd probably be fine.
thanks Tyler
I put an earlier post in about my car and this seems like the next step some suggest is to change the filter.
I look forward to any information anyone offers.
Dave
The drivers door electric window is not working properly. The symptoms are the window will not go back up immediately after being lowered. If I wait for a minute it will go up a few centimetres and this progresses with time until I can get it right up after a few minutes. It doesn't seem to matter whether the car is running or not but the window seems to need this time to recharge something.
Also one of the back windows will not wind up or down. This suddenly stoppped functioning without any warning.
Does anyone have any ideas on the above or any tips on dismantling the doors/units.
Cheers