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Toyota Echo Real World MPG

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Comments

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Well sure, no question on the whole mileage vs safety thing. Of course, I'm in the San Francisco area - no ice here, it's very rare for it to be below freezing next to the bay, and the worst I ever have to deal with is rain and lots of it.

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

  • edithhamiltonedithhamilton Member Posts: 3
    Hi, I just purchased a 2000 Echo (automatic) and I'm thrilled with it. I've been averaging 44mpg (the last tank got over 45mpg). Granted, I drive at 58-65 mph and accelerate very very slowly. I avoid breaking as much as possible.

    I'm thinking about purchasing another used echo, but it's so hard to find a good (and cheap!) one.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    edited May 2010
    A coworker of mine has had an interest in getting an Echo for ages now, but there are never very many for sale and they hold their value much better than I ever would have expected. The only one in the area right now that she would even consider is an '01 with 136K miles, at a dealer who is asking $5000 for it! I agreed with her that $5000 sounded high for an almost-9-year-old car with that many miles.

    She told me today she is probably giving up on finding an Echo. She intends to test drive a new Yaris tomorrow.

    Edit.....I'm still chugging along getting 40 mpg, BTW. Never varies much, hasn't ever since I have owned the car, and given that I had a loaner Yaris this week which only managed 36 mpg (but it was an automatic), I figure 40 mpg in suburban driving is just fine! :-)

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

  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Yeah my manual 2001 ECHO did avg very nearly 40 mpg. My auto Yaris is averageing 36 mpg over the same route. On the one time I took it long distance I got 40 mpg at cruise controlled 73 mph.
  • mnmanmnman Member Posts: 36
    Hi kneisl1, I have been driving my '01 Echo for 7 hrs now and can get as high as 55mpg in the summer and as low as 39 in the winter (hwy) I bought it for $5800 with 28K miles on it when gas was $1.39 US here. it has 134K miles on it now and it runs like new. I need to fix the pesky doughnut gasket on the exhaust that goes out on Echos of this vintage, but I figure I can get 300 thousand miles out of the car if I get going and start driving....oh ya, it is a 5 speed.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Is that the donut that holds the exhaust to the body mount?
  • dephinusorcadephinusorca Member Posts: 66
    edited May 2010
    I bought my 2000 manual for around $4000 (i think) with 60k on it, which seems more and more like a steal. Over the first year or so I had it I tracked mileage religiously and averaged 46 in mixed (probably 85% freeway) driving, but once got three tanks in a row of 53mph (driving 45mph in national parks). Only once did I get under forty (39). It was over a cold Christmas week with all city driving, and I remember being horrified. It now has about 110,000 and runs like a top. I am tempted to buy another for our second car but I think we need a station wagon.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    I bought my sons 2000 auto ECHO two years ago this August. It had 117k on it and I paid $3000. Now it has 140k. Except for things like air filters and sparkplugs havnt put a dime in it. (oh I had to have the shop tighten the alternator wp belt $10) That belt squeek was the reason the PO sold it I think..
  • edithhamiltonedithhamilton Member Posts: 3
    edited May 2010
    55 mpg is amazing! I've been meaning to learn how to drive w/ a stick shift.

    It makes me angry to see Americans settle for cars that give such low mpg. There are so many people who are pleased with their car's mileage, when they're getting only around 28mpg. That is not something to be proud of.

    I feel lucky to have bought my current echo (2000) for $6k, and it only had around 50k miles on it.

    I just saw an ad for a 7 y/o automatic echo, priced for over $9500 (and that's not even including the dealer's fees). It's absurd! I'm hoping to find one that has less than 100k miles for around $6000. My fiance's old truck is about to die, and I really want to replace it with an echo.
  • mnmanmnman Member Posts: 36
    Just to say, things have to just right for me to pull off 55mpg with the Echo. I should also say that would be at 60 mph. But I can do 48-50 In the summer pretty easily. Winters another story!
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Yeah go 55-60 on the freeway for best mpg. My manual 2001 got 53 mpg once doing that.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    the few times I did a long, steady-state highway drive at 65 mph. That's in my 5-speed '02.

    Even with an engine this small, those cold starts will get you though. Throw in a few of those, and I'm at 40-42 most of the time.

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

  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    I get 36 mpg driving my auto Yaris 6.5 miles to work and back. This winter when I was in the hospital and out of work for 12 weeks, I typically drove 2 miles to the store etc. the mileage dropped to 27 or less during that time.
  • dephinusorcadephinusorca Member Posts: 66
    came to 419 miles on 9.05 gallons, or 46+ mpg on the 2000 Echo w/115,000 miles. I've now put 55000 miles on the car, which has no repairs in its lifetime except a mass air sensor (?), or something like that. Pretty cool.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    was 40 mpg, just as it always seems to be. 363 miles, 9.07 gallons. Have been running the A/C more, the summer is gradually kicking in here in NorCal.

    I'm at 139K, have never needed to make any repairs at all, have also never had to do any brake or clutch work although I am told that I am finally almost at the end of the front brake pads. Will probably have to do those at 145.

    And I have done about 80K miles in mine, so of course it's possible/likely that the first owner did brakes in the time he had it.

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

  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    edited August 2010
    432 miles, 9-2/3 gallons, I'm calling that 45 mpg (technically 44.7). Not quite as good as when it was a young car, but decent for 140K miles on the clock. Speeds 65-70 with occasional faster bursts to pass, A/C running a lot of the time.

    Won a bet with a friend who said I couldn't make it from my place in Marin (north of San Francisco) to LA on 10 gallons of gas. Of course, he drives an Escape with the V-6, so no wonder he thinks that way. He says he gets about 18 mpg on a good day with a tailwind!

    '02 Echo 5-speed.

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

  • dephinusorcadephinusorca Member Posts: 66
    Recently took a @6000 mi roadtrip. I made no attempt to drive it gently as I have in the past, and many of the miles were 85mph in MT, WY, CO, UT. I recorded all but the first and last tanks, and here are the results:

    Mi Gal Ave
    348 8.2 42.4
    431 9.48 45.5
    440 9.04 48.7
    377 8.42 44.8
    407 8.63 47.2
    453 9.71 46.7
    365 8.61 42.4
    534 9.77 54.7
    425 9.17 46.3
    483 9.84 49.1
    418 9.20 45.4
    391 9.42 41.5

    5072/ 109.5 = 46.3

    I did not record which tanks I used which gas, but I am fairly certain that using the 85 octane (not available in my homestate), instead of 87 or 89, actually gave better mileage, though a noticeable decrease in power going up hills. I am certain that is what I had in the car on the 534/9.77/54.7mpg tank, although I wonder if that may have been a slight overfill, given it followed a 42mpg tank.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    I took a 7000 mile trips out west this summer with my at Yaris. I averaged 38 mpg. Not as good as the ECHO would have done... :(
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    edited August 2010
    Well, it might compare favorably with an AUTOMATIC Echo - your Echo was a manual wasn't it? The difference between the autos and manuals was always extreme with this car.

    I am gradually coming to realize that I am a faster driver than I think I am, because with both this and my other car, I am surrounded by people who post significantly higher mpg numbers than I post, and I thought I was actually a fairly conservative driver....

    I have never seen a 54 in my Echo, for instance. Not even on an all-highway trip when it was much younger. I think 49s were repeatedly doable, and that was about the limit. But these new tires I bought last fall sucked 2 mpg right out of my car....I traded long-life rubber for fuel efficiency. :-/

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

  • dakedake Member Posts: 131
    edited August 2010
    Naw, my Echo is an auto and it gets 44'ish mpg on all highway at 70 mph.

    But that seems about right for the Yaris sedan. The Yaris is heavier and that accounts for much of it.
  • bruce3681bruce3681 Member Posts: 4
    I remember getting low to mid thirties city / high forties on the highway in my auto echo. I havn't checked in years. I too went with long lasting Michelins and drive a bit fast according to my better half. I really didn't want to sacrafice the covenience of an auto tranny for the extra milage and it was already a fuel mizer compared to much of the competition. It was also a proven car in Japan selling under the name of Vitz. The other car I was considering at the time was the Prius. In the end, I'm glad that I went with the echo. That $10k price difference bought a lot of gas and much much more.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    The Prius is a very bad joke on the consumer. You pay a $10,000 premium to save $2000 of gas over 100k miles compared to the ECHO.
  • dephinusorcadephinusorca Member Posts: 66
    I have to disagree. I think the comparison is apples to oranges, or at least grapefruit to oranges. I love my echo and plan to drive it until it dies, which hopefully won't be for another ten years or so. However, gas is not the only basis of comparing a prius to echo. The prius is also just a nicer car, as I notice every time I'm in one. Also, its emissions are considerably lower, despite the echo's stellar mileage and much lower weight. The echo I think has a tip-top engine--the best of any car I've had in terms of efficiency relative to performance and reliability--but the rest of the car is as bare-bones as you can get. I am also fairly sure that the prius would have a strong advantage in terms of crash safety.
  • mnmanmnman Member Posts: 36
    I agree, the wife drives a 08 Prius and I have a 01 Echo, I'd love to have a Prius especially on the long hauls! it simply is less fatiguing with it's better suspension, quiet interior and other creature comforts. I have put 140k on the Echo now but I thought it was at it's end in June when a lady ran a stop sign and nailed her hard! :sick: spun the car 180 dgrees and left the back door smashed too far in to use any longer and bent the back drivers axle, but it still drives just fine after shimming the axle and bolting the top of the door so air and rain don't get in!

    On top of it all she had no insurance, I filed suit on her and it's being picked by Judge Joe Brown, flying us both out to LA in two weeks to settle the case, LOL!! :)
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    edited September 2010
    Those are the excuses that are made for the Prius. The ECHO and Yaris could also be made with the same emission levels. If you want a nicer car I can think of a dozen ones that are a lot nicer than the Prius for the same money. Ditto safety. The car is a bottom line failure. But people keep buying it. Kind of like they rack up $30,000 on their credit cards. Nuts.
    Just my opinion! But I wouldnt wear milk bone underware either.
  • lhansonlhanson Member Posts: 268
    I'll have side with kneisl1 on this one. I would love to be able to justify the purchase of a Prius, but the bottom line is just as he states, you pay $10,000 to save $2,000 over 100,000 miles, but you can break even at 500,000 miles because banks pay no interest now. With all the recalls, I have noticed the resale has come down considerably on use Prius's. At what point do you have to change out the batteries in the Prius and how much does that cost?
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    As I understand it the battery life has been outstanding. The cars are supposedly reliable. Any problems must be a nightmare to diagnose though.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    kneisl - you just continue to raise this debate! Apples and oranges, without a doubt.

    Echo = bare-bones commuter car, gets fabulous fuel economy and reliability, SUPER cheap to operate, tiny enough to find parking on the streets of San Francisco (my personal favorite feature, use it all the time). AND THAT'S IT.

    For $10 grand more, Prius = comfortable, quiet highway ride, loaded with every feature you could possibly want either standard or optional (and even the most basic Prius has WAY more standard features than Echo ever had even OPTIONAL), projects an image of prosperity rather than one of having to buy the cheapest car on the market, PZEV smog emissions, much higher safety rating.............PLUS gets fabulous fuel economy and reliability.

    Different strokes for different folks. I happen to like small cars that drive like small cars and so for me the Echo was the right choice between the two, and mine has served me better than I had ever dared hope it would. I still wouldn't buy a Prius today because even though the Echo has drunken-sailor handling, at least you can TELL the car is in touch with the ground, and what the front end is doing, unlike a Prius.

    But the Prius has a great deal going for it, for which many people are understandably happy to pay the extra $10 grand. With the Echo's replacement (which I will be buying in the next couple of years), I am looking to move up to a more Prius-like level of features, which leaves me with very limited choices if I insist on superlative fuel economy once again. It's basically the Prius vs the Golf TDI, and I don't know how happy I am buying a diesel.

    Or I could settle for 40 mpg all over again (to match my Echo) and go for a top-trim Fiesta or a Mini Cooper. But I always told myself I would get a car with BETTER fuel economy every time I traded in.......

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

  • mnmanmnman Member Posts: 36
    Yesterday I had my first 50+ mpg trip back from the cabin in some time, according to the Scan Gauge anyway... I had recently put in a new oxygen sensor at 140K miles. it didn't drop a code but I figured it was due anyway. My trip is mostly two lane rural highway at 60 mph. I often get 44-47 mpg on it and my car is a manual.
  • edithhamiltonedithhamilton Member Posts: 3
    edited September 2010
    We now have two echos: Both automatic, both 4-door; one is a silver 2000 echo, and the other is black 2003. Both have around 65k miles on them, and each one was acquired for a little under $6k this year.

    I've had the 2000 one since March, and if it's driven in hot weather at 60mpg, it will give me 49 mpg. But usually, I get around 46 mpg out of it.

    The 2003 one was purchased about a week ago. I'm worried about this one, since it had been in a fender bender (it's fixed now), and the steering wheel vibrates if the car is driven at low speeds. I've been told that I just need to get the tires aligned, and this problem should go away. This car also has a digital dashboard, which I found strange. Anyway, it just got 47 mpg. Most of it was highway driving, at 65 to 75 mph.

    I love echos, and am glad to now two of them (one for me, one for my fiance). :)
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    If it has digital dash it must be Canadian or sumthin. Or a grey market Euro sumthin. You got a strange beastie there! Someone must know here...

    Hmm the vibe might be because your tires need balancing. But strange its only at low speeds. You mean it goes away the faster you go? Strange. I would balance the tires (alignment does not cause vibration in my experience) see if that ehlps. If not have the front end inspected by a mechanic you trust . Im saying NOT the dealer although if you trust them...

    Good luck! You have excellent taste in cars!
  • dakedake Member Posts: 131
    Yeah, tire balance is what I'd guess too. It may have lost a wheel weight at some point and the vibration can kick in at any speed and go away just as quickly.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Echos had digital dashes in lots of places in the world, just not the U.S. and for the most part Canada. It is unclear if a factory digital dash was offered at any time in Canada, but it was offered in many of the 60+ countries Echo was sold in (mostly under the Yaris or other names).

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

  • likrishlikrish Member Posts: 8
    I posted here at the forum over a year ago (can't remember about what) and said I would post again when I hit 300,000. OK....done deal. Just turned 300,0400 with no mechanical failures and still running like a top. I get 40+ MPG consistently (even in WI winters). Will post again when I hit 400,000. Love my gEcho.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Wow that is awesome! No mechanical failures...really? Nothing like the water pump or alternator replaced? Hows the AC? Have you had the valve clearances checked? You must communte with the car...yes?
  • dephinusorcadephinusorca Member Posts: 66
    Wow, congratulations that's awesome. I'm only at 120000 and it would probably take me 18 more years to get to 300,000. However, I just realized I have never had that suggested valve check. Ooops. Anyone think that is really necessary?
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Probably not necessary. Ive had several motorcycles which have the same valve adjustment design and none of them ever needed an adjustment. One even went 109k without one. The only thing is, if an exhaust valve clearance is too tight the result can be a burned valve. But Ive not heard of ECHOs having problems like that.

    The CHECK is easy to do yourself. ADJUSTING an out of spec valve is not. Since almost no cars use this design I have very little confidence in Toyota mechanics being able to do it to my satisfaction.

    So it might be a moot point.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    on my way to the big 1-5-oh, just filled up this evening, managed 42 mpg on this tank(9.0 gallons, 381 miles), and oh yeah: I have had no mechanical failures of any kind on my car either. Which includes not having had to replace the clutch or the brakes.

    '02 4-door 5-speed, has its 8th birthday this month. All my fill-ups have been 40 mpg or above for quite some time, but I know that three months from now I may see a few 38s and 39s in the mix. I am steeling myself mentally to handle those readings! ;-)

    NEVER thought I would keep this car this long, BTW. But it's so cheap to operate, and with that gas mileage it is the perfect commute car. Had another comment from a passenger the other day that it "sure did have a lot of useful nooks and crannies for storing stuff!". Yes it does, yes it does indeed..... :-)

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

  • likrishlikrish Member Posts: 8
    Yes, I commute from Wisconsin to St. Paul everyday. As preventative maintenance, I did have the alternator rebuilt about 10M ago. Valves haven't been touched. AC has been recharged. That's about it. This is salt country but the body is still very clean except for one rust spot starting right on the front edge of the hood just to the left of center when facing the car. I've spotted a rust spot on a couple of other Echos in exactly the same spot. But hey, if that's my only issue, I'm a happy guy.
  • rj2112rj2112 Member Posts: 8
    2000 model, here. I bought it new 10 years ago.

    I'm currently at 185K; and finally decided the struts and shocks were getting too wiggly to tolerate. Did the brakes as well, and it's fit for another 100K miles.

    2 door manual, I'm currently getting 43 MPG in mixed driving at 55-60 MPH.

    I'm currently experimenting with 89 octane, vice 87.... seems I am getting another 2-3 MPG out of that change.
  • dephinusorcadephinusorca Member Posts: 66
    That is interesting. Nealy all my tanks over 50mpg have probably been on 85 octane, which seems to produce considerable mpg in my experience. But it may be caused by some other factor, like different driving conditions/habits when out of state (85 is not available in my homestate). Of course, I have no understanding of the science behind any of it.
  • kneisl1kneisl1 Member Posts: 1,694
    Supposedly octane has nothing to do with how well the engine runs. I have noticed however my mileage drop immediately upon the advent of winter grade gas each year and improves again in the spring with summer blend.
  • rj2112rj2112 Member Posts: 8
    Octane itself should not have an effect.... but alcohol will. The more alcohol by volume in the fuel, the less energetic it is. Winter grade fuel with 10% alcohol will require you to push on the pedal harder to go as fast, or accelerate as hard. I've seen my MPG drop by as much as 10% due to that alcohol.
  • moparblue2moparblue2 Member Posts: 86
    We have 04 Echo 5 speed. We get 32 mpg city to 48 mpg hwy. We use 92 or 93 octane. Owners manual calls for at least 91 octane. No power with lower octane. Look in your manual and see for yourself. ;)
  • rj2112rj2112 Member Posts: 8
    Which method of calculating Octane do you use? RON, or MON, or the US method of averaging the two different numbers? (R+M/2) We typically see 87, 89, and 91 sold at pumps here.

    87 (R+M/2) is typically the same as 91 as calculated with the RON process.

    "Gasoline pumps typically post octane numbers as an average of two different values. Often you may see the octane rating quoted as (R+M)/2. One value is the research octane number (RON), which is determined with a test engine running at a low speed of 600 rpm. The other value is the motor octane number (MON), which is determined with a test engine running at a higher speed of 900 rpm. If, for example, a gasoline has an RON of 98 and a MON of 90, then the posted octane number would be the average of the two values or 94."
  • dephinusorcadephinusorca Member Posts: 66
    Hmmm yeah i dont believe I've ever even seen 93 octane. But my cars have always run great on the cheapest gas I could find.
  • rj2112rj2112 Member Posts: 8
    I've driven the Echo for 10 years on the lowest grade of gas sold, and gotten consistent 40-41 MPG with US gallons. I don't run AM/PM mini mart gas, as my mileage always was less, running that fuel. First brand to routinely use 10% alcohol in the US.

    When the mandatory federal 10% alcohol add was done a few years ago, my MPG went down 4 MPG, running the lowest grade of fuel. High 30's, rarely seeing 40. When I had been getting 43 MPG doing mostly highway driving.

    Just started using the mid grade gas.... first time I refilled the tank at the half way point, I was getting 43 MPG.

    If this holds up through a few tanks, it will work out to lower costs and less fill ups for me than running the lower grade gas.
  • 2cones2cones Member Posts: 1
    this does make sense as colder air is more dense which make the computer add more fuel.
  • rj2112rj2112 Member Posts: 8
    Update: Just re-filled with 89 Octane, and calculated the MPG... 43 and change.

    388 miles on 8.9 US gallons.
  • moparblue2moparblue2 Member Posts: 86
    We have 2004 Echo in winter we get better MPG with higher octane. If u look in owners manul is tells u to use 91 octane or higher. We had new 2000 Echo it got better milage then r 04. Don't figure :confuse:
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