Valkie2

Just ordered the new shoes for the brakes, they are starting to make noise and its annoying. Quite cheap, bendex shoes for the Echo for $32.00 suits me. If there is any brake fluid leak, Ill have to service the cylinders, we shall see when I pull her down. I have been watching the milage carefully, I have a dicky fuel gauge, and so far every time I fill up there is at least 15 litres left in the tank. I get 5.6 l/100k consistently, but I do drive predominantly freeway, and I have a light foot. By my calculations, I should be able to get over 700 klm per tank, but I have been filling up at 500 because the little light starts flashing at 488 klm. My fuel gauge is interesting The first 200k it shows totally full. as I reach around 230 to 250 it drops down to three bars. It sits on three, sometimes two bars for the next 200 plus klm. then at around 288 klm it goes into blinking mode. Today I decided to chance it, I drive 75 klm each way to work. I started this morning with 490 klm and a blinking light (OUT OF FUEL) It got me to work (75klm) and Ill drive home tonoght (75 klm), Ill fill up when I get home, if i get home. But its damn disconcerting when your fuel gauge is flashing at you all the time.

You think petrol cars have issues. The wonderful old diesels are gradually being choked to death by their own exhaust because of the "pollution" gear they have introduced. Once upon a time, diesels ran forever had no real problems and were quite good on fuel, as well as pulling like a malley bull. Now they have PCV to recirculate the fumes, oil, water and crap that is floating around in the crankcase back through the intake and engine. Because diesels breath a bit heavier, this mess coats the sides of the intake and gives the EGR carbon a nice little place to stick to. EGR, was designed to take a percentage of the exhaust and again re-circulate it back through the engine. This is to "cool" the exhaust gasses as it cannot burn (having already been burnt) and stops the engine from having such a hot combustion, in theory, this reduces the NOX gasses that do so much damage to people. But this recirculated exhaust gas has lots of carbon from the burn, this carbon sticks to the walls of the intake, so liberally coated in Crankcase fumes and over time clogs the thing like a KFC eating fat mans heart. Then, just to make sure that a once reliable and long lasting engine will require more expensive repairs, they add a DPF, (Diesel Particulate Filter) a lazy patch to capture particulates from the exhaust and burn it off into oblivion in an additional waste of fuel called a "regeneration" process. Of course this little joy has a tendency to clog up if the vehicle isn't driven in a very specific and special manner, or if the wrong oil is used, or if you get a bad dose of fuel, or......etc..... Toyota has a class action pending because of this little gem. The once reliable old diesel workhorse is now a temperamental, breakdown prone and less reliable toy than it has ever been. My biggest mistake was to buy a modern diesel to tow my caravan, I should have purchased a pre-DPF diesel, I might just do so anyway and get rid of the one I have. Technology is good when designed well, well made and is robust. Unfortunately, when talking cars, its never designed well, usually cheaply made and as robust as your grandmothers crystal wine glasses.

You may have what is known as Pre-Ignition, Detonation, Knock or Pinging: These are often noticeable at different times or different revs depending on the circumstances and issue. Pre-ignition is as it states, the fuel burning or cumbusiting before the piston reaches its ideal position (just before TDC) it sounds like a rattle, but usually under load. It also robs the engine of power, so if you have no noticeable power loss, this may not be your problem. It can be caused by several things, Carbon build up on the piston, too hot a plug, the wrong fuel, too lean a mix (which in itself brings many many associated issues with sensors and manifolds etc. Check you plugs, if they are exhibiting signs of cooking or overheating, you need to get things checked out. Most modern cars have KNOCK sensors as well, these detect the knock and adjust the fuel accordingly to prevent it, if this little gem starts playing up, you will have a problem. Then there is the MAF, MAP and other sensors, all designed to measure the air and fuel mix to achieve optimum operating conditions, if one fails, everything gets messed up. Finally there is the oxygen sensor, if this baby clogs, cooks or simply dies, the engine cannot smell its own farts and has a fit. it can cause all manner of issues with fuel and air mix. Diagnosing a "knock or Rattle" is quite a job, probably best left to experts who have all the fancy gear to check sensors and fault codes. Or you can go down the path of replacing things and seeing if it makes a difference. For me, that's the hard way, for a few bucks, Id rather have someone else have a look. Once correctly diagnosed, you can repair at yourself.

Its annoying how those little things can cause so much grief. Bring back the old days when the only electronics in a car was the headlights. My old 1956 Morris Minor barely had those, and the windscreen wipers changed speed with the engine revs. But you could repair just about anything in 10 min with parts from the wreckers. Just because it had a top speed of 70 k/hr and all the pulling power of a sick cat, it was still great.

There are generally a few reasons engines burn oil. wrong oil for the purpose. worn engine damaged cylinders or rings faulty PCV valve. cheap quality oil but when assessing the cause, all must be considered Most manufacturers look toward low viscosity oil for the cars to Get better mileage, flow easier in low temperatures and because its standard across a large number of environments. But if you look at your book, you will see that there are different oils for different temps, and unless you are running in the negative temp range, 10w or 15w will suit most situations. At the other end of the scale, when you get up around the 40c deg range, as we get in Australia, the 30 weights are working at their limit, especially cheaper quality oils. 40 weights fare better in these hot environments. I use 10w or 15w oils in my petrol and diesel engines, I don't get as much oil in my catch can on my diesel as i did when I was using 5 weight oils. This would indicate, to me, that 10w is not turning to vapor as much as the 5w, and any oil that turns to vapors is going straight through the PCV valve through the engine and out the exhaust. And all engines use at least some oil, it lubricates the rings into the cylinder, its a part of the process and without it, your engine would seize pretty quick. But most drivers, and especially those who do short trips or who never get their cars up to a good high temperate (such as highway driving) would not notice this loss, as the oil is being replaced by the un-burnt fuel, water and other crap from the combustion process and it appears that the oil level never changes. In some diesels you have to watch this carefully because the oil level actually rises. How much is too much to loose? How long is a piece of string? If you have smoke coming out the back of your car, can smell burning oil, have oily plugs or have a film of oil on the tailgate. I suggest you have a problem. However if you have to add a bit of oil between oil changes, and you have none of the above, its just how it is. I have been told Rolls Royce cars burn a fair bit of oil, and that its deliberate, to increase the longevity of the engine, but never having owned one, I cannot deny or confirm. If you are concerned, try 10w or 15w, if it solves the problem, happy days, if not dig deeper. Cheers

been having fun with the new beast. Fitted central locking today, it's easy as, but anyone planning to do it let me know, there are a few tricks to get it right. It also didn't have a boot light, what, no boot light? I have never had a car without a boot light before. So I fitted that as well, 1/2 hour job and it works a treat. Checked the engine, plugs were virtually dead, less than a mm of electrode left, but I just closed the gap as it's due for a service in a few weeks, I'll replace them then. Seems to use a bit of oil, no leaks, so I assume it's burning it. 1 240000k, I think a bit of oil burning is to be expected, at the service ill change to 15w40 , it cured my daughter's oil burning Yaris. The front brakes are good, bit of wear, and a scored rotor, but still quite serviceable. The rear are another matter, will have to replace the shoes at service and might have to precondition the cylinders as one has some seepage. Easy to fix, new seals, polish out the bores and Bob's your uncle. Unless there is corrosion, then I'm up for new cylinders. I'll bleed the brakes as well, the brake fluid looks a little old. I'm up for a new drivers seat sometime, the padding is shot on the drivers side. But overall, it's a great little car.

I just bought a beat up old 1999-2000 echo sedan. How did you go with the rear wheels? I'm interested with the interchangability as well. My daughter has a 2008 Yaris, and nothing is interchangeable as far as I can determine. Brake shoes on the rear for sure and I had some I bought for her car, which she didn't need, and they didn't fit. A right base turd to disassemble too. But they are an amazing car

I just purchased a beat up old 2000 echo sedan. With the mighty 1.5 litre engine And an automatic. I drive around 150-170 klm a day to and from work, mostly highway driving. I have filled my tank 3 times now and I'm amazed that a 20 year old car, obviously mistreated, automatic and with an engine obviously running less than perfect can achieve the mileage it can 3 fills. 5.6l/100k. 5.7l/100k, 5.5l/ 100k. I don't take it easy, sit between 105 and 110 and use the air conditioner quite regularly. This is an amazing car, I actually enjoy driving it, even with its little foibles. Extrapolating on the current figures I should be able to get a comfortable 650 k to a tank. But I must admit the fuel gauge is a little suspect. Every time I fill up it shows a different level. Sometimes more and sometimes less. At 488k at the last fill, it only took around 23 litres. That means I still had around 20 litres left. Love this little bomb

Hi all; Can anyone tell me what size the centre console lights are in the 2000 Toyota Echo? And, how may of them are there, and where exactly are they? (in the part that comes off or the part that stays in the dash?. I use the car as a daily comute, and cant just pull things apart to find out, any pictures would be greatly appreciated

Hi there. I just bought a 2000 echo sedan. Why you ask? Because I needed a workhorse to drive 160k a day round trip to work. I'm close to retirement, and have a couple of new cars which are clocking up way too many ks, ie; I have used 1/2 my new car warranty in less than a year, just driving to work. So I wanted a reliable car to use as a mule. My daughter has a 2008 Yaris, amazing car, love it. It has nearly 300,000 k on the clock and is still running sweet. So I bought an Echo, with 238,000 on the clock. It's a bit beaten up, dings and scrapes, but the motor and gearbox are good and it runs pretty nice. This is my 6th Toyota, and the oldest car I have ever owned. I has a Cressida, brilliant car, loved it right up until it was written off by a drunk driver. I had a Camry back when the first of the new shape came out And another a few years later Two Aurions as work cars, and now my echo. Toyota's have always been good to me, few issues and always reliable. In total I have had 27 cars. I'll be watching and maybe asking questions in this forum. Cheers