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Sedans Toyota Echo Toyota Echo Real World MPG
345 messages, Last post on Oct 04, 2009 at 10:34 PM
You are in the Toyota Echo Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
| Yeah when you sit down and do a bottom line analysis of the Prius you gotta come up with some reason to justify the money you spent. Hence the "Im driving it for the environment" line. Well the gas engine in the Prius is the same one as in the ECHO with a different valve actuation mechinism. It also has more advanced emissions control devices. Which could very easily be in any gas car. For a lot less money. I believe the Ford Focus has (or had) an engine option for zero emissions just like the Prius. The Prius needs to be outed for the engineering fraud that it is. Its incredible that so many people have been taken in by it. | |
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Replying to: nippononly (Nov 14, 2008 12:44 pm) |
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Most of the "service"  30/60/90k is an inspection of the car. If you read the owners manual you can see what they check. Things like: ball joint seals, CV joint boots, evap hoses and canisters, brake linings, shocks, belts, check for oil leaks etc. As the car gets older those things become more important, but it isnt hard to do the checking yourself. The "real work at the 30/60/90 service is changing the engine oil and filter, changing the sparkplugs (if you dont have platinum plugs that is) changing the air filter, changing the coolant. All that you should be able to do yourself very easily. The thing thats a little worrysome is the valve adjustment at 60k miles. The ECHO has a first for Toyota shim under bucket (as opposed to hydralic or screw and nut adjusters) valve system like on a high performance motorcycle. Frankly I dont know Toyota mechanics are up to that job, given the small number of Toyota cars with this feature and the complexity of doing the work. But definately that is something youd want done. Its VERY easy to just NOT DO the check/adjustment and this frequently is what happens on motorcycles. The dealer just tells you "Yeah the valves are fine" without checking it. They get away with this because usually no adjustment is needed. I would mark the valve cover somehow so you can determine whether or not it has been removed if you do have Toyota perform this job for you.
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Replying to: kneisl1 (Nov 14, 2008 4:34 pm) |
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You could CHECK the valve clearances if you are at all handy yourself. You just remove the black plastic valve cover and the sparkplugs. (so you can easily turn the engine) Then you get a set of feeler gauges, turn the engine so the lobes of the camshaft point upwrds and check those valves. Keep checking and recording the values until you have done all the valves. Its easy to CHECK the clearances and not often necessary to perform an ADJUSTMENT. If no adjustment is needed you are merrily off on your way to 120k miles worry free. Its possible to do the adjustment yourself but you better have mechanical knowledge. If you find tight exhaust valves then its got to be done or you will burn the exhaust valves and need a valve job. Better to know! |
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to mention that this week I had my first fill-up under $20 in the Echo in several years. That's right, $19.85 did the trick. WOW, have those gas prices ever dropped a lot! 
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| Usually I fill up every 2/3 weeks and buy like 6 gallons of gas. But since the price of gas has been falling so hard I waited as long as possible. Just bought 7.3 gallons of gas for $14. Thats $1.89 a gallon! Gas must be well under what it was a year ago? Anyone know? I think my last fillup gas was $2.19. | |
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Im almost ready to declare my speed limit of 35 mph as a means of increasing my mpg a success. Three fillups at this speed have yielded mpgs of 39, 40, and 38. We must be well into the "winter blend" by now. Previously I could count on 33-36 mpg on that stuff. Im really digging the low speed feeling besides the mpg increase. Much safer and easier to deal with traffic crazies! $1.65 a gallon today!
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Replying to: kneisl1 (Nov 28, 2008 5:51 pm) My last fill-up was 44 mpg, but now the weather is starting to get colder and I expect those 40 mpg tanks to ensue any day now....don't know how I will handle it being that low, but hey at least the gas is cheap! |
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No never. Well, maybe a year or two ago. Not only that but 90% of my driving is going 5.8 miles to work and back. Yeah you cant go 35 mph on the freeway! Too dangerous! I can get away with it because the only major artery I go on the Admiral Wilson Boulevard has a 45 mpg speed limit. Not that anyone except me goes anything like 45 mph. More like 55-60. Yeah keep the pressure on the oil barons and drive that ECHO! |
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