2002 Toyota Echo: problems, recalls and reliability

“I shifted into reverse to back out of a driveway when the car suddenly accelerated on its own. It crossed the street and ran over a brick planter box, knocked down a crape myrtle tree and finally hit the neighbor's suv. I applied the brakes to no avail and had no time to shift into neutral or turn off the ignition. After the accident, I checked the gas pedal to see if it was against the floor or if the floor mat was interfering with it, but found nothing wrong. The car was totaled and my back was injured. *tr”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Jun 2014

“Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota echo. The contact stated that a burning odor was present inside the vehicle while driving. The contact soon discovered smoke coming from the rear window brake light. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rear window brake light socket and housing, which were made of plastic, had both melted from the heat of the light bulb. The failure was not repaired. The contact removed the light bulb from the socket. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 70,000. Updated 06/10/14 ma the consumer purchased the parts and vehicle has since been repaired. *tr”Owner report · Exterior Lighting · Mar 2014

“2002 toyota echo. Consumer writes in regards to gasoline burning too much in the exhaust system. *smd consumer sent additional correspondence. *smd *js”Owner report · Fuel System, Gasoline · Feb 2014

“Low beam headlights were engaged using the dimmer switch located on the steering column per normal operations. The low beams switched to high beams display. Unable to disengage without totally switching off the lights. The high beam indicator appeared on the dashboard display as well. This event occurred when the temperatures were at or below 20 degrees fahrenheit and the car had been parked for about 8 hours (in a park and ride lot). Once the interior cabin warmed up after about 20 minutes I was able to "jiggle" the lights back to low beams.”Owner report · Electrical System · Feb 2012

“My 2002 toyota echo on nov. 16th 2010 while driving on the freeway in the county of los angeles ca. Went into reverse while still in drive. There was traffic ahead of me so I was only driving about 2 mph when it went into reverse while the automatic shift was still in drive. I went to put on the brake but the brakes did not work. I turned off the car and put on the hazards. Two minutes went by when I turned on the car and it went into drive. I then took it to the keyes toyota in van nuys ca, and was told that they never heard of this before from any toyota cars and that if they were even to look it would be completely at my expense. I sold the car for parts on 11/18/10. *tr”Owner report · Power Train · Nov 2010

“Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) NHTSA recall 06v266000 recalled 02 toyota echo for crankshaft sensor failures which could cause the vehicles to stall and not restart, risking a crash. Toyota only recalled vehicles up to serial numbers ending in 212671. My 02 echo just had the exact crankshaft sensor failure described in the recall. My VIN number is[xxx]. So I was told by toyota that by vehicle did not qualify for the recall, even though I have the exact failure. The recall needs to be extended to higher vehicle numbers. *tr”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · May 2010

“Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota echo. The contact stated when traveling at speeds of 40 mph and up, the traction would feel as if she was driving on ice and the vehicle would slide back and forth. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where the mechanic advised that the sway bar was worn. The mechanic replaced the sway bar, a rear shock that was leaking and all four tires. The failure persisted. The manufacturer advised the contact to have the vehicle diagnosed by an authorized dealer. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 127,220 and the current mileage was 128,443.”Owner report · Suspension · Feb 2010