2000 Toyota Echo

SPEEDOMETER CONTINUOUSLY FLUCTUATES WHEN DRIVING BETWEEN SPEEDS OF 0 - 60 MPH WHEN VEHICLE IS COLD. SPEEDOMETER WOULD READ 35 - 45 MPH HIGHER THAN ACTUAL SPEED AND WOULD DROP LOWER. VEHICLE ALSO DRIVES POORLY AND SHAKES DURING LOWER SPEEDS. VEHICLE WAS PROMPTLY TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS AT WHICH TIME THE DEALERSHIP NOTATED THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM SO THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO ABOUT THE SPEEDOMETER PROBLEM. CONTINUED DRIVING VEHICLE AS IT DID NOT SEEM TO EFFECT DRIVING. 1 YEAR AND 5 MONTHS LATER, TRANSMISSION STARTED SHIFTING POORLY DURING COLD STARTS FOR AT LEAST 5 MINUTES UNTIL VEHICLE WARMS UP. TRANSMISSION WAS FLUSHED BY PERSONAL MECHANIC BUT PROBLEM CONTINUED. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AT WHICH TIME VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP. REPORTED OLDER PROBLEM WITH SPEEDOMETER AS WELL AS NEW PROBLEMS WITH TRANSMISSION. DEALERSHIP STATED CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS DUE TO RPM SENSOR MALFUNCTION AND THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION AND THAT THE SPEEDOMETER PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY THE BAD SENSOR AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIXED WHEN THE PROBLEM WAS ORIGINALLY DISCOVERED. SAID BAD SENSOR LED TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. WILL TAKE VEHICLE BACK TO ORIGINAL DEALERSHIP TO HAVE FIXED. *TR

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING HER CAR HOME FROM WORK AT APPROXIMATELY 1800 WHEN SHE NOTICED A BURNING PLASTIC SMELL IN HER CAR. SHE HAD STOPPED OFF AT A LOCAL STORE AND DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING ABOUT THE SMELL. SHE CAME OUT OF THE STORE AND STARTED DRIVING HOME A FEW MINUTES LATER STILL NOTICING THE SMELL. SHE PROCEEDED HOME AND HER CONSOLE LIGHTS WENT OUT AND NOTICED THE SMELL BECOMING STRONGER...SHE PARKED THE CAR IN OUR GARAGE AND INFORMED ME ABOUT IT...I WENT TO INVESTIGATE AND NOTICED A LITTLE SMOKE AND THE SMELL THAT SHE HAD DESCRIBED...I GRABBED THE CONSOLE DIMMER SWITCH AND IT WAS EXTREMELY HOT AND FELL OFF...I TOOK APART THE PLASTIC HOUSING THAT THE KNOB IS ATTACHED TO AND SAW A SMALL FLAME ON THE DIMMER SWITCH AND THE WIRES THAT ATTACHED TO THE DIMMER SWITCH...I BLEW THE SMALL FLAME OUT, DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY AND CUT THE DIMMER SWITCH AWAY FROM THE WIRES TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN...ONCE REMOVED I PICKED UP THE DIMMER SWITCH AND IT WAS EXTREMELY HOT AND THE PLASTIC WIRING HARNESS WAS MELTED...I CAN PROVIDE PICTURES OF THE DIMMER SWITCH AND THE MELTED PLASTIC HOUSING IF YOUR AGENCY IS INTERESTED...I WAS ALSO DOING SOME RESEARCH INTO THIS AND FOUND A WEBSITE FROM AUSTRALIA THAT HAS RECALLED THIS PARTICULAR SWITCH IN THEIR COUNTRY... HTTP://WWW.RECALLS.GOV.AU/VIEW_RECALL_DETAIL.PHP?RECALL_ID_AUTO=13721. *JB

CAR STALLED OR SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY ON ROAD 7/6, 7/8, 7/15, 7/28, 8/21, 8/26, 9/5 - 3 OCCASIONS IN MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC VERY DANGEROUS EXPERIENCE. TOOK TO DEALERS 7/18 R&H AND COMPLAINED SOMETHING WAS WRONG W/CAR, THEY DIDN'T SEEM TO WANT TO LOOK THE CAR OVER TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON AS A SERVICE CENTER THEY COULD NOT FIGURE THE PROBLEM OUT (SALES MGR. HAS A NO CARE ATTITUDE - MR. ATTWOOD) , 7/28 CAR COMPLETELY SHUTDOWN, HIT CURB AND YIELD SIGN GOING DOWN RAMP, 8/21 TOOK CAR TO JERRY'S TOYOTA, PICKED UP 8/26 GUAGE NEVER MOVED WHEN FILLED W/GAS, RETURNED 8/27 - SAID THEY FIXED SENSOR GUAGE, 9/5 MY CAR COMPLETELY SHUTDOWN AGAIN. SHE HAS BEEN ON THREE OCCASION IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION - INTERSECTION - PEOPLE YELLING AND HONKING THE HORNS. THE CAR JUST SHUTS DOWN COMPLETELY ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. PLEASE HELPMY SISTER HAS A LEARNING DISABILITY, I'M JEANNETTE WRITING THIS INFO. FOR HER. IN ADDITION SHE WAS FORCED TO SIGN A CONTRACT W/ R&H BEFORE COMING TO US TO REVIEW. THEY WOULD NOT ALLOW HER TO CALL US TO REVIEW THE CONTRACT WHEN SHE PUR. THE CAR 2/01, THEY WOULD NOT GIVE HER THE KEYS TO HER OLD CAR - THEY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING OF HER LOOKING AT USED CARS. R&H IN REISTERSTOWN RD. MD. SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED W/UNETHICAL PRACTICES.*AK