2000 Toyota Echo

ANOTHER VEHICLE RAN A STOP SIGN, AND MY MOTHER IN LAW WAS UNABLE TO BRAKE FAST ENOUGH AND COLLIDED HEAD ON. THE CAR HAD QUITE A LOT OF DAMAGE, AND HAD TO BE TOWED AWAY (FOR SAFETY REASONS). HOWEVER, THE AIRBAG FAILED TO DEPLOY!!!! THE COLLISION WAS ENOUGH TO INCAPACITATE THE RADIATOR AND IT WAS HEAD-ON (NOT SIDE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT). GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, I WOULD EXPECT THE AIRBAG TO DEPLOY, AND THE POLICE WERE AMAZED THAT IT DIDN'T. SHE WAS WEARING A SEATBELT, WHICH SAVED HER FROM THE WORST. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS, AS MANY VEHICLES OF THIS TYPE ARE REGISTERING THE SAME ISSUE! *JS

THE VEHICLE DISPLAYED PROBLEMS TWICE IN A 24-HOUR PERIOD AS FOLLOWS:THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8TH, 2011: WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LEAVE A PARKING LOT IN REVERSE (WITHOUT MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR), THE CAR ENGINE SURGED AS IF THE ACCELERATOR WERE PRESSED DOWN TO THE FLOOR. I IMMEDIATELY PRESSED HARD ON THE BRAKES TO PREVENT THE CAR FROM MOVING BACKWARD UNCONTROLLABLY AT A HIGH SPEED. I THEN PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING HARD, BUT IT QUIETED A LITTLE. I TRIED PUTTING THE CAR IN DRIVE TO TEST THAT FUNCTIONALITY, AND IT SEEMED TO BE UNAFFECTED. I SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AFTER PUTTING THE CAR IN PARK, RE-STARTED IT, AND TRIED TO MOVE AGAIN IN REVERSE. THIS RESULTED IN THE AFOREMENTIONED ENGINE SURGE. I DECIDED TO DRIVE THE CAR AROUND THE PARKING LOT TO TEST FOR DRIVEABILITY AND THERE WERE NO ISSUES AT THIS POINT WITH THE CAR MOVING FORWARD.FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9TH, 2001: DROVE THE CAR TO WORK IN THE MORNING AFTER LETTING IT RUN FOR ABOUT TEN MINUTES DUE TO COLD OUTDOOR TEMPERATURES. AFTER DRIVING THE CAR FOR ABOUT THREE MILES, THE ENGINE BEGAN SURGING ONCE MY SPEED WAS REDUCED TO ABOUT 25 MPH AND CONTINUED TO RUN HARD WHEN THE CAR WAS STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS. I HAD TO PRESS VERY HARD ON THE BRAKE TO PREVENT THE CAR FROM MOVING FORWARD AT AN UNCONTROLLED SPEED, WHICH POTENTIALLY COULD HAVE RESULTED IN INJURY OF MYSELF, ANOTHER DRIVER, OR PROPERTY. I WAS ABLE TO CAREFULLY GET THE CAR TO MY WORKPLACE, WHERE I PLACED THE CAR IN PARK. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO RUN HARD, AS IF THE ACCELERATOR WERE PRESSED DOWN WITH SIGNIFICANT PRESSURE. I DECIDED TO TEST THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE REVERSE GEAR AGAIN; IT PERFORMED EXACTLY AS IT DID ON DECEMBER 8TH, ONLY MORE SO. WHEN PUTTING THE CAR IN PARK, THE ENGINE DID NOT RELAX AND I WAS FORCED TO SHUT OFF THE CAR COMPLETELY. BECAUSE OF THESE MALFUNCTIONS, I WAS UNABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR HOME. NOTE: I DO NOT HAVE FACTORY FLOOR MATS. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 TOYOTA ECHO. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH AND ATTEMPTING TO STOP AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE CONTACT APPLIED THE BRAKES BUT THEY LOCKED UP. THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE VEHICLE IN FRONT. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED AND THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG SHATTERED THE WINDSHIELD UPON CONTACT. NO POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ONCE BEFORE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED THE MANUFACTURER WHO STATED THAT THEY WOULD REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WAS TOLD BY THE MANUFACTURER THAT THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN RECALL 04V455000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC: FOUNDATION COMPONENTS: MASTER CYLINDER) BUT THE REPAIR WORK HAD NEVER BEEN PERFORMED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 213,000.

THIS IS NOT RELATED TO A SPECIFIC INCIDENT, BUT I FEEL I SHOULD REGISTER A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE BRAKES ON THE 2000 TOYOTA ECHO. THE STOPPING DISTANCE REQUIRED SEEMS EXCESSIVE TO ME, AND I FEEL THAT IT WOULD BE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO EVER CAUSE THE CAR TO SKID (LOCK UP THE WHEELS) USING THE BREAKS IF YOU SLAMMED THEM ON IN AN EMERGENCY DESPITE THE CAR NOT HAVING ANTI-LOCK BREAKS. ALL RECALLS HAVE BEEN DONE ON MY CAR AS FAR AS I KNOW. THERE WAS ONE RECALL WHICH INVOLVED THEM REPLACING THE BREAK BOOSTER - I NOTICED DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED BREAKING PERFORMANCE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS RECALL - HOWEVER AFTER ABOUT A YEAR MAYBE, THE CAR RETURNED TO ITS POOR BREAKING PERFORMANCE. NEW BREAK PADS AND SHOES, AND A BRAKE FLUID CHANGE DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. I CALLED TOYOTA A WHILE AGO TO ASK ABOUT THIS, AND ALL THEY COULD TELL ME WAS THAT MY CAR ALREADY HAD THE BREAK RECALL DONE MANY YEARS AGO AND THAT THERE WAS NO NEW RECALL. IT MAY BE WORTH MENTIONING THAT I ALSO HAVE A 2001 TOYOTA ECHO WHICH DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM - SO I DEFINITELY CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE AND I KNOW THAT STOPPING DISTANCE IS MUCH WORSE ON MY 2000 VEHICLE. *TR

AS I BEGAN TO ACCELLERATE ONTO HIGHWAY THE GAS PEDAL STUCK, I DID NOT PANIC, PLACE THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, AND PULL UP ON THE GAS PEDAL WHICH RELEASED THE GAS PEDAL, BROUGHT THE 2000 ECHO INTO THE TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER FROM 2002 THROUGH 2008 ONLY TO HERE TOYOTA SAY THERE IS NOTHING WRONG OR THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING, THE PROBLEM IS THERE WITH ALL MODELS AND YEARS

2000 TOYOTA ECHO. ACCELERATOR PEDAL STUCK. IT HAS ONLY HAPPENED ONCE, AROUND 263,000 MILES. IRONICALLY, THIS HAPPENED A FEW MONTHS AGO, BEFORE NEWS ABOUT THE LATEST RECALL. THIS CAR, AND ITS NEWER MODEL THE YARIS, ARE NOT PART OF THE RECALL. OCCASIONALLY, I WOULD HEAR A QUIET SQUEAKY SOUND WHEN USING THE GAS PEDAL, BUT IT WAS UNCOMMON. I DO ALL MY OWN CAR WORK, BUT WAS NEVER ABLE TO FIGURE OUT THE CAUSE OF THE NOISE... I'M NOT LOOKING TO HAVE ANYONE CONTACT ME - THE VEHICLE IS NO LONGER BEING DRIVEN. I'M JUST REPORTING IT IN CASE ANYONE ELSE WITH AN ECHO REPORTS IT. I DON'T HAVE THE VIN NUMBER HANDY (AT WORK). IF YOU REALLY NEED IT, YOU CAN CONTACT ME, AND I'LL EMAIL IT TO YOU. IT IS THE 4 DOOR SEDAN MODEL. AND IT WAS ONE OF THE EARLY ECHO'S. VIN SERIAL NUMBER WAS IN THE 6XXX RANGE. *TR

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO STOP VEHICLE USING FULL BRAKE PEDAL FORCE AND HAND BRAKE THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. I WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE CAR AND NEARLY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. AFTER SHIFTING THE TRANSMISSION INTO PARK THE ENGINE CONTINUED OPERATING AT HIGH SPEED. THE GAS PEDAL WAS NOT STUCK OR USED AT ANY TIME DURING THIS TIME. THIS OCCURRED ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS BOTH AT HIGHWAY AND CITY SPEEDS. IT SEEMS THAT THERE ARE OTHER REPORTS OF SIMILAR INCIDENTS WITH THIS CAR. NO PROBLEMS WERE IDENTIFIED BY MECHANIC WHO COULDN'T REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. *TR