Toyota Echo Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 195 consumer complaints across the 5 model years of the Toyota Echo (2000–2005) that have at least 5 complaints. 2000 has the most, with 88. Across all years, the part named most often is air bags (48 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All Echo model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 5 | 10,000 | 0 | 91 | — | Not enough data |
| 2003 | 17 | 14,958 | 0 | 79 | — | Stable |
| 2002 | 35 | 72,300 | 2 | 78 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 2001 | 50 | 67,000 | 2 | 74 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 2000 | 88 | 83,266 | 3 | 62 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Air bags48 25%
- Brakes40 21%
- Vehicle speed control31 16%
- Transmission and drivetrain21 11%
- Engine cooling20 10%
- Electrical system14 7.3%
- Equipment9 4.7%
- Suspension8 4.2%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2001: “Crankshaft position sensor! I bought the vehicle from a gentleman who hasn't driven the car for awhile after it died on him and he was unable to start it up again. I hooked it up to an obd reader and it give s me the code for the crankshaft position sensor. I checked fuel pump spark plugs to make sure and those are good working order.”
NHTSA complaint #10920010, filed 2016-10, 150,000 miles2000: “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”
NHTSA complaint #10307391, filed 2010-02, 18,000 miles2002: “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. …”
NHTSA complaint #10375302, filed 2011-01, 137,242 milesOther Toyota models
18,207 complaintsToyota Prius
12,519 complaintsToyota Corolla
11,738 complaintsToyota RAV4
9,401 complaintsToyota Sienna
8,831 complaintsToyota Tacoma
8,476 complaintsToyota Tundra
6,944 complaintsToyota 4RUNNER
5,900 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology