Q. Acura vs. Toyota - Parts & Reliabity?

Ha ha.

I have my eye on the Toyota Echo as my next car. (I don't think I'll buy
anything with an engine larger than 1.5 Liter.) But, hey, do the 2005 Honda
Civics have the same nasty crankshaft bolt setup?

I've been presuming the last several years that whatever new car I buy is
going to be very different from my old 1991 Civic. VTEC, maybe no
distributor, etc.

 

I think just about all cars have the stubborn crankshaft bolt. Most cars can
be done with the "bump the starter" technique, but I did it once on a Toyota
and it was pretty scary.

Mike

 

no, no, noooooooo! for gods sake, no!

at least check out the scion xA and xB. more useable room, more
features, and its got real 15" wheels on it. same platform and
drivetrain, too.

the echo is just plain dorky and gangly looking.

 

Oh thank you mike; that's way MORE than enough to convince me not to
even think about attempting it myself! I've changed belts in other
devices (like washing machines) and thought "Hey, how hard can it be to
change a belt....".

 

I think we've been over this before. I'm pretty sure it was the Echo's price
and I think better fuel mileage that still makes me lean its way. Or I can't
get a Scion where I live easily? Can't remember.

Scion xA 32/37 mpg
xB 31/34

Echo 35/42


Anyway, I'm aiming for around four more years on my Civic. It's doing pretty
well now that I have it out West, away from those northern winters and all
that road salt. As I've said many a time now.

 

unless the cam is chain driven, i guess yes. i tried the toyota corolla
& camry a while ago. perfectly decent cars, but oh so boring. and
subaru aren't much to talk about either. i tested the older style wrx
and was very disappointed. my 2000 civic handles better. i hope there
was something wrong with the wrx too because it didn't have the 0-30
acceleration of the honda at all. maybe it was just too new & too stiff.

 

By the time you're ready to get a new car, the Honda Jazz will be out and I
bet it will
get better milleage than the Echo with nicer features.

 

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't heard of this, so I googled. I see it's
currently a 1.4 liter engine. That's a good start, AFAIC. And 83 hp! Ha ha
ha... um, but if it gets over 40 mpg, fine.

Dunno whether it's available anywhere in the U.S. yet, like you imply. The
hits I got seemed to be from Japanese and UK oriented sites, in general.

 

from what ive read. its supposed to be out this september. or at least
introduced this fall, maybe for a spring '06 release. i rememer
researching the EU model, and its got some trick back seats that fold
flat. right in time for the current gas crunch, too. i bet it sells
well. so basically, good luck getting one at a sane price.

might make dealers more willing to deal on echos, though.