1000-2000rpm deadspot..

[mr_grumble]

Hi guys, my names Steve and Im from Australia.

I recently traded my 97 Starlet in on a 02 Echo and while I am happy with the purchase I have a small problem I am trying to nut out.

I have a deadspot in acceleration from 1000-2000 rpm. I mainly notice it coming out of 1st and into 2nd, kind of falls right into the deadzone. Coming up to 2000rpm, it's quite a define step back to full acceleration.
Happens both when cold and hot, occasionally for what ever reason it will go away for a gearchange but 95% of the time theres a deadspot.

I initially thought plugs, so I went out and changed them without success. I then went out and changed air filters, still no change.

The vehicle has 75,000 km (45,000 M)

Can anyone suggest what the problem may be. I am reasonably familiar with late model vehicles, just don't want to dive in and start replacing bits that dont' need to be replaced, would be nice to be able to have an educated guess.

Cheers,

Steve

[EchoHoLiK]

Is your Echo a manual or automatic? Does that "deadzone" you described do the same in neutral and any other gear? Is the deadzone still there if you accelerate and shift from 1st to 2nd above 2000rpm?

I'm just guessing this might be an electronic issue (ECU or MAF), but there might be various possibilities. Don't quote me on that though. Have you bring the car back to the dealer for a mechanic to look over? Make sure a mechanic is in the car with you to see you try to replicate the problem.

[mr_grumble]

The vehicle's a manual transmission.

The deadzone is only there whilst the engine is loaded, ie in gear.
If I accelerate in 1st and change into 2nd so as to be above 2000rpm, no problems it is always under 2000 rpm, no mater what gear.

The air flow meter (MAP I think you guys call it) was one of my suspicions as is spark plug lead/igniter units as well as maybe the in-tank fuel filter, the fuel here in Aus is CRAP, still running the standard 91 octane and as dirty as hell

The vehicle was purchased privately, so no dealer assistance, besides, I usually like to nut these things out myself if I can

I'm going to do a couple of things this weekend to rule out the simple stuff, like some fuel conditioner and an ECU reset.

[EchoHoLiK]

Yeah, definitely try out the fuel conditioner or fuel injector cleaner, knowing that the fuel quality might be crap. Another possibility might be the fuel filter as you said, which might just be clogged enough to not supply enough fuel for those particular load required.

Maybe try out another brand gas station to see if problem still occurs, because in Canada here some people have issues with their cars when filling up with Shell, but then the problem goes away when using some other brand like Sunoco. Good luck to finding and fixing the problem.

[mr_grumble]

Thanks for you input, I've tried numerous fuel brands and all give the same result. I will look into changing the fuel filter, looking at the service schedule it's due to be replaced in 5000km anyway.

Cheers,

steve

[EchoHoLiK]

^^^ I'm sure I wasn't much of help anyway But do keep us posted on your status/progress of your Echo and the fix, it might help others who run into similar issues.

Best of luck


PS: Have you tried the other Echo/Yaris forums like echodrivers.com or yarisworld.com? You might get more responses and such. I know it's a pain in the ass to signup and all that, but it's worth a try if you have the time. Let us know how it goes

[mr_grumble]

Good thinking, will post there as well.

Will update post with any findings