My sister just moved into an assisted living facility and gave my wife and I her 2001 Echo.
Single owner, 79K miles. The car sat from the middle of January 2022 until October 9, 2022.
I replaced the battery and the car started right up with no noticiable hesitation.
The tires were down to ~20PSI, we filled them to 32PSA as per the manual.
There was about 1/4 tank, I added 2 gasline antifreeze to take care of any water and filled up with Shell premium
The car drives perfectly but, the check engine light came on yesterday morning after being Tdriving perhaps 35 miles and the check engine light came on and the low coolant indicator comes on but goes off after 2 minutes.
My wife is recovering from knee replacement surgery and I have not had a chance to read any error codes.
What is the likely hood of the CEL being a false alarm because the car sat for so long.
I've checked under the car in the hospital parking lot and this morning at home and there deosn't appear to be any coolant leaks.
Will AT 205 Reseal seal any minor water pump leaks?
Thank you, love your you tube video.
The ATS 205 stopped a minor leak in the power steering in another car with 200K.
I talked with a retired Toyota trained mechanic.
She explained the owner's manual is clear, the blue icon comes on and stays on until the engine warms up.
The blue pilot light is all but invisible in any sort of daylight.
https://www.toyota.com/owners/resources/warranty-owners-manuals.echo.2001
Page 10
The CE light is caused by the O2 sensors being confused and should self clear after a hundred miles or 10 starts.
The manual is one of the worst written documents I've ever read.
I wish to thank everyone, especially the warning about burping the coolant.
I owned 1989 Celica and the coolant purge was easy peasy. Hook a tube to a bolt valve, open until coolant comes out.
Any suggestions for what type Prestone antifreeze to use when I flush and refill.
I'll run 4 gallons of distilled water before adding new coolant.
Thank you guys.
What is the likely hood of the CEL being a false alarm because the car sat for so long.
It is possible, you can find out by erasing the code and see if it comes back or not. If you don't have a scan tool, remove the negative battery terminal and put it back after a couple of minutes to reset the computer. You can always go to an autopart store for reading the codes as well.
low coolant indicator comes on but goes off after 2 minutes.
Have you checked the coolant level?
Will AT 205 Reseal seal any minor water pump leaks?
If you have leaks in the water pump, you better fix it sooner than later. You don't want to postpone that. If even AT205 works on that (which I doubt), it will be a temporary solution.
What is the likely hood of the CEL being a false alarm because the car sat for so long.
The car's ECU has detected an issue,
it can be related to incorrect operation caused by sitting for too long - but it still requires checking.
low coolant indicator comes on but goes off after 2 minutes
Are you sure that's not the coolant temperature light??
ATS 205
It's not a product you should use if you're planing to keep the car for a long period of time.
Not a solution, just a bandaid that probably will complicate further repair.
A Blue colored water icon means low coolant, red mean high temperature.
I need to check all the hose clamps and see if I can find a weep hole on the water pump.
I think coolant is fluorescence under UV and I hope to check for obvious signs of leakage tonight..
I'm hoping the long 'rest' period might have led to hoses leaking.
Does the coolant level actually decrease?
I’d first check the level, add coolant if needed and monitor. It can be also an issue with electronics/ wiring causing a false reading.
There is no expectation of AT-205 working for a water pump leak. It is not designed to work with coolant. Even with oil seals it's hit-or-miss. Unless you want to be driving along and suddenly have the pump fail on the road it would be best to replace it ASAP.
It is impossible to tell what's going on with that car until you get the chance to do some diagnosis. Bear in mind those were inexpensive, light-duty cars that were not intended to last for decades. The low mileage does give you an edge on keeping it running for a while but any 22-year-old car is going to have some issues.
If you added coolant to the system without properly burping the air out, it can cause problems like this. Lots of videos available on how to get all the air out of the cooling system, if, in fact, that is the problem. I use a special burp funnel for this procedure, available at most all auto parts stores.
filled up with Shell premium
premium gas is a waste of money for this car. It will do nothing to help old gas.
What is the likely hood of the CEL being a false alarm because the car sat for so long.
Don't ignore the CEL. Get it scanned.
the low coolant indicator comes on ... there deosn't appear to be any coolant leaks.
What is the coolant level in the reservoir?
Will AT 205 Reseal seal any minor water pump leaks?
No. It says on the bottle what it's for
https://atpautomotive.com/re-seal
Are you sure the low coolant light, is not the low coolant temperature light that comes on when you first start the car? The one that reminds you not to race it for a few minutes at least. My 2004 scion xb had that and it is basically the same car I think.
what type Prestone antifreeze to use when I flush and refill.
just make sure it says that it's Toyota compatible.