At 35,400 miles my air conditioning failed. My dealer claimed the condenser had a hole in it, but that the hole was likely caused by a rock or something similar hitting it, i.e. accidental damage and not covered by warranty.
Now a year and a half later, the air conditioning has failed again. This time I was driving along and the car was losing power (I was unsure what was happening at first because it was very windy and thought the car was just struggling in the wind) and almost stalled out, but then I heard a sound like gas escaping under pressure and the engine power returned, but the AC was gone. A peek in the sight glass shows no refrigerant is in the system. I haven't had time to get to the dealership yet so I'm not sure what caused this or how much it will cost.
I bought this car because of previous ownership of a Tercel. In general both cars are zippy, fuel-efficient and with no frills. The Tercel was ultra reliable and only needed one $200 repair before I sold it at about 100,000 miles. For this ECHO, I'm looking at my second major repair and considering whether I should just give up and buy a Honda.
I think you should give the car more chance. AC is after all not part of the main drive-train. Besides, rock damage is not something that can be avoided by manufacture. And the second failure might have some to do with the first repair.
Echo is in general very very reliable.
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