2000 Toyota Echo won't accelerate up hills just after starting?

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jbrhps

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My Echo has had some work done lately. Mass air meter, 4 spark plugs replaced, and an oil change. Last month I had several belts replaced because the front end seemed really squealy and squeaky. Now I'm having this issue. I live on a flat road but at the end theres a slight hill onto the main road. If I turn the car on and stop on the hill, after starting to accelerate normally for a second it stops accelerating altogether. The gas pedal feels the same as it did the time I ran out of gas. After about 4 or 5 seconds of this it starts accelerating again. It seems to only happen on this hill right after i start the car, if drive out of the neighborhood a different way where there are no hills it doesn't do it. If I have been driving for awhile and stop on this hill, it doesn't do it. Also the front end still seems really squeaky, though I've just gotten it looked at and fixed. It always sounds good the day i pick it up and within a few days its squealing when I accelerate again. The squealing is worse when its wet out, I think. Any ideas? I'd greatly appreciate some input.
Also, has anyone else ever had an Echo? I've been thinking about getting a new car because this one has been a lot of trouble so far, and I've only had it for a year.
 
Squealing noise, when wet, is loose accessory belts. You need to tighten them more. As far as stalling, its either dirty/clogged fuel filter or fuel injectors. Those things happen, if you let the car ran out of gas a few times.
 
Could be your ignition coil. Did you get new wires with your plugs (I hope so). Take your car to autozone/discount auto parts/etc. so they can hook a unit up to your car to see if it has any codes (it's free there). Look the codes up on the internet.

Look up echo forums on google, sign up for a free account and post your questions there. People on car specific forums are the best resource for issues related to that car. Joining a forum and using a car store's code puller is the best advice you will hear and will save you ton's in the long run.
 
The fact that your auto is struggling when having to accelerate uphill makes me believe that it's your fuel filter. You're engine needs more fuel to make it up the hill and if you have a dirty or clogged fuel filter it struggles to get the adequate fuel needed to do so. I'm no mechanic but I had this same thing happen to a buick le sabre of mine about 7 years ago. It would run fine on flat surfaces but when driving up bridges it would act as though it wanted to stall out.
 
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