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I'm sorry. I mis-read your question. No front two-wheel drive vehicle will need a differential in the rear. They do mean a 4wd. I assume this is because the 4wd machines are sensitive to tread wear and grip on all four wheels. Uneven tyre sizes and wear can lead to the wheel speed sensors reporting issues when there are none.

thanks rojie all it was when i looked in the manual about using the spare tyre because i have a rear puncture it said dont put on rear if you have lsd i wasnt 100% but thought they must mean 4wd thanks

Members should be aware that hybridrepairservice,co.uk/ has previously objected to less that favourable comments on this forum, and some comments were removed. As a consequence, any future negative reviews will also be removed as this forum is in the public domain. Notwithstanding that, there have been many favourable reports about the effectivity of services provided. However, it is true to say that true 'experts' in the maintenance/repair of hybrid vehicle battery systems are few and hard to find. Imho, the Exeter facility is well worth an enquiry, but he is very busy, at times, as Hybrid the version of the Alphard / Vellfire becomes ever more popular.

I'm looking at replacing the front fog bulbs with LED and hoping for recommendations from members that have replaced theirs.

No. It does not have a LSD or need one. Although, one was available as an option on some models. What do you mean ? Spare tyre ? Your spare tyre under the boot floor ? Yes, of course, subject to its condition. A spare tyre mounted on the tailgate ? Yes, subject to how it is safely and securely mounted. Although I am not aware of any retail hardware to achieve this.

Hello Daron, Picasso, not Picassio, is an expert on these JPNZ manuals. Unfortunately, there are no decent Workshop Manuals available. I have heard that some are available in the Russian language, but since the invasion of Ukraine even those are unavailable due to sanctions on communication channels. Should you find one, please post a link on this Forum for the benefit of all Club members.

There were a few options to order a new one from, but this time i was lead time limited. And now we know how the master cylinder is put together! It is a bit complex, theres no information out there on rebuilding them, everyone just tells you to buy a new one. But it’s only 4 seals out of a seal catalog, that someone had to select and stuff them in with their finger too.

Thanks Smurf

does the standard alphard 2007 3ltr front wheel drive have a rear limited slip diferential and is it safe to put the spare tyre on the rear.

I've heard a couple of anecdotal stories about a Cambridge based hybrid specialist, and they wouldn't be on my list of prospective garages if I had a hybrid fault. Don't know if it is the same people, but there can't be too many hybrid specialists around there. Options are limited, as you have no doubt already discovered. I'd be going with the best expertise available rather than local garages willing to have a go at your expense. You might find your breakdown cover will transport the car to a location of your choice. If you are on Facebook you could try asking on this group if there is anyone nearer to you that could help https://facebook.com/groups/584860908755825/

Hi Picassio i have a ATH10 Hybrid Alphard with a 2AZ engine am looking for a workshop manual i notice by the attached posts in 2021 that you said a workshop manual would be printed next year being 2022 did it get into print ? Thanks

Hope a new stat sorts it for you mate! Merry Christmas one and all!!

Sunny morning today, ran through all the tips above, no airlock, fluid levels perfect, bottom hose hot but maybe no hot enough? Didn't reach high enough temp for fan to cut in so I think it must be a faulty stat...stuck open a little. Will order a new one & report back. Thanks for all the advice. Happy Xmas to all the Alphie's out there🎄

Thank you Michael and Smurf your advice is much appreciated. i am in Colchester Essex so if anyone knows an alphard specialist closer that would be good. At the moment the car is stuck at the garage. the differential was replaced by a small garage in water beach near Cambridge with a reconditioned unit. They had a few Alphard there and it worked ok afterwards but I lost my confidence in them when they tried to tell me my tyres were 25 years old and needed replacing along with other stuff!! Fortunately I had videos of the car taken the day it was transferred to them (I had been scammed on tyres in the past)!! Having the work reviewed by my local garage they found my inner wheel arch protectors had gone awol! I will keep you posted as to what is happening and the outcome but any suggestions appreciated. Once / if it gets back into service so I can take it somewhere I will try book it in to an alphard specialist to have a look over it. I think it’s a great car but recently have lost my confidence with it having spent significant money only to be recovered twice!! hope everyone has a safe and happy festive season. j

Hello Greg, Welcome from afar to the Forum. Check your 'mood' lighting is switched off. It is very easy to leave it on low, which will not be noticeable unless pitch dark. Get a smart charger and ensure you keep your battery fully charged at all times (especially when your winter months arrive). Some, mine, will indicate a faulty alternator too. Even a new battery will need toping up if your journeys are all short, so the purchase of a charger is an investment, not an expense.

When you say it had a differential changed, do you know exactly what was changed? The gearbox is quite a complex and unusual piece of equipment, and I'm surprised you found a garage willing to replace a component of it. You need to take it to a hybrid specialist who understands Alphards and has the correct diagnostic equipment or you will waste more time and money with garages taking a guess after two days, or RAC mechanics that think the car has a dodgy 12V alternator (it doesn't have a 12V alternator). There is a hybrid specialist in the Exeter that travels https://www.hybridrepairservice.co.uk/ Another alternative is this guy in Wigan that seems well regarded. You would have to get the car trailered up there though. https://www.facebook.com/Vjkomix

Hi Everyone Like to know if anyone had fitted side mirrors with factory camera to their 20 series. My ATH20W came with nhzn -x61g unit. Mirror part number is Murakami 8406 KOITO 52-158.

The Inverter vertually runs the Alphard, get it checked over by a specialist

Kia Ora, My partner and I have recently converted a 2009 Velfire into a camper and are currently touring NZ. We're having issues with the battery and have had to jump start the car three times this week. Is there anything that could be causing the battery to drain overnight? Wanted to make sure we're not doing something stupid before fitting a new battery. Many thanks, Greg

Wow that sounds like a complex job you seemed to know what your doing pity you weren’t able to pick up a new unit overseas as Toyota in the Uk and Oz are ridiculous in there pricing of parts sometimes if you can’t find generic parts it’s cheaper to buy from Japan even with the freight cost.

Thanks for all the tips. It rained all day today so I will investigate more in the next few days.

Hi guys! If it's not getting hot enough, then, as you intimated, it could well be the thermostat even though it was changed. Try this - After a drive, or not, if you sit with it stationary, with the heater off will speed up the experiment, maybe a slightly fast idle speed, and see if it will then get hot, and hot enough to bring in the radiator cooling fans. If it does, quite possibly the thermostat. I had a Ford Galaxy 2007 1.8 diesel that would not get over around 65C, even with most of the rad blocked off. Never did figure it out.

Thanks for those numbers Picasso, that was helpful. I got the master cylinder sorted today. I wanted the car on the road again for next week, that aliexpress part, and Toyota we’re all 6 week lead times. Toyota could easily get the part but wanted £400 + vat for it. So I thought I would see what was wrong with the old cylinder and took it apart. It’s a Bosch twin piston unit with the front axle piston in front of the rear piston. The springs on each of them are different rates which gives you the brake bias. The rear piston just pulls out, then the front piston popped out with the bike pump. There’s 4 seals in there, 2 for each piston, the top 3 came out easy ish with a seal pick. Then the bottom seal, which is the main seal for the front piston, was hard and super trucking to get out. The lip crumbled and split before the seal starts the pull out. Literally took me 2 hours with a pick to get it out. So the seals were hard. Which explains things at least. The seal pack is fairly complex. Theres 3 different seal types, all with various lips and edges, Bosch part numbers on. Tried looking for replacements but measuring off the old shrunk seals wasn’t giving me any confidence. Then I guessed that this style of master cylinder must be used in other cars. So I just started googling 22.2mm M12 port Bosch master cylinders. And found this one for a bmw mini. It was £50 delivered and looked identical, bar a tad shorter. So the new bmw spec master cylinder arrived on Friday and I whipped the piston out to find the seals and the insides are exactly the same as my Alphard unit. The only difference between the units is the throw, the Alphard cylinder has. 49mm throw, and this bmw one is only 40mm throw. These new seals came out way easier than the old ones, much more “rubbery”. The bottom one I struggled on before popped straight out! Interestingly, the seal designs are different. They are way tighter on the pistons too, proving measuring off the old ones wasn’t going to work. Slapped the original cylinder with the new seals in this morning, did a vacuum bleed on it and managed to get it filled without air going in the lines. Had a solid pedal until I turned it on and the ABS module opened, now the pedal is a bit spongy again, so I think the rest of the lines need bleeding through with the new fluid. But the test drive was good, way better pedal feel, does not drop away, plenty of stopping power. Still got lots of pedal travel but I do think it’s a bit of a feature. The boosted on this thing is huge. It must be 400mm in diameter. The pedal travel is pretty normal with then engine not running. Then the booster sucks the pedal down loads. So I’m thinking this is old fluid in the lines to the wheels. It should be milky where it’s broken down in this case, so we’ll see what we see.

Happy Christmas

Hi everyone, We bought our hybrid from Campervanco in Denny near Edinburgh, paid a substantial amount for it and discovered a recall issue on airbags which they didn't know about!! Although we discovered it through another dealer (thanks Matt) the van runs well now we have changed the steering rack no other significant issues but response is lame considering we paid 30 grand for it, we were disappointed. Their workshop looked pretty good and the sales appeared efficient but lacks follow up I am afraid. Don't be duped