New 2003 Alphard Owner seeking help/advice

[MarkATH10W]

Hi all.  New owner of an ATH10W here, and I am experiencing problems right off the bat.  I apologize if this is a reoccurring topic but I could not find anything to do with my issues on this subforum at all. Hoping for some advice and shared experiences regarding:

 

1) The CVT is slipping and surging under load.  Seems to be worse when vehicle warms up.  Very notificable surge/slip/stutter when going up hills when I reach 20mph, 40mph.  Goes away when hill is gone and engine is not under load.  CEL is triggered, but I am unable to read what code is triggered.  Seems to lose power and vehicle wont accelerate very well.  I am not sure it is related to the CEL, and if it triggers a "safe" mode to protect the vehicle.  I did a CVT drain and refill on my way home from work today but not sure how much fluid was actually replaced (even though I had asked that they check for me).

 

2) What is the code reader of choice for our vehicles?  I have an ELM327bluetooth+phone but connect to the ECU no matter what profile I use with the "Car Scanner ELM ODB2" app.  Anyone have success with the ELM327 and another app combination?

 

Hoping for some good news.  Thank you all.

[MarkATH10W]

I'll reply to my own message regarding 2) since I have found more information:

 

• More sucess from forum members with the 3.0 verison, less with 2.4 version, and only 1 post I could find regarding a 2.4 hybrid ATH10W.
• Based on what I read here, Success varies with ELM327 bluethooth adapters because it is suspected because cheaper/knockoff units do not have a required chip/function to read our JDM vehicles. 
• In the case of using Torque Pro as the app with a fully functional ELM327 adapter, Some have reported a need to enter an additional string code.  Others make no mention of a string code.  In one thread, a poster stated the following string was used for a 2003 2.4 alphard (non hybrid) and worked: ATIB 96 \n ATIIA 13 \n ATSH8213F0 \n ATSP4 \n 0100
• Others stated that they had success with using Car Scanner ELM OBD2 App by 0vZ with the ELM327.  The following Profile was used:  Toyota JOBD JDM CAN
• Multiple reports of success with the 2.4 Alphard (not sure if hybrid is included) and an off the shelf ANCEL JP700 JOBD OBD2 Japanese Car Scanner.  No details as to if any customization or profiles used... or if it just works.

 

Please add more information if you have it.  Thank you.

[PaulE]

I purchased the Washinglee OBD2 Diagnostic Cable for Toyota Lexus Scion, USB Diangostic Scanner Cable Supporting TIS Techstream and 32/64 bit Windows from Amazon- is currently £59.99 and comes with instructions for Toyota Techstream to load onto a laptop (Win 10 , 64 bit). The link they gave to Techstream was faulty but they emailed me a different link which worked fine. They give tech support too.

Used it to diagnose a problem with the HV battery.

 

Washinglee OBD2 Diagnostic Cable for Toyota Lexus Scion, USB Diangostic Scanner Cable Supporting TIS Techstream and 32/64 bit Windows : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

[MarkATH10W]

Paul, thanks for your reply.

 

Regarding 2) I have additional information. By chance, I found a spare ELM327 that connected with the ECU with both Torque Pro and Car Scanner.

 

Engine and sensor readouts seem to be populating, but neither app could find any error codes, even with a Check Engine Light on and CVT acting up.  Any ideas? Could this be normal? Not sure how to interpret this other than the ODB2 reader isn't fully compliant.

 

The customization string for Torque Pro seem that I provided earlier was not needed; possibly made things worse in my brief testing (reported a negative/incorrect coolant temperature).

Edited May 10, 2023 by MarkATH10W

[MarkATH10W]

replying to my own thread.  all issues resolved

 

Ancel JP700 correctly read the codes which pointed  to MAF sensor; I replaced that with a Denso MAF and now everything runs well.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Geralt]

On 5/23/2023 at 5:47 PM, MarkATH10W said:

replying to my own thread.  all issues resolved

 

Ancel JP700 correctly read the codes which pointed  to MAF sensor; I replaced that with a Denso MAF and now everything runs well.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

Thanks for following up and letting people know what the resolution was. I too use the Ancel model you mention. I've had not much success with Techstream but will post separately on that.

[Alphie]

Mark, can I just check that you are talking about the surging under load issue, which on the face of it might seem to be a CVT problem, and that this has been solved by replacing the MAF sensor. I ask because I too am starting to notice this uneven drive when the vehicle is heavily loaded and accelerating/climbing. I had though it was some sort of slippage in the drive train. So far it has not raised any fault codes. Thanks Chris

[MarkATH10W]

2 hours ago, Alphie said:

Mark, can I just check that you are talking about the surging under load issue, which on the face of it might seem to be a CVT problem, and that this has been solved by replacing the MAF sensor. I ask because I too am starting to notice this uneven drive when the vehicle is heavily loaded and accelerating/climbing. I had though it was some sort of slippage in the drive train. So far it has not raised any fault codes. Thanks Chris

 

Correct.  when going up inclines or accelerating at speed, it felt like a misshift in the CVT.  but it turns out that it was caused by the MAF sensor.  lean fuel error was thrown.  Upon inspection of the MAF sensor, it looked very dirty.  I replaced mine, but common practice is to clean first with MAF cleaner.  The location of the MAF sensor is a pain compared to other toyotas and I didn't have time to experiment.  Taking out the front fuse/battery terminal box will facilitate access (ull see what i mean once u attempt the job).