Leaderboard

One thing I missed when driving my gen 1 Alphard is the indicator lane change 3 flash that is in many newer vehicles these days, and I got so used to using it that when driving my Alphard I often forget and just flick the indicator to change lane and, of course, I get one flash. I'd seen someone was selling an alternative direct replacement flasher relay for upwards of £50 that was modified to give the 3 flash, but that price was too much for me to just avoid holding the indicator down a bit longer. A bit of research turned up a potential alternative for less than £10 on eBay. It didn't specifically mention the lane change function as it seemed to be more aimed at people retro-fitting LED indicator bulbs and messing up the flashing rate, but I had a suspicion so I took a punt and bought it. The original Toyota item and the replacement are shown below. Notice the knob for adjusting the flash rate, and poorly translated "about dodges three times" on the replacement relay. Fitting it was easy enough. Simply pull out the coin drawer thingy just above the bonnet and fuel flap release levers on the driver side of the dash and look in. The relay is fairly obvious. The relay put up a fight and was reluctant to release, but a bit of jiggling and a little bit of leverage from a screwdriver got it out. This photo shows the new one fitted. I turned the hazards on and the flash rate was very fast, but with a quick twiddle of the knob on the relay I had the flash rate back to where it should be. Then the moment of truth - ignition on and flicked the indicator stalk. Three flashes and stop 👍. £10 and 10 minutes work. Bargain! This is the one I bought on eBay, but there appears to be loads of sellers as the original Toyota relay was used on many different models, as you could imagine. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386806258020?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=xfg_a3ycs9s&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ql8_keC9RJe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Renewed with Adrian Flux a couple of weeks ago. £40 less than my first year (last year) That was a surprise! Graham

Hi. I have put a couple of posts on here a while ago. I had a towbar fitted which cost about £400 (an Alphard needs something a bit bespoke which my fitter ordered from somewhere in Sheffield). I then bought a secondhand Thule 2 bikerack off ebay. It cost £80. It isn't the tilt type, but works very well, and I just accept I can't open the tailgate without taking the bikes off - I don't need to remove the carrier itself, since it has a foldable frame. The bike rack also doubles as a luggage carrier. Without the bikes on, I can attach a large Fiamma luggage bag which fits a huge amount of stuff. £40 off ebay.

Just a thought, but have you tried cleaning up the inside of the battery terminal clamps, and wherever the battery negative lead connects to the body? They could be oxidized and causing a volt drop when trying to provide cranking current. Putting the starter pack on could bypass where the problem connection is, and hence why you get an instant start.

I have just had my first service at my local garage. We have been with them for several decades and I was interested to hear their opinion on our campervan conversion. I was pleasantly surprised to get the positive reactions I did. The headlamp discolouring is being dealt with with advice from yourselves on this forum and also local advice. I am now aware why the service (oil change in particular} 6k-7k intervals is important. Quote "the sump is small for the engine size Graham, only 4 litres of oil. Change it and the filter every 6k or so" unquote. Thanks for your help here everyone. Kind regards Graham

Depends on what you buy. They usually come with one fuse each and you use the original fuse in the main socket. Obviously you can put whatever fuses you like in but you don't want a higher fuse rating than the original, so pairs of the same or the spur being on a lower rated fuse would be best. When choosing which fuse socket to use you need to find out what it currently powers and / or do a test to find out whether its a permanent feed, comes one with the ignition or is only on when something happens, say headlights being on.

Absolutely superb job you're doing there, especially with the outdoor aspect!!

Day 17 2 Hours Felt like big progress today. I've been dreading using silicon gasket but think it went pretty well. Started the day with a failed attempt to remove the exhaust bracket bolt with my new induction heating tool. Looks like I'll need to weld the bracket back together. I needed to jack the engine up quite high to get the timing chain cover above the power steering pipe. I did a few test runs to make sure I could get the cover onto the engine without ruining the gasket. I installed the water pump first but then removed it as I needed the extra space. It says to install the cover 3 min after applying the sealant. It took a bit of study and preparation to get my head around all the different sealant widths. Cover on and all bolts torqued to spec. Timing chain tensioner and water pump next I think.

kseal can block other parts of the heating system, always best to find where the leak is. If there is plenty of coolant in the rad, and you can see it moving when cold with the cap off, then it could be blocked in the heater matrix. You need to warm it up then check the small hoses, feed/return, that are connected to the matrix near the bulkhead, if they are both warm then the valve is working, and you have flow through the matrix, if not then the valve is not working or blocked. If you have flow through then the other cause could be the air flap control disc is faulty, a known fault, it is situated behind the dash low down, above and to the left of the parking brake, a disc from an Avensis control will fit, but both units need stripping down and the discs swopping

These are, unfortunately still a long way from me. With a 9-5, no car and two small children it's tough to get there, which is a real shame as there do seem to be plenty about. Edit: I have bookmarked a few of those though just in case, thank you for the advice

Hello Martyn, Welcome to the Forum.

Hi everyone. I installed android player to my car since 2022. Before this I never bother about the extra function using canbus box because my car didn't come with 18 unit speaker. Last year I make a study about the function of canbus and make some modification. 1) I bought the socket for meter 40pin. This socket connect to canbus box and HU. Original for other car. 2) I change the connection point to 13&14 follow the diagram 3) then I bought canbus Toyota from raise. 4) after that setting the HU You can get information like - parking trajectory - door information - parking radar - outdoor temperature - millage odometer - average consumption

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you mate! Yes I'm with you both, no logic to my reason just old fashioned gut feeling. Turn it over with the crank pully nut a couple of times, maybe spark plugs out if its too tough. Then start it up and get it up to full temperature, with the heater on full heat, whilst checking on coolant levels and for any little weeps. Then drop out that oil into a clean pan so you can check it!

I was getting P0171 "system too lean (bank 1)" also and cleaning the MAF didn't help - the error would come back. What fixed it for me was changing the front Lambda sensor which, on mine, was a struggle as the previous mechanic had forced the sensor into place and had damaged the thread. An M18 x 1.5 tap and die cleaned up both the thread on the exhaust and the new sensor which I purchased - I would warn to be on the lookout for ones with the correct plug on the end as the cheap ones come with bare wires that need to be housed in the original socket (as the supplied ones don't stand a chance of fitting) and are bound to cause issues. I ended up getting this one: https://www.autojapspares.co.uk/toyota-alphard-anh10-anh15-24-front-fuel-ratio-sensor-34437-p.asp Which is rather expensive but arrived quickly and was a straight plug in. I also changed the fuel filter (see below) and the air filter - which may have helped but less so that the sensor I would say. Suffice to say that the emissions that it failed its MoT test on it now passes. Out of interest what are you using to grab your figures as per your screenshot?

>change at 5 min or 1 month? I am not an expert but personally I would: 1) Start by turning the engine over a few times, on a manual you could have it in gear, jack up a wheel and turn it but not sure how to approach that on an automatic. 2) As long as it turns freely start the engine and leave it to run for at least 10 mins until the oil is warm. 3) drain the oil and change the filter at that point - my guess is that whatever is likely to have been caught would have been caught by then. 4) obviously secure sump plug and refill with the proper oil 5) should be good to go - check for leaks would be the only advice, but I'm sure you would be doing that.

Funny enough I was talking to a Mazda MX5 owner earlier today and told him about amayama.com and he was rather shocked that a part he had been looking for was around a third of the price on amayama. A good source it must be said.

Yey - the emissions test passed! It's booked in for the full test on Tuesday. I have changed both the offside tyres which were showing signs of wear on the inside. The new tyres are on the front and the front nearside is now on the O/S rear. The tyre people did an alignment check and found everything was within spec, though both the offsides were right at the limit of the manufacturers spec. I am rather pleased that the emissions look to be so clear cut - I don't know what the 'before' figures were but a CO and HC of 0 must be good. I'm not sure what Lambda is measuring but that is within spec also. Oh we also found that one side light (far offside) doesn't work, and one brake light (nearside tailgate) doesn't work - both are dual filament bulbs, or at least they are different brightnesses for side and braking. I have put in some LED brake light 'bulbs' which do the same job, but are quite a bit brighter. It will be interesting to see whether the MoT tester says anything - or is it just LED headlight bulbs that are an issue? Roll on Tuesday.

Paul fingers crossed for pass on emissions

Great song, but I digress already! Had the new to me experience yesterday of bringing up the low fuel light. I blame the incident on me not having had a decent drive in the old bus due to other issues. Off I went with my £20 voucher for butcher meat from a known good butcher in the wilds of West Stirlingshire. After a few miles I realised tank was rather low but I knew where the only station for miles was so pressed on. Imagine my delight to find it closed for major refurb. I'm 13 miles from my nearest station so a very light footed journey commenced. 10 miles later low fuel light comes on, totally new experience for me in van. So, I make it to station & she takes 61 ltrs, another 1st, but having now found out tank capacity is 70 ltrs I am brimming with knowledge. Not that I’m going to make it a habit but I reckon a 2.4 petrol should give you 40-50 miles after low fuel lamp comes on.

I had a motorway drive this week for first time since fitting it, and it was only after I got home that I realised I have become so used to having a three lane flash over the years that I was using it and not even mentally acknowledging that it was doing it 😆.

Greetings, I’m a semi local to the area mentioned & I went to Drymen at the east side of Loch Lomond today failing to check my tank before setting out 🙄 Be warned, fuel stations are few and far between, nearest would be Dumbarton or Balloch if you come up the A82, if coming from the east Stirling would do although the village of Buchlyvie has a small garage. Aberfoyle has a community station. I got the low fuel light on and after a sweat got filled up near home, 61ltrs 😳 weat

I agree with Myron. Should be nothing to worry about unless the engine is caused to rev too high. According to the JPNZ Owners Manual, this is a feature , known as ECT, of the 3 litre V6 1MZ-FE engine and gearbox. It is also a feature of the 2AZ-FE.

I think this is a feature of many automatic boxes for many years. I think it is actually sensing that you are braking on a hill and changes down to give you some engine braking. When you accelerate it changes up again. I've had this feature on autos before and our 2008 Aplhard does it.

For less than £40 , you can get a vci adaptor and copy of techstream, and program a blank key yourself

That looks interesting, does come with a fuse in it and which fuse box did you plug it into ?

Hello Les, Welcome to the Forum.

I had mine checked (before buying) and it all added up. 2013 with 47,000 miles bought a month ago (Feb 2025)

Hi crazymac680 , brilliant job I must say unfortunately I am going to have to tackle the same job on my daughters alpha 2.4l 2006, I have worked on cars alot and feel confident on the job a bit concerned on the amount of siezed bolts you had to deal with on you job. I am just wondering if you have managed to get a workshop manual as I find it difficult to find one mainly for all the torque settings. Kind regards, Bob.

Thanks - new Bosch ordered. Boosted it (which I don’t want to do too often) and it worked fine. No idea on age tbh, there’s a label on it but it’s very faded and VERY Japanese !

We bought a large piece of memory foam from ebay for about £30. Ours is about one inch thick, but you could get thicker if you needed it. It all rolls up with the duvet and just fits behind the seat when we put the seats up. We were tempted to cut it to fit but didn't, which turned out to be a good choice as it has a few inches spare each side which really covers the hard edges either side of the bed. We tried Duvalays but they were really bulky. This arrangement folds up much smaller.

Amazing the variations in insurance quotes. I know it’s all down to personal circumstances/situations, but you really have to do your research! Well done Alasdair I can understand why you have no complaints. Nice looking interior BTW.

Do you mean these? I have used similar ones to ease the load on the mess of wires behind the central console as there were items being powered from previous taps and the like so I have used them to clean things up and to have each item running off a fuse. They work fine but I have found that, depending on the fuse box, they take up room and can block off the slot next to them so some locations are better than others. You also need to work on the connections and try and get the feed shrouded - as in the picture so that you don't have a live feed floating around. Oh - just mean to add that I haven't used them for LED lights but for; GPS speedo, dashcam, USB sockets, accessory (cigarette) socket and something I have forgotten 🙂

I have the same issue and I think most hybrid owners have this even with modern ones. It is possibly a parasitic drain which would be difficult to find on the Alphard Hybrids as the internal fuse boxes are almost impossible to access but also 12v batteries go bad very quickly if not charged regularly and hybrids only have a low output alternator so needs a long drive to charge up, I think they are more for "topping up" than fully charging. I have found it worth taking the battery off and giving it a full charge regularly- but see below. However I have found recently a possible work around. I have a Noco Genius 5 battery charger and I had to regularly take the battery off and charge it fully (I have a spare to swop). I found on a Youtube someone fixing a (semi) permanent Noco charger connection with eyes rather than crocodile clips to the battery post bolts. This then connects to the Noco charger and allows on board charging without removing the battery. I have tried this yesterday and worked fine. I intend to use this regularly to top up on days when not using the van. I do have the van off the road on my drive and run a long power cable through a gap in the driver window allowing the charger to be in side. I can then lock the van and give it a boost for up to an hour or as required. I then remove the charger leaving the cable connected and the end hides under the carpet. If you don't already have a Noco Genius charger they do the Genius 2D (the "D" is important) which is designed to be permanently connected and is very small so can be hidden. I will leave Amazon links below. I have taken professional advice on whether this is safe to do and the answer came back is that charging with the battery connected to the vehicle should not be any different to charging with the alternator and less potentially damaging than using a booster pack ( I do use a Noco booster and keep one in the van- very good product) and the Noco chargers are well made and have protection circuits (honest- I am not sponsored ). I will try and put photos on at some point in the future. Hope this helps. There are 2x alternative to the lead - one with M10 eyelets and one with M6- I used the M10 and these are a bit large but work, I had to cut a small slot in the red plastic cover to accommodate the positive eyelet. NOCO GC002 X-Connect M6 Eyelet Terminal Accessory for Genius Smart Battery Chargers : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive NOCO GC008 X-Connect M10 XL Eyelet Terminal Accessory Genius Smart Battery Chargers : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo NOCO GENIUS2DUK, 2-Amp Direct-Mount Onboard Charger, 12V Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, And Battery Desulfator With Temperature Compensation : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

Hi I fitted this usb/12v socket/ battery display (ebay) which works perfectly for us. As in the above post we have a separate power source when engine isn't running. You do have to cut holes in the cubby lid and tidy up wiring underneath but there are easy access live and earth wires to splice off. Just make sure you fit an online fuse. Passengers love having the usbs! Just for info for anyone else and at the risk of hijacking the the thread, the red & white phono plugs below have a usb c at the other end which allows me to play Spotifyfrom my android phone through the video function on the head unit..sounds great too!

Hi, A few months ago someone was trying to be helpful and tried to force the sliding door shut. I managed to close the door to get home. Had a real problem re-opening the door. When eventually opened, the operating cable had "jumped" the pulleys and damaged the whole mechanism and cable. We made the decision not to spend hours of time and large expense to replace all the components,so I removed all the mechanism and cables and we now have a manual sliding door,which to be honest is no problem to use.

Appreciated your input, will try it out. Thanks !

Ah i see the problem. it's a 2.4 not a 3L.

I have found a simple and cheap way of making my speedo compliant.. For just over £12, I purchased a sheet of self adhesive white stick on numbers[you cut from a sheet] and stick on the outside of the speedo head where the white marks are between the KPH numbers[Make sure you use the correct white marks] There are also stickers to add MPH onto the centre of the speedo face. The seller sends an extra set of numbers in case any mistakes are made. EBAY Number286074653037

You sir are a a legend. I stumbled upon this thread and if I hadn't I was going to spend up to $8k or even more on trying to fix the problem. I was even close to purchasing an amplifier part # 86280-58090 but couldn't find the specific amp and there was one place in nz that could order it for $4.5k. I'm so greatful for you awesome bunch and I pray that God blesses you all with your hearts needs. Ps I own a 2012 Toyota vellfire 3.5 v6 with the 18 speakers. Thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou From fiji to the world! Oh io 20250108_181843.mp4

Thanks to this group I secured insurance with Adrian Flux (van is still on the ship) via chassis number. I'll be able to drive the car myself to an MOT station and then home, as per their T&Cs. £470 for the premium itself, but then if you add all the fees and the fact I'm paying monthly, it'll be £680! Still ok for the first year I guess. I'll look around once my car is registered, etc.

Have you tried Mark Richards (Jap Cover) ? It will be a case of shopping around. Also, add a second driver like a spouse or sibling who has full licence and access to another car. I have seen massive drops in price by adding another driver.

Over the years their were a few recalls to the Alphard. If you alphard has been in the country for a while or maybe even recently imported, it could be due for a recall. The few recalls are as follows 1. 2010 - Problem status 2010 (Fuel Pump and Brake Fluid/Servo) Because the fuel pump electric wire in the fuel tank is hard to bend, the connection terminal part may slide when the pump mounting surface is greatly displaced by tank internal pressure change when opening the filler opening. Therefore, if you continue to use it as it is, the connection terminal part wears and heat is generated by energization, the terminal fitting force decreases and conduction failure occurs, the fuel pump stops, there is a possibility of engine being unable to start or to be stalled while running. In the brake master cylinder, lubrication evaluation with the brake fluid used in the market was insufficient, so even if the brake fluid conforms to the standards, if a brake fluid with a low polymer content is used, the rubber at the rear end of the cylinder There is a possibility that the seal part of the product will be lubricated and turned up. Therefore, if the brake fluid leaks from the seal part and the warning lamp lights up, if continuing to use as it is, in the worst case, the braking force may decrease. 2. Problem status 2014 ( Passenger Airbag) In the inflator (inflator) for the passenger airbag, damage to the inflator container occurred during vehicle dismantling work. For this reason, although the cause is not known, in the same type inflator of the same year, the inflator container is broken when the airbag is deployed and it scatters, it may fire and the passenger may be injured, so all vehicles, preventive As a measure, we will exchange the inflator for good products. 3. Problem status 2015 (Passenger Airbag) In the inflator (inflator) for the passenger airbag, as a result of investigating the items collected in the market, it was confirmed that the inflator container was defective in airtightness. Therefore, in the course of long-term use, moisture in the atmosphere may penetrate into the inflator, the gas generating agent may absorb moisture and may not develop properly when operating the airbag. You will need your VIN in the box, the parts in red are what you need to input from your own VIN http://www.toyota.co.jp/recall-search/dc/result?FRAME_DIV=MNH10&FRAME_NO=0088734 Frame types are something like MNH10 MNH 15 ANH10 ANH15 ATH10 Frame numbers are 7 digits The vehicle linked above is a vehicle that has had all the recalls done. Screenshot in english below If you are using chrome you will be able to use translate button near the top of the browser window. What if your Alphard is due a recall? If your Alphard has something similar to the screenshot below then your car is due for a recall Because the car was exported then in Japan their notification to the Japanese owner ends as they do not know the new oversees owner. What to do? At the moment there are no official recalls due to this car in the UK, it only applies to the car in Japan. Your local Toyota dealer will have no record of this recall. Basically your dealer will need to get permission from Toyota Japan in order for Toyota Japan to pay for the recall. However, your local dealer may not want to do the recall or even research. It does solely depend on the dealer. If you do your homework and contact Toyota Japan to get authorisation sent to Toyota GB, then Toyota GB will contact you so you can get the recall done at your local dealership. Of course if you are due the airbag recall then it's worth the time and effort. I will update this thread once i find out more information.

When I looked at my vehicle details on https://www.toyota.co.jp/recall-search/dc/result?FRAME_DIV=ANH10&FRAME_NO=0112nnn there are two entries: Which don't quite match up with the CarVX report (just under 20 UKP) which listed three entries - though two are looking to be the same issue: Am I safe to assume that all the items have been dealt with before it was imported in 2018? Cheers,

Im trying to post the link but not allowed by the forum rules. Heres the screenshot.

Great news , I’ll give that a try 😉

Thank you. I can confirm your information helped and my registration have been approved. THANK YOU AGAIN

Yeah quite a few places offer maps for them, even the 1st gen. I can only assume the factory mapping is quite tame, and being a relatively large capacity 4 cylinder there's a bit of room for improvement. I wouldn't be surprised if it involves increasing the factory 6250rpm rev limit and tuning it to make a few more ponies at the top end. This one reckons c. 179hp can be made.....given the engine is probably the same as the 2nd gen bar software it wouldn't surprise me TBH. https://puretuning.net/en/chiptuning-files/toyota/alphard/2-4i-160hp I think the 2.4 gets a bit of flack for being underpowered, but honestly even stock I'm rather impressed with how well it hauls a vehicle the size of an Alphard around. It's also noticeably more perky when run on high octane fuel. Certainly it's not as effortless or relaxed as the V6 (nor sounds as good) but if you rev it out and are prepared to use the manual gears (will let you hit the rev limit then) for a minivan they tear along quite nicely I think 👍 In the US there is a bit of a following for turbocharging these motors in Camry's, where they then easily make late 200 bhps on very modest boost. I did watch a video of some guys in Australia that also eBay turbo'd a cheap Camry they bought and with next to no playing around (I think it may have had a standalone ECU being the only thing....£££££) it made about 260 brake. I'll be honest, if someone in the UK put together a decent, reliable kit for it and I had the funds, I would probably consider it for a laugh!

You don't have to answer those. There is no EU compliant emissions testing, these are not Type approved vehicles. I just gave them supporting documentation for proof of age, being the export Japanese export certificate, and an MOT certificate which was done under the chassis number. Included a cheque for the registration fee and 12 months tax. And 2 weeks later a V5C came though the post! It was amazingly easy to be fair! This is how I filled out my form.... And I sent it with all these docs.... And I got a V5C back like this!

I would, without actually weighing them, think that the camper conversion alone would weigh less than the original seats, if they have been taken out.

Hi, any news on this recall thread please. My 2005 Alphard has 2 outstanding recalls for airbag I need to address at some time, just thought I would ask before contacting Toyota GB. Regards Nick