Alphard Club

@BoomBox welcome to the club Nic. 

Enjoy your new ride. Any questions, please feel free to pop on the club. Happy to help

also, have you matched your doc with the cars actual VIN on the car?

on the document do you have any other types of codes?

As mine was GGH, it was only the luxury spec (one with airline style middle seats)

Anyone think the chinese got their inspiration from the Alphard for the Maxus Mifa9?

 Even the door beep is the same.

What do you think?

i do remember when i was going it i did it wrong and somehow i did it correctly after a few goes. but looking at yours it looks right format

mine was GGH20-801****

mine was a Luxury model

On 9/15/2024 at 9:30 PM, kully said:

I had the transmission oil "service" a few months ago. It was £500.

 

I picked up the car and they'd done a drain and fill, but hadn't dropped the pan and changed the filter. I should have asked exactly what they'd quoted for, but I'd assumed "service" and £500 meant the full thing.

 

I'm now looking for a specialist garage that isn't the Toyota garage in Basingstoke 🙂

ouch that is expensive as its less than an hour, in fact 30 min job if only draining fluids.

Tranmission specialists will do it for 250 mark.

We did it ourselves as Just needed the OBD reader, Fluids and filters. Follow the guidelines (these are important as requires right temperature)

good fair price that. car looks clean too.

8 hours ago, harleyak said:

i've just purchased a sticker, how long for delivery?....

This should be sent out at the weekend.

I know this is for landcruiser but same principle for all automatics.

The heat in the transmission comes from driving in the overdrive gears where the torque converter is not locked in. 

When towing with an automatic you need to select something like 4th gear or S and do not let the vehicle go in to 5th or higher. avoid the top cruising gears, these are weak gears and do not use the torque converter to assist. some autos have 6 or even 8 gears and need to find the non-overdrive gears  and stick to it which helps fuel economy (believe it or not)  and prevent heat in the transmission where it cooks the oil. You will be suprised how quickly it will heat up on fats roads going uphill when using the wrong gear.

on my last alphard i purchased a CarVX report and was surprised with the information given. Also past auction reports with pics.

1 hour ago, pfeds said:

According to the invoice they're all genuine Toyota parts, which would be another reason for high cost. I didn't think to ask for pattern parts, so lesson learned this time. And probably a different mechanic next time.

I changed mine because they were clunking, even though the were shot to pieces (UK roads destroy rubbers on jap imports) i was hoping it would of be totally quiet, but still got the odd knock on particular bumps. that could of been strut mount bushes too. However, cornering was much better. A lot tighter and did not feel such a large barge in the end.

so anything like strut mounts (not worth doing, take a look where they are positioned)
slight play in ball joints perhaps.
 

Problem is the car is so quiet is that you can hear all the knocks

did you use aftermarket droplinks?

I did and they do clunk a little. I think i paid £19 per link and took 2 hours to fit from start to finish, that includes no ramp, on the roadside. 

also ARB's are hard to get to from what i could see. maybe the actual reason for the high costs i guess.

On 11/1/2024 at 2:23 AM, Mist7887 said:

Hi, I was hoping to import a 20 series hybrid, but insurance is either non existent or stupid prices.

Has anybody had any luck with hybrid quotes?

My best quote is £950, which is £400 more than the best I got for a plain 2.4l petrol, or even a 2.4l 2016 hybrid. I can stomach around £550, but anything near £1000 is crazy. 

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.



 

Alphard  / Vellfire 20 Series Mat set made from quality wilton carpet

Will fit both 8 or 7 seater petrol model only (does not fit Hybrid)

Set comprises of

3x front mats (drivers mat has heel pad and floor clips)
4 x door step mats (with stitched velcro)
Centre row cover mat (With Velcro fixing points)

£139 + £10 Delivery.

Note centre row mat is a cover mat so will partly sit over tracks, also protects them too.

I have only got one set of these,

3 hours ago, Noni2022 said:

Just had a renewal quote from Safeguard which is nearly double last year with no changes/ claims - £601! Are others finding similar?

 

Sixty three years, no medical issues and live Essex /London borders inc. 9 years NCD and 90 days EU travel. Bonkers!

I had the same issue.

I shopped around and managed to get it lower but nothing like year before.

Things to help

• Add a partner to the policy as a "Named driver", even if they dont drive it
• If you have 2 cars in the house then add yourself as a Named Driver to the other car if you have already not.
• Some co's sell Excess Cover, it's usually cheap, so volunteer a higher excess and then insure the excess, So if in total the excess is 500 then insure the whole amount.. This worked for me, I paid £40 for £500 cover but saved £90 in policy cover)
• If you do less miles then what you are insuring then lower the amount on the policy.
• Only insure it for the trade value, not what you bought it for. You will only get book value, never what you want. (consult with ins co. first)

@David Howard a few photos may help your sale. good luck

Welcome to the club Ben

14 hours ago, Rojie said:

I doubt it is a camera,

or Lane Assist, which I have on an earlier model; does not use a screen camera,

unlikely to be distance radar, as that is usually at the front bumper / valance.

Could be a rain sensor / autowipe. My earlier model has neither !

 

Could be a light sensor perhaps for auto headlight  dipping.

 

Let us all know when you figure it out.

could be a anti collision sensor, my wifes yaris has it by the mirror.

@Picasso

i am wondering if its actually a camera.

Could be one of a few things ( dont know the official names for these)

Lane assist

Automatic Dipped beam / or high beam

pedestrian alert

Autowipe

You have to check these options as well as Alphards had many options available. Never heard of camera being fitted, Only tesla and very new stuff have video recording.

Do you have any strange buttons by your knee?

never seen one of these before. does it look oem like factory fitted?

Just now, Peterm69uk said:

 I fitted a dash cam, as stated on a previous post I was going to hardwire it by piggybacking a fuse with a kit I bought but in the end I just used a lead to connect to a usb for power.

 

Where are the sensors located? are they the four blocks on top of the screen? if so the only thing I think I could of done is dislodge something while pushing the dash cam lead behind the linings?

 

Pete

sensors are on top of the dash itself, either the black dome or the silver sensor, i forget which one.

Top Windscreen sensor is for Autowipe wipers

4 minutes ago, Peterm69uk said:

Yes

You may have accidentally turned off or lowered the auto lights setting in the infotainment system. Finding it maybe tricky, i use Google translate over the camera helps.

Silly question but i presume you have the lights switch on Auto? Sorry for asking 

Their is a sensor on the dash, is this covered?