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Failed! But nowt major (parking brake too slack, one small piece of corroded brake pipe, both rear license plates bulbs, and the tyre I already knew about). Will get it passed next week. That ain’t too bad for a big ol’ rig like this.

Goes in on Friday. Been having some issues with the brakes for a while but not been using the Alphie much and it was still stopping so only just got around to looking … and my oh my! The inside surfaces of both rear discs were all chewed up and blistered! Never seen anything like it. Outside surfaces were ok. I guess poor quality parts AND salt damage with previous owner. So let that be a warning, clean regularly including underneath during salting season. Also L rear shock was leaking oil and L rear tyre dangerously worn out on inside edge, so new tyre ordered alongside MOT and I fitted a new shock along with new pads and discs, all the parts only about £150. Not too bad at all! Fingers crossed for Friday … so far the Alphie has proven pretty cheap to run in year 1. 🤞

Several Alphard’s breaking on eBay , you might need to pay for a sprayer to get a colour match, but if no major structural damage then eminently repairable and the other party’s insurance company should pay for all of that. Ditto if new items need to be imported then presumably the other driver’s insurance will pay for that so perhaps not stress too much over the cost. If the future value of the vehicle is affected then you can claim for that loss too.

This is who I ordered from

I seem to recall when in ordered one in October 2021 it only took a week. It then took me 4+ months to get around to actually fitting it …

I did my R sliding door cable last weekend. It is easy to do but get the right tools, from what I remember 10mm spanner or socket JIS #2 screwdriver T40 torx T25 torx get some panel removal tools, don’t use a knife or screwdriver! Get some spare panel clips too and zip ties. take photos of it all as you undo/remove, this will help greatly in putting it all back. take your time, do it well do it once. Important: only remove the white plastic cable cover once you have passively fitted the cable reel to the spline. Dab a little bit of fresh silicon grease to the splines. fit the bottom (black) cable end first, then the upper/rear (grey) cable end last; try to keep a little bit of tension in the cable and ensure it stays tracked in the correct line. you will need the T40 torx to unhinge the upper cable hold, slot the cable clip in, then lever it back and secure with the same T40 bolt. there is a small black plastic cover over the upper cable hold; you need to slide this forwards but it takes some effort. Put a cloth over it, put a socket extension bar on it to act as a drift, and then tap it with a rubber mallet. Repeat on reinstallation to make sure it is fitted properly.

You’re not the first and won’t be the last to make this mistake, same is true for the 5 spd boxes too. The D position is on the left, sliding it across to the R will put it into 3rd (or 4th in the 5-spd models); this means the box will change automatically only up to that gear, it won’t move into the top gear, hence your high revs at cruising speed. Glad you got it sorted, doubt any long term harm has been done.

You can buy from Japan on eBay with no import duties but you might have to wait a while for the item to arrive.

I think there is a bolt running from the back of the van, interior side, all the way through which secures the spare. is it definitely coming from the back there? If yes, also check how secure the exhaust is, they’re usually just secured with rubber bungs and those things can break or fall off leaving the exhaust to bang around a bit.

If you’re really chasing mpg just drop the speed to ~60mph and hoy the cheapest fuel you can find in the tank.

Yes, they definitely do petrol versions, I used to have a petrol one in my old petrol campervan. You need to poke around the website, see below as an example. Remember petrol is still very common and popular combustion engine in many markets even for bigger vehicles/vans so these things do exist but you might need to import or make a special order with uk importer. Good luck.

I bought a complete sliding door cable kit from a Japanese commercial seller on eBay , OE Toyota, £150 delivered within 1 week. Superb. From These limited experiences I certainly would not be put off buying from Japan. 👍

Common problem with Alphies, they’re heavy vehicles designed for well built Japanese roads, not the obstacle courses that we have over here. Price is high, I think, I assume that includes purchasing OE/Toyota parts which will add a lot to it. I believe the rear bushes are a bit of a sod to remove & fit too so that’s gonna bump up the estimated number of hours. If you don’t get these fixed then shocks and vibrations will transfer through the chassis and other suspension components and the ride will feel rough and you may end up having to replace / fix more stuff HOWEVER the tolerance on these things is quite high and unless I could actually feel the problem myself or if The issue was going to be an MOT problem then I’d put it off for another day or year or two.

That’s a good price. Can you Post details of the converter ?

Ah … fair enough. Oh dear … well at least you’re the right person to fix it too!

I’d be suspecting a loose connection or some Mishap with the new radio install. Strange that it was all working and then started to fail. Try that 15a fuse but whilst you’re in there look for any loose connections.

Try using an impact wrench (air or electric) instead of 3 foot long breaker bars; the vibrations from the impact gun help to Loosen the nuts. You’re right though, almost certainly overtightened with an air gun but this note of caution applies to any vehicle and the warning sign is having to use Breaker bars over about 1.5 or maybe 2 Ft length.

See:

Both headlights? I’d be looking at fuses. How long did they go dim for? Just a few seconds?

Item number 114437566206 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Twin-Dual-Port-2-USB-12V-Car-Auto-Lighter-Socket-Charger-Adaptor-TOYOTA-Uk-Sell-/114437566206?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

210kg of classic motorbike goes in quite easily.

I agree with Rojie, I think there is a more fundamental issue here as to how or where the water is getting into the lights. You need to remedy the source of that because simply making drainage holes is not really going to solve this long term. It’s probably just a rubber seal somewhere, can be repaired or replaced. Keep the rubber healthy with occasional wipe downs with silicone sprays, otherwise it dries and perishes and then cracks, and water can get in.

You can buy stick on kits on eBay for a tenner; gotta be worth a try. All you need to do is bridge the break with a small thin piece of copper or other conductive metal, I think these kits contain some tape with the element in it and you just bridge it over the damaged section. Good luck.

Probably the card reader thing. Trace it forwards to the cab to see what it is connected to.

I’m pretty sure that ain’t original Toyota wiring, they would use coloured wire for the outgoing (positive) line, maybe black for the ground (negative) line but not same for both.