Rojie

Hi Charlie, Do you have standard wheels and tyres fitted now ? What size tyres do you have , which you hope to fit to both set of wheels ? Did you look at the wheels for sale in this Forum (Sales section) ? When you buy more tyres will they be winter tyres ?

Oh dear, oh dear ! Try Malaysia too. Alphards were quite popular there. Jenny, you don't have the HDD unit. Either you, or I, or both, are becoming confused ! In summary, we think your head unit is password locked ! Did you speak, or contact, those persons who claim to be able to unlock these for free, or for a small fee ? There is a chap on ebay, who I have read good reports about, who is able to 'tinker' with Alphard head units. He is located in Birmingham Search ebay for beanbean280r. Hopefully he will be able to help you. (He is not cheap). There are many Forum members who have upgraded their head units in various ways. So, don't lose heart' the solution is in here somewhere ! I still have my original HDD unit, so cannot recommend specifically which way to go.

I don't disagree that E5 is the preferred fuel. Nor do I disagree with Picasso. However, what is interesting is that Cuttothechase (on youtube) has put up a video which purports to show the ECU adjusting the engine settings when fed E5 / E10 fuels. I can find no reason to question his findings ! If I understand his findings correctly, he finds the ECU adjusts to the fuel the engine is fed. (He does not, as I remember, speculate on long term effects of either fuel). What is of most interest to me, in the above case that Picasso cites, is what is the corrective action that the vehicles need. (Hopefully, not the O2 sensors). if you wish for further reading,, I have already provided two American studies on the use of Ethanol fuels. Should you be interested please search my profile. They may, or may not, help you consider the risk of using higher Ethanol fuels. Respectfully,

Sorry Jenny, I forgot which one you had. Trip to Halfords this week ? Good Luck and let us all know how you get on; what unit you select, etc.

There is another website, which I will need to find that describes what wheel tyre combinations are OK, and which are not. I'll try and find it for you. It is something that explains the J wheel sizes. Are you intending to have two sets of tyres on two sets of wheels; or one set of tyres for two sets of wheels ?

Search for colin2, or Colin2.

Charlie, One mm difference in offset is OK. It won't make any difference. Go to the Willtheyfit.com website. Put in 205 65 16 on the left hand side and your new wheel size on the right. If you scroll down it will tell you whether you will lower, or heighten, the van Whether your wheels will move inwards, outwards, or both. I'll try and find the ad. Will come back to you.

If you are changing away from standard size OEM wheels go to Willtheyfit.com and play with their wheel and tyre size model.

Hi again Charlie, Check out my previous posts to you regarding wheel sizes and tyre sizes. MZG are 205 65 16 95H all round Bolt pattern is 5 stud on PCD is 114.3 You need a 6.5JJ rim with an offset of 39mm There are some wheels and tyres on here for ONLY £200. Run flat tyres may require a different rim. There are tools on the internet to ensure tyre size and wheel size are compatible if you wander away from the OEM sizes above. I don't know what the centre size is but Driftworks will have spigot rings in different sizes

Hi Charlie, Did you bid above the reserve ? If you won, then I guess you did. If you didn't, that's the way it works. I buy a lot on ebay. REPORT the Seller. They can check you 'purchase' history with this buyer and item; and then take action.

Hi Sparkie, Welcome to Alphard ownership and this Forum. Search this Forum for E5 / E10; you'll find plenty to read and help you decide.

I bought the whole key from motor.hongda2. on ebay. It was only about £20. He seems to be out of stock of this frequency (314mhz, I think) at the moment. I realise you are looking for the casing only. The casing contains the chip so you will need to match that to the car. Timpsons were not able to help me. Toyota would not supply a key either, as the car is a grey import. I found a local specialist who cut the key and programmed the fob unit. He made the new key a master key. All works perfectly, so at least that proves the fob product. So there are ways of achieving this, but, in my case, it wasn't very easy to find the right method.

Hi Abdul. Welcome to the Forum. More reading required on your part. One of the main topics in this Forum is replacement of the head units. Search and read. The main risks are losing the front cameras, if you have them, and the steering controls. Many don't care about the steering controls or front cameras. I will use the front cameras until I get used to the size of my Alphie. In my view, the rear camera is essential. Although my steering controls all work, I don't use them.

Hi Jackie, Insurance costs vary, obviously, depending on your situation. Most of the annual premiums I see on here are £270 to £300. Again you can search on this Forum for Insurance, as many members have disclosed their insurance company and annual cost.

Jackie, try the link below, as a starter. https://www.jdmbuysell.com/dealers/

Now in the Vellfire section, I hope !

Hi Jackie, Let me stress I am no expert on the following matters; but they are things to consider before you decide to bring your Vellfire. Due to the age of your Vellfire (less than 10 years) your import may attract taxes. You will need to register your vehicle here and get an MOT. I believe the MOT is required before you can register it. To get an MOT you will need to have rear fog lights fitted, if you don't have them already. There are companies that import cars directly to the UK (from Japan) that understand all the bureaucracy. Some only do it for cars they wish to sell on their own behalf. Others provide the service for their client. I need to do some more research to suggest companies you could make enquiries with. As this thread is in the Introductions section I will move it to a more suitable location within the Forum.

Welcome to this Forum Jackie. Where are you living now ? Insurance should not be a problem. Shopping around may be desirable as some Insurers don't recognise Alphards and Vellfires as they were never officially imported to the UK. But, as more and more cars arrive, Insurers are becoming aware of their popularity. Some Toyota dealers are very huffy about imports and won't touch them. Others, such as my local outfit, will undertake most work. Toyota share many parts across various vehicle platforms, and parts can be imported from Japan or the UAE. Most 'service' parts are readily available. Toyota Direct will also source parts for you. Depending on where you live now, the situation may be much better in Wallingford. Lots of useful information is contained in the Forum, so you know where to look for assistance. Safe Journey

Welcome to the Forum Geoff. Keep reading these pages, you will learn tons of very useful information.

Hi Geoff, Welcome to the Forum. There is a lot of info on this site regarding E5 / E10. Can I respectfully suggest you search on here for E5 or E10 and discontinue using this one enquiry. Starting another thread for a topic that has plenty of interest is just diluting the information. Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the Forum. A new baby with a clean bill of health. Looks great.

Hey Colin, Welcome to the Forum. My HDD screen is a little darker than I would like, so, especially, on a sunny day, the camera images are quite dim. I haven't tried to clean the lenses yet. Reading this has prompted me to try a gentle Tcut on the lenses to see what difference that makes. Thanks for the idea. I am still looking for a method of increasing the HDD unit brightness, if anyone knows how I would greatly appreciate some help.

Have you checked there are no obstructions under the passenger seat. I assume you have. I ask because.. Some Alphards have a frame / chassis assembly under the passenger seat for additional amplifiers and 'stuff'.

Chris, yet more really helpful technical data from you. Thanks

Hello Phil, Welcome to the Alphard Forum. My Alphie has something similar to these. I do not know that they are these; almost certainly not. Although they look much nicer than the discrete, under bumper, version; my caution would be that, I believe, rear fog lights have to be a set wattage (not brightness). I would check that these comply, or otherwise, with the MOT regulations. DVLA has a very good website for MOT requirements. Try it, it may help you decide.