Rojie

1 hour ago, David Lunt said:

Hello out there. We have just bought our first Alphard , so now we are looking to fit some extras like a awning. We have had fitted a mushroom roof, and I was wandering what is the best awning if you have this fitted. If one is bought with straps, this would not happen if the roof is up etc, plus to have a awning rail fitted etc, it would seem very close to the roof: any suggestions/ ideas would be very much appreciated 

 

many thanks

Dave Lunt 

Hi David, Welcome to the Forum.

Please forgive my ignorance; what is a mushroom roof ?

19 hours ago, Ise said:

Thanks very much. I found a garage that is dealing with alphard and hey rid car batteries. They are called hybrid battery repair on Facebook.

 

Can you let Highland Explorer know which garage you have found.

18 hours ago, chorlton said:

It's definitely a hightop, looks like this.

 

I didn't realise it was a rare option but can recommend it for family camping - lots of extra storage.

This is the first one I have ever seen. Looks great.

Storage room in an Alphie camper can be an issue, especially with the rear conversions.

1 hour ago, Joeldrummer79 said:

Cheers for the info.... Here's some pics of Grille and head. 

Hello again,

I don't see the camera unit on the front grill, but that doesn't necessarily mean you haven't got one.

It could be in the grille.

I doubt you have the three cameras as they protrude so as to be able to monitor sideways.

I don't recognise your headunit.

It does not appear to the top of the line HDD system.

However, it does have the button for the sonar.

As the console below the headunit is standard it does not confirm sonar, or not.

When you get the vehicle, if it has sonar it will have the sensors at the four corners, and pressing the sonar button will activate (four green leds) / deactivate it.

It WILL be comfortable. You'll be very pleased.

Your 2006 should (will) have a five speed auto gearbox. 2004 is four speed.

As I said, I don't recognise your head unit, but most do not work 'correctly', in the UK.

CD should be OK, DVD too, radio not so. Sat Nav NO.

You will either enjoy learning Japanese or be frustrated by it !

While you wait, read about fuel and the head unit (and replacement) on this Forum.

Also I strongly advise you purchase JPNZ Alphard Manual FRO396. £25 ish, and worth every penny.

Be prepared, buy it now.

Japanese Car radio Unlock Solutions

Thank you jenny for letting is all know that you succeeded, and how you did it.

I am so glad you persevered.

52 minutes ago, Joeldrummer79 said:

Hi thanks for this! Do they have parking sensors? Cameras? I'm reading they do but only certain models. 

I think most have parking sensors, or sonar as the Japanese know it.

Some have front cameras, some don't. I believe most have a rear camera.

It all depends on the options and head unit you will have.

If you have photo of the front grill, and the unit below the screen you will be able to tell.

With the HDD unit, you will have all the options, although some won't work in the UK.

Happy Motoring

6 hours ago, Jenny Smedley said:

I did find the man you said but he needed a code from me to get the code from him. His video says to press the 'power' button while clicking the parking lights on and off 3 times. This should give you a number to give him. But when we do that nothing happens.

 

Hi Jenny, I still think guessing the pet password is your best bet.

4 minutes ago, Ise said:

I tried to look for Ldergo but could not find him.. .

 

He is on here. I found it difficult to find him, but I did.

I wrote to him yesterday. He hasn't replied yet. I'll give him a day or two and follow up.

If I hear from him I will get back to you.

Look for a video of his on youtube where he is known as cuttothechase.

Is the vehicle 2004 or 2006, as that will make a difference.

Certainly will affect the gearbox fitted.

Your model number should be on the auction sheet.

Or on the door frame (when it arrives).

You seller/agent should be able to supply the model number and serial (Vin) number.

7 hours ago, chorlton said:

Hightop. I think it's a standard custom top, makes the Alphard about two feet higher?

Sounds like a hightop. I think that may make it more difficult to find a suitable cover to fit snugly. Most Alphies are standard roofline or have been modified to a poptop.

There is loads of info on this Forum on this subject.

Quite a debate actually. All is not what it seems !

(Japanese premium has a lower RON than UK premium).

As Frankie says, stick with E5 until, and if, you become E10 is safe.

Some users of E10 are experiencing issues.

Please continue this on one of the other threads. Search E5 or E10.

Thank you

Hello again Ian,

So what can we do to help ?

Many importers and convertors can fit a new speedo chip and speedo facia panel.

(This may be achievable by diy. I don't know).

There are a couple of convertors near you, maybe they can do it.

Should be inexpensive but care is needed removing trim panels.

There are two types of HDD; one rare and the other very common.

If you have the common one and put a cd in the drawer it will probably be recorded to your HDD.

There is a setting to do this buy most Alphies default to do it. Otherwise more reading required !

Changing the head unit is entirely possible, bit if you have cameras you will most likely lose them.

Think carefully before you proceed. Ben Hau (beanbean280r on youtube) in Birmingham is a specialist; but there are others.

Your windows probably need resetting (often do after a battery disconnect, electric sunroof too)

Wing each window down from the drivers door, wait five. wind it up. Do each other window.

Should be OK, otherwise get back on this Forum.

There is a new thread on whole vehicle winter covers. So say the Merc Vito is a good choice.

I think seats for the front are easy; but because of the special shape of the other seats.....

Good Luck Ian, and keep visiting this Forum.

6 minutes ago, Jenmeg said:

Hi, new Alphard owner here.

Can anyone recommend a good breakdown recovery company please. 

 

 

Hello Jenmeg,

Welcome to the Forum.

2 hours ago, Sammydk said:

Hi I'm the proud and happy owner of an Alphard. Just picked it up yesterday with my husband. Looking forward to getting out and about in it and learning new things about it. Any tips are welcome thanks.

Hello

2 hours ago, Sammydk said:

Hi I'm the proud and happy owner of an Alphard. Just picked it up yesterday with my husband. Looking forward to getting out and about in it and learning new things about it. Any tips are welcome thanks.

Hi Sammy, Welcome to the Forum.

I saw this one for sale. very attractive.

The main issue you face is the fuel.

There is an ongoing debate on here whether to use E5 or E10.

You need to do a lot of reading to decide.

In the meantime E5 is the safe (if expensive) option.

I feel sure, in your early days of ownership you will think of many questions.

This Forum is the first place to look for answers.

Oh, and have fun with the head unit if it is the original Japanese one, we all do.

I also recommend buying the JPNZ Owners manual. (FRO3035 or FRO396 from memory).

1 hour ago, chorlton said:

@Steve hDid you find a cover that fitted your Alphard? I have a hightop and looking for a winter cover too.

 

Thanks!

A hightop or poptop ?

Hightop Alphies seem to be very rare !

6 hours ago, charliec said:

But on the topic of pictures. I never got to see the exterior.. do you mind sending a couple photos? im trying to figure out all the different possible exterior trims with the car.. mines got a blacked out grille, so i cant see the trim on it haaha. Beginning to regret buying a black one! also the more i look around the more aftermarket items i find. Lots of funny VIP visual upgrades. Got a complete dechrome. The toyota badge has been debadged. and a couple funny LED light up toyota and alphard logos

 

 

Hi Charlie, I'll get you some photos of the outside. It goes in for conversion tomorrow ! I hope.

The only non standard part on the outside is a chrome edge protection trim down each drivers door.

I'm not fussed about them, one way or the other.

I think my rear silencer box is probably non standard too.

I have the MZ G version, as you know, with a white grill, which I prefer over chrome.

My 'camper' should be a 'stealth' version; not obvious at all externally.

Mains hookup out of sight too. Not sure how to achieve a stealth TV aerial yet.

I have a black car. A real pig to keep clean and shiny.

Have you got your wheels and tyres sorted yet ?

On 8/20/2021 at 11:57 PM, charliec said:

great, could you also take a photo of your dash and the dvd/cd holder? I'm interested to see the difference between mine and yours

Hi Charlie, just rereading this. I believe I did send you photos privately. Please confirm.

1 hour ago, Ayrshire Man said:

I have the HDD unit you might find this helpful from https://eightseaters.blogspot.com/2009/06/head-unit.html

 

TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2009

The Head Unit In Your Toyota Alphard

 

The NFL giant (Toyota Alphard) comes with an 8-inch head unit with touch-screen LCD display. It is a 2-DIN unit that combine many control functions like GPS, audio video, sound system, vehicle information, parking guide monitor, lane monitoring system, sonar sensor, ETC system, and G-Book online service system.

Toyota call it the HDD Navigation System and provided a two volumes manual for the owner references. However, both manuals are in Japanese so I'll attempt to provide the information necessary to help owners to operate the head unit (as I loosely refer to the NFL HDD Navigation System).

Even though some of the buttons on the front of the head unit are in English, the displayed contents are in Japanese. For non-Japanese speaking owner, it will be quite a challenge in operating the head-unit trying to decipher the functions.

There are two options for the desperate owner; one to replace the head unit with an OEM head unit that has the buttons printed in English, however, all the content are still in Japanese so it doesn't help much. Two, to replace the entire head unit with after-market unit with English content but they may lose some functionalities such as front/rear camera line view, bluetooth connection, steering button control etc with come with the original head unit.

This post will attempt to explain some of the more common steps on how to operate the original head unit with photos as a guide.

When you turn on the ignition, the head unit display will also turn on as shown in the photo below



The first thing you'll heard is the voice of a sweet Japanese girl announcing the current date (obviously in Japanese). After that the display will prompt you with the message that you have not inserted the ETC card as shown in the photo below.

ETC is the equivalent of our SmartTAG toll payment gadget we have in this country. The ETC function is integrated into the head unit but it cannot be used in here since it is operating in a different mode from our Touch n Go system. You'll probably find a ETC card unit installed somewhere in your giant but it will not useable here. Many owner use it as card holder for the Touch n Go card instead.

You can turn off the date and ETC announcement if you don't need them. I will cover this in the other post.

After the ETC announcement, you'll operate the head unit by pressing the buttons around the edge of the head unit. Referring to the first photo above, from the top right in clockwise direction, the buttons are:

1. Power button - press it to turn on or off the head unit
2. "TUNE TRACK" button - use to tune the radio channel frequency or to select a particular music track while playing musics from the hard disk
3. "Information" button - use to receive traffic information (only work in Japan)
4. DISC button - this button cycle between the HDD function and the DVD function.
5. AM FM button - this button cycle between the AM radio channel and FM radio channel
5. MD button - this button operate the Mini Disc function.
6. TV button - this button operate the TV function or the Video function. Japanese TV transimission is based on NTSC format while our is PAL so the TV function cannot be use here.
7. 情報G button - this button operate the G-book online services. The G-book online services required registration with the G-Book Center in Japan and it only work in Japan but you can use it to configure some general settings for the head unit
8. "目的地設定" button - This button is used to configure the destination settings for the GPS function. This function is not operational here since the built-in GPS system don't work here
9. "メニユー" button - this button brings up the menu function to configure the GPS settings
10. " 現在地" button - this button allow you to configure the "current locations" settings for the GPS function, again not useable here.
11. "オーデｲｵ" button - this button brings up the audio screen display when you operate the DVD/HDD functions
12. " 画質.消" button - when you press this button, it will either bring up the display or cancel of the display
13. "Eject" button - this button flip open the LCD screen to allow you to access to the DVD/MD slots

In the next few posts I'll cover how to operate the radio, DVD, and HDD functions.

Hi again,

Yes I am aware of this blog, (but thanks for pointing it out) and it is very useful. I routinely recommend it to other new HDD users.

1 hour ago, Ayrshire Man said:

 

 

 

 

Why didn't Plexus Motors get it registered for you as part of their sales service ?

Presumably they got an MOT as one is required before registration !

I have not heard of the number plate size problem before. Thanks for sharing that with us all.

Enjoy your new machine. I'm sure you will.

1 hour ago, Rojie said:

 

Hello, and welcome to this Forum.

 

If you search for Ldrego (on this Forum)

 

Search for Ldergo on this Forum. You should see a message tab.

Send him a message. I'm sure he will help you if he can.

 

He seems to prefer to use youtube, so search for cuttothechase

 

Ldrego is proving elusive. I have written to him with your enquiry.

I await his reply.

On 10/22/2021 at 12:19 PM, Ise said:

Thanks so much for this forum! I have an alphard since his summer and problems keep occurring.

I am looking for a garage in Glasgow, Toyota said they can't do diagnostics and don't know about Japanese import. Lol

Does anyone know a trusted technical equipped a garage for us?  Hanks already from up north!

Ise

Try another Toyota dealer. They are not all so huffy.

To be fair, Toyota Japan do not support the Alphard in UK.

UK Dealers do have access to diagnostic software, as I recently learnt, but they chose not to work on Alphies.

Not that it helps you, but I asked my local Toyota if they would perform a cam belt and water pump renewal.

No Problem.

2 hours ago, Highland Explorer said:

Hi,  I live in Scotland as well, and am looking for a mechanic in Scotland  who works on Alphards.  Rojie, you said to contact Ldrego.....  How do I do that?  I am new to this form too!

 

Hello, and welcome to this Forum.

If you search for Ldrego (on this Forum)

On 10/22/2021 at 12:19 PM, Ise said:

Thanks so much for this forum! I have an alphard since his summer and problems keep occurring.

I am looking for a garage in Glasgow, Toyota said they can't do diagnostics and don't know about Japanese import. Lol

Does anyone know a trusted technical equipped a garage for us?  Hanks already from up north!

Ise

On 10/22/2021 at 12:19 PM, Ise said:

Thanks so much for this forum! I have an alphard since his summer and problems keep occurring.

I am looking for a garage in Glasgow, Toyota said they can't do diagnostics and don't know about Japanese import. Lol

Does anyone know a trusted technical equipped a garage for us?  Hanks already from up north!

Ise

Search for Ldergo on this Forum. You should see a message tab.

Send him a message. I'm sure he will help you if he can.

He seems to prefer to use youtube, so search for cuttothechase

22 hours ago, Rojie said:

 

Hello Ise,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

Try and contact Ldrego. He does his own work and is in Edinburgh he may be able to suggest somewhere near you.

18 hours ago, Rojie said:

I'll try this tomorrow. Thanks.

 

Do you have the HDD unit or another one 

Hello Ayrie,

I tried your suggestion today, and I am delighted to say it seems to work.

I need to try it when the light is less bright. I am so happy, thank you.

It is (was) one of the few things I wasn't overjoyed about with my Alphie.

I have been pursuing a tactic of not pushing every button and hoping for the best !

Hi Tony,

Welcome to the club.

You are likely to have lots of questions soon.

This Forum is the place to seek answers.

2 hours ago, Ayrshire Man said:

I think I have found it by pressing the display button next to the opening button, there are two sliders one I think for brightness and the other slider for contrast.

I'll try this tomorrow. Thanks.

Do you have the HDD unit or another one