Rojie

3 hours ago, glarhzilla said:

Hi all, how am I supposed to get into the car if the fob battery dies or the actual car battery dies? I've got keyless entry with touch button on the handle?

 

I noticed I have a physical key in the fob but can't see anywhere to insert it. 

 

Many thanks

 

I agree with Chris,

I have an earlier model, but their is a key hole on the drivers side.

If you have smart locking, and I think to do; there will not be any other key holes.

Access is gained by the switches on the mechanical key, the switches on the smart key; and most configurations can be operated from within the vehicle.

Have you changed the battery in your smart fob ?

Do you have a replacement should you need it ?

3 minutes ago, BLACK BRICK said:

Hi I have just insured  my 2.4 Alphard (2012) with Admiral. 

I am 61, drive on blue lights at work have 20 years+ ncb and the boss is a named driver she is 51 years with 20+ years ncb.

Admiral  charged me £550.

 

Saga wanted £1900. Sorry Saga byeeee

Insurance prices should be decreasing (a little).

Your premium with Admiral is OK, but somewhat higher than many in these pages.

The Saga price is extremely silly.

When i was with Saga there were multiple benefits with respect to overseas travel, but nothing that warrants that extraordinary quote.

11 minutes ago, BLACK BRICK said:

Hi everyone  thank you for accepting  me into your group  September  2025.

Are there any  future  plans for a meet?

 

Kind regards  Gary and Sarah.

Hello Gary and Sarah,

Welcome to the Forum.

There are currently no official meets being organized by The Alphard Club that I know of.

Feel free to arrange a local meet through these pages.

13 hours ago, Philip White said:

Toyota Alphard second hand kitchen units required Staffordshire area Thanks 

Hello  Phillip,

Welcome to the Forum.

Is this in the right section ? 'Wanted' may be more appropriate.

Club Lounges are very rare and, I believe, possibly non-existent in Gen 1 vehicles.

I agree with Alex.

This is a modification; temporary or otherwise.

Your insurance company needs to be advised of ANY modifications.

Non standard OEM fit wheels and tyre 'upgrades', suspension alterations, camper conversions (no matter how small), probably added cruise control etc, etc.

Otherwise, you will provide your insurance company with a reason to invalidate your insurance (should they choose); especially if you are the cause of an accident.

When I had a conversion my insurance company declined to insure the van (not refused).

Imagine my situation if I had not declared the conversion and been involved in an accident !

3 minutes ago, Mr Michael Fenning said:

Hi folks, I’ve had this Alphard a while now, 2006 3ltr import, but just noticed this button on the dash, any ideas anyone? I don’t have a clue, thanks!

Hello Michael,

Welcome to the Forum.

No, could be anything.

Many Japanese owners add all sorts of gizmos (which are normally removed before export).

Do you have driving lights fitted at the front ?

I hope it isn't your rear fog light warning switch, as I doubt it complies with the MOT requirements.

2 hours ago, david said:

For a while I have been worried that the steering on my 2003 alphard hasn't "felt" right. When the last set of front tyres lasted only 8 months I was sure there was a problem so I took it into my local Toyota garage for investigation. They found issues with the steering and also with the front and rear suspension.  Items that need fixing and the costs are :-

 

Steering. N/S track rod worn. Inner rack arm joint worn.       Cost   £511

Front Suspension. Both ball joint boots split.                          Cost   ££218 each

Rear Suspension. Both suspension bushes worn.                 Cost   £775 each

                                                                                            Total Cost   £2497

 

I'm obviously not a mechanic and I'm happy to pay a fair price but I can't help feeling that's a bit excessive. Can somebody out there reassure me that that's the right price and put my mind to rest.

Thanks,

Dave

 

 

Hi David.

I suggest you call NorthStar Conversions and ask them who they use.

Those charges are excessive, but if you go to a main dealer that is probably about what they normally charge.

6 hours ago, Chris Mc said:

Hi guys it been a while since I posted, i have a quick question  im hoping you will be able to point me in the right direction. i put a new set of front break pads on about 6 weeks ago,  we then went to france for the last three weeks  and the last week there when driving  on the motorways  when I started to break from either 70, 60, 0r 50  the steering wheel  starts to shuddering and the vibration was  terrible the car still breaks ok.  i was wondering if  you had experienced something similar and if so how did you sort it.  i dont know if its  new discs  required,  or brake calliper's of even a problem with the drive shafts.  Any ideas as too how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

 

Chris

What brand pads did you fit ?

On 9/18/2025 at 7:29 PM, Frank67 said:

Thanks Picasso, Rojie.

This is really helpful. I will monitor the engine light and sort the maff sensor if needed. I bought my vehicle from New Acre Leisure who sell quite a few Alphards, servicing etc, so they should be able to source one if needed.

Thanks again 

Chris

 

Hi Chris,

If you bought the van from New Acre recently you should ask them to replace the MAF for you (at their cost).

3 hours ago, Frank67 said:

Hi.

My engine management light is coming on intermittently on my Toyota Alphard V 3L. It is amber not red or flashing so not serious yet. However I was just wondering if anyone had experienced this and if there was anything obvious I could address. Any help much appreciated. Chris

I  expect Picasso will be able to help you with this.

6 hours ago, Tala said:

Hi, I've been looking around for my first Alphard / Vellfire camper, and have been talking to some of the more reputable importer/converters (ones that seem to get recomended by lots of people on the forum). One of the importers just said they don't import the 4WD 2008-2015 cars due to the "severity of issues that come with the 4WD system". Does anyone have any thoughts what they mean by this? Does anyone have any opinions on the 4WDs?

 

Thanks.

Hello Tala,

Welcome to the Forum.

4 minutes ago, Hillclimber said:

Having spoken with a very helpful engineer at Portable Power, the conclusion was that the vehicle battery had discharged enough, through not being used, but not to the point that the engine wouldn't start. This was enough to trigger the relay into action. Engine start and run for 5 minutes and relay is silent. One thing to put on the list during winter is to either disconnect the +ve lead to the relay, and/or keep the vehicle battery on a trickle charge.

As winter approaches, all (non-hybrid) Alphie owners need to ensure their starter batteries are in tip top condition and remain fully charged.

Jump leads are cheap enough; I always carry mine just in case.

1 hour ago, james tovey said:

i am disabled and looking to fit an electric wheel chair lift to a 2004 Toyota Alphard not purchased yet the height of the lift is 1.4mtrs,would any one be able to tell me the height from the floor to top of the door opening thank you  James  S, Wales, 

Hello James,

Welcome to the Forum.

Just a word of caution, on the Gen 1 models the rear door does not open beyond 90 degrees.

In fact, slightly less than 890 degrees.

Probably wouldn't be an issue but.

Also, some Alphies have an electric tailgate, which, I humbly assume, would be of interest to you.

Do you have a photo of the lift ?

7 hours ago, Bluespanner said:

Thanks for the replies, I will investigate further. Worst case scenario may have go through the toyota dealer and take the financial hit

Unfortunately, you may find your local Toyota dealer will not help.

They often will not assist with grey imports.

3 hours ago, Hillclimber said:

Just come across an interesting electrical issue on my 10 series Alphie. It's fitted with a solar panel on the roof and there is a Portable Power Technology split charge relay between the main and leisure batteries. The solar panel is off according to the 3-way switch on the auxiliary panel at the rear.

This morning I heard a regular clicking noise coming from the front of the Alphie and found it was from the relay. Presumably it is sensing a full charge in one battery and switching to the other. Sensing that is also fully charged, it switches back, ad infinitum.

Not heard it before, so wondering if I have a fault, and also will this switching slowly discharge one or both of the batteries until the next time it is driven.

Have you tried disconnecting the leisure battery, and/or the solar feed ?

3 hours ago, Eric symonds said:

Hello Eric,

Welcome to the Forum.

4 hours ago, Bluespanner said:

Hi, I have a 2003 2.4 petrol Alphard that came with one 2 button key fob, would like to get a spare for programming. There seems to be plenty of 2 button remotes for sale online apparently ready to be reprogrammed. None of them look identical to mine, some are close, but no exact match. However having read some threads on here it appears its having the right chip inside that is more important. The chip number for the post face lift (2007 ?) is mentioned but i can't find any chip number for the pre 2007. Does anyone know the chip no. for the pre 2007 face lift ?Also any reliable sources for purchasing one. Thanks in advance. 

I think it is 4D66 (not 4D67) but check before purchasing.

New ones are not expensive (on ebay) but programming can be.

I am sure you will receive other, more informative, replies.

20 hours ago, glarhzilla said:

Hiya rojie. When you say driving lights do you mean the ambient strip lighting in the roof liner at the back? P switch being the parking aid could make sense. As I've got the full camera set up around the car.  Regarding the parking aid, does that mean the car will self park or am I being too ambitious? Thanks 

Driving lights are additional front lights that (normally) are always on with the ignition.

Nothing to do with roof liner (which is probably your mood lighting).

If it is a parking aid, as opposed to cameras, I have no idea how it operates.

23 minutes ago, glarhzilla said:

Hi all. I've got some non standard buttons on my velfire and was curious if you know what they mean or what they're for? The little light switch lookingone. Also what do the other buttons mean. Also where my media unit is I have the airbagthat says passenger. Is this supposed to be illuminated? Thank you.

I have an earlier model; so I am just guessing.

Do you have driving lights fitted ?

Not an unusual accessory.

The P switch could be a parking aid !

Power doors disables/enables the rear doors, to prevent 'little fingers' at play.

1 hour ago, Soran said:

Hi all, finally found the right Vellfire for me after a few months of looking, and loving it so far. Being the largest vehicle I have ever owned, I am slowly getting used to the size of it! Now, where did I put the stepladder to clean the roof. 😂

Most of the roof can be cleaned if you open the moonroof and work from inside the van.

4 hours ago, Picasso said:

Its ok tony its now correct on your profile thank you 

Hi Lee, you didn't change it, but I have !

Do you need a PM on how to do it ?

Tony, you click on your 'rosette' Tony X and then edit profile.

5 hours ago, Alpha Hydrae said:

I might be using the wrong terminology, but mine is a voltage sensitive relay that only allows current inbound from the main battery. I'm quite happy with it that way. You're correct that it means I can't use the leisure battery to provide backup if I get flat main battery. But that's a risk I'm willing to take as it's about 15 years since I last needed a jump start and that was a camping trip in the days before I had a dedicated leisure battery to be used for charging phones etc. This recent incident was an actual battery failure, and again I'm willing to accept the risk as it's very low likelihood it'll fail suddenly while I'm away from home.

I carry jump leads, they are not expensive.

10 hours ago, Alpha Hydrae said:

Hi, I took out the old battery and it was exactly as you say, shot ! I've seen this before when one of the 6 cells dies and only gives about 10.6V max. I put a new battery in, engine started immediately, problem solved.

 

When I got home I checked everything with my CTEK MX5 and alternator is fine.

 

I meant to say there is an isolation switch between the 2 batteries, and I'd already used this to cut-off the feed to the leisure battery.

 

I realise now why the leisure battery kept going flat, I'd forgotten the split relay is a 'smart' version that isolates if the supply voltage drops below about 12V. So my leisure battery would probably have only been getting some charge when the engine was running, and I'd not been using the car much throughout summer. I don't know exactly what voltage it would have been receiving when the engine was running. It takes its feed directly from the main battery (not the alternator) so the supply voltage might have been getting dragged down to near the split relay cut-off threshold.

 

As for why one of the cells failed on the main battery, I'll never know. It's at the local recycling centre now.

Interesting that you have a smart split relay set-up. Why ?

If you have certain types of voltage sensitive units they are designed to allow your leisure battery to pass charge to your starter battery.

Good idea ? Sometimes !

If your starter battery fails, as yours did, your leisure battery will try to assist it, as you suspect.

The problem is that leisure batteries are not designed to start vehicles, most have low CCA specifications.

Furthermore, the cabling from the leisure battery will not be designed to take starting current.

The voltage drop will, most likely, be excessive thereby not providing enough voltage or current to be able to crank the engine.

If your leisure battery is at the back of your vehicle, as mine is, the drop will be even more.

I have a CTEK MX5, and can recommend them.

You can even get leads to  'permanently fit to your battery which lowers the risk of accidents when connecting / disconnecting.

Your alternator should output close to 14v.

I use a cheap voltmeter in the cigarette socket to monitor voltages when on the move; effectively checks the alternator output and the battery becoming fully charged.

I move it to the rear leisure battery sockets when parked up.

Glad you sorted it.

If you do not use the vehicle much in winter, you must keep that starter battery fully charged.

23 hours ago, glarhzilla said:

Hi all. Been reading through plenty of threads on here relating to adding carplay or equivalent to the velfire/alphard unit. I saw a chap called Ben hau being mentioned as the go to guy on here. However I can't find anything that he's done recently, if he's still active that is. Has anyone had any luck with him in the past or have any contact info? My van/car has the premium audio with 5 million speakers 🤣 which I hear is more tricky and less user friendly to change if I was to DIY.

 

Thanks in advance.

Ben keeps a low profile, is probably very busy, and usually very difficult to contact.

Importantly, he is virtually totally inactive on this forum; but he is a member.

48 minutes ago, Terry R said:

Is there a way to check if the transmission oil needs topping - if so how is it done. Or is it a sealed unit that requires an oil change?

Terry

Hello Terry,

Welcome to the Forum.