Rojie

I believe it is so you can 'see' where the front corner is when parking in very tight spaces.

Who knows ? Many Japanese owners add all sorts of accessories, mikes, switches, sensors, etc. Most of those gizmo input / output units are left in place. It may be a parking brake override switch, which overrides the circuit that prevents video and TV being watched whilst on the move.

You should be able to use a Noco, and there are other brands, without mishap. Just ENSURE the terminals are connected correctly, and the Noco remains fully charged at all times. Isolator switches are quite cheap, although you will probably need a garage to fit it for you. However, isolator switches do not resolve the issue causing the battery drain, but do provide a work around. I do not have a hybrid, but believe they do not have alternators; so that is not the problem.

Picasso will (try to) get you part numbers, provided your list is not excessively long.

Yes, as James states, torque for wheel nuts is specified in the owners manual. No other torque settings are; nor are there any instructions on maintenance other than fluids and tyre pressures. However, I would recommend the JPNZ Owners Manual.

Any MOT station should be able to adjust the aim for you if that is the problem.

No. It's all semantics.

1/ Why not ? 2/ No, not compliant. I don't know whether Holland has the equivalent of ULEZ zones. 3/ The best check for ULEZ compliance is the TFL website. Which month was your vehicle made, as 2005 is a crossover year, Gen 1 to Gen 1 facelift. I believe the facelifted vans are compliant.

I don't believe there is one in English.

Hello C, Welcome to the Forum. Have you driven automatic vehicles before ? What you describe sounds quite normal, as long as the transmission is not juddering under excessive load and changes down when the load does increase. Did you buy privately ?

What type of cool-box do you have ? Are you planning to have solar panels ? If it is a compressor type, which are very effective, it will run your starter battery down quickly and you may not be able to start your vehicle. I have a Alpicool (with internal battery back-up) and power it from a leisure battery. I have two 12v outlets on the rear face of the centre console. The alternative peizo/pelto effect coolers are, imho, not in the least effective.

Roger is correct, but probably will be wrong from next month ! It is, or will be, what it is !

Hello David, Welcome to the Forum. Before fitting your new battery, charge it overnight (at least) to ensure it is fully charged. BEFORE attempting to fit your new battery check that the terminals are the correct polarity and in the correct position. Failure to do this can get expensive. I have an earlier model and did not need a memory saver. Earlier head-units, as mine, were not coded (as theft in Japan is quite rare). The earlier models may need the windows resetting, an easy process (when you know how); and am not sure about the Gen 2 models. I did not have any idle issues after replacing my battery at home.

Send a Private Message to Picasso with your registration

Form, fit and function. When replacing the starter battery it is ESSENTIAL to ensure the terminals are in the correct places on the battery, AND that they are the correct polarity in those places. Some vehicles, and batteries, are fitted with different sized posts to prevent the problem of incorrect fitment. Those on my Alphie are the same size. Also, if you try and place a new battery 180 degrees incorrectly, the battery leads will not reach.

I would contact DVLA, and point out that no Alphards were fitted with Diesel engines. The document even notes engine number as 1MZ. I doubt the number of seats will be of much interest to them as some are frequently removed.

I am sure you will find the right vehicle. As with any pre-owned good, anyone can buy easily, but it can take time to find a problem free purchase. There are some poor vehicles out there, we read about them on this forum; but there are many well cared for examples too. The DVLA resource for MOT history is always a good place for an initial assessment of the condition. Ongoing advisories is not a history that I would be hoping for. However, it seems that the MOT testers are finding more and more advisories to demonstrate their thoroughness ! Good Luck with your search, it is the time when under used vehicles tend to enter the market, market seasonality and all that.

Hello Diran, Search this forum for head units. It is one of, if not the most, popular topic.

Hi Greg, On some of the earlier HDD head units a disc changer (stacker) was unnecessary as the unit would record CDs inserted in the slot (as Chris describes) automatically. There is also a process for 'erasing' recorded CDs should you run short of disc space.

I am not sure about the Gen 1, but very confident that Theatre System was available on the Gen 1 facelift. It was an option though, so not all vehicles have it.

Joseph, at Topsham Car Sales, has been in the importation business for many years.

Hello Russell, I believe you should be able to connect by BlueTooth, depending on which head unit you have. Try eightseaters.blogspot or something very similar. He provides a very useful article on one of the most popular head units, the HDD

Hello Shane, Welcome to the Forum. Your problem is not uncommon. Try searching the forum for head units, etc.

Hello Clair, Was the drivers seat leather ? As the vehicle sits quite high the the kerb, and most Japanese drivers are quite short the squab can incur quite a lot of wear with ingress and egress. Bit if the leather is 'just cracking' it should be able to be refurbished at reasonable cost. If the vehicle was clocked in Japan you will never know; but it is just not consistent with Japanese culture. The Auction Sheet is, imho, the acid test. You must insist on a copy. There are also BIMTA certification and CarVX reports regarding 'mileage'. Most imports have their speedometer and odometer converted to miles from km. The technique does offer the opportunity for clocking, not that I am accusing anyone of such activity.

Hello Russell, You will only get Radio 2. that is normal as the Japanese and British FM bands are different. You may be lucky and get a couple of other noisy stations. You can change the headunit, which can be easy, or not. You can also get frequency changers, or use modern gizmos to achieve your aim. This is a very common query. Search the forum for Head Units.