Rojie

1 hour ago, Nuvolablue said:

Hi All,

 

Looking to get some views on when (intervals) and how (DIY or Recommended Garages) to get the CVT Transmission service done. 

 

Many thanks.

Hi Gaz,

It's holiday time.

You need to give Members time to return to their normal routines.

I can think of a couple of members who should be able to help; but I do not want to interrupt their 'family' time.

1 hour ago, Nuvolablue said:

Anyone ?....Have I posted in the wrong sub-forum ?

 

@Rojie could you transfer to the more appropriate sub-forum please ? 

I think it is probably OK here.

I reviewed those available, and this is as good a place as any.

You could look in the Forum that covers recommendations for garages re any servicing.

Some Official Toyota dealers will work on your van, but most will not.

It is worth checking your local ones.

So a good independent garage is a must.

3 hours ago, Rojie said:

 

Hello Craig,

 

Welcome to the Forum

 

This Introduction section is for introductions, not discussions.

There is a very recent thread on Buying.

Search for it on your home page.

Or search Kerryn and review that thread.

Search Starider (I think) for a narrative on NC500

Good Luck.

43 minutes ago, CraigA said:

Hi, newbie here.

 

Ok silly questions time!

 

I'm looking to buy a Vellfire and would appreciate some advise please.

 

1. I have aspirations of doing the North Coast 500 next year and plan to sleep in the Vellfire. So my question is can a 7 seater be converted into a bed (for 2 people), or is it only the 8 seater models? Are there any differences between the two (apart from the extra seat of  course! 😉)
2. As I'll be doing the NC500 should I consider a 2wd or 4wd model.
3. Has anybody converted their Vellfire to LPG? Is it worth the expense?
4. Any idea what the average MPG is for a 2010 model?
5. The cars I'm looking at have 50k on the clock, how many miles can Vellfire's do (looking for an indication of how many miles typically a Vellfire can do before it needs replacing).
6. I've been told that there isn't a way to change the language settings on the Vellfire from Japanese to English (old models), is this the case?
7. Are parts easy to come by?

 

Thanks for you help.

Craig

Hello Craig,

Welcome to the Forum

1 hour ago, WideCharlie said:

Hi Roger - it doesn’t seem to matter whether the room lights are set to dim or bright, those three column lights on the nearside persist in dim mode when the car is stopped and everything else is switched off, doors locked and me off to do some shopping; the offside column lights and the central roof light associated with the tv work fine and do not continue to glow even when their brothers on the nearside glow as described; I’m prepared to believe that we fooled ourselves into thinking those three errant lights were, in fact, no longer glowing in the daylight and are therefore not sensor operated, but my wife swears they weren’t glowing this morning although I can swear they were at 7am; unfortunately the latest storm makes me uninclined to go out and check and, besides, it is darker than a solar eclipse at the moment; the head unit is original although the Speedo/odometer has been converted to mph; the radio has been ‘amended’ to pick up UK stations; the owner’s manual that I have is no help with this issue.

 

Peering down the column openings with a dental mirror, I can see three points of light in each nearside dim light. Would these be LEDs? If so, they will be drawing very little from the battery and it’s no big deal but I do have a neurosis about things not working the way they should. I will check those pesky lights once more if we ever see daylight again in this neck of the woods. In any case, I suspect my local garage will be asked to sort the problem out some time in the new year. 
 

Dave: yes I too have struggled to find any information on these issues and, as I said, the owner’s manual is no help.

 

The saga continues!

All very interesting.

Initially I had a couple of issues; mainly me not noticing I had left the room lights on dim.

I replaced my starter battery before realising this ! Good news actually, as I now have a spare battery always on smart charge just in case !

The 'lamp' I replaced was not a LED; best described as a festoon bulb !

I have no idea where the dimming circuit is located.

I would think there is only one; but there may be two.

47 minutes ago, TomaszDolyniuk said:

I replace batteries in an hour.  The video does not concern the Toyota Alphard.

I think I did state that it is not about Alphards/Vellfires.

As a comment, Tomasz, your response is helpful.

However, you cannot tout for business through the Forum unless you become a registered Trader.

Should you wish to register as such, please contact the Alphard Forum.

54 minutes ago, Neil Harrison said:

Hi, I'm looking for an OBD2 Reader that will work on my 2005 Alphard 2.4. Is there anyone out there that can recommend one that will work on it and my 2013 Peugeot 3008 please?

Thanks.

Hello Nell,

Welcome to the Form.

1 hour ago, WideCharlie said:

Well, more curious and more curious (said Alice): the damned lights have come on again now that it’s dark. Just the three on the nearside, shining very dimly out of the three ‘columns’ with no other lights on and the car not touched since a brief bimble this afternoon when those lights were definitely not illuminated. So, my thinking is that they are sensor operated but surely there must be a way to turn them off? Surely? It doesn’t make sense for them to operate of their own volition, so to speak, whenever it gets dark. 
 

Any ideas?

I suspect your toom lights are set to dim; therefore you cannot notice them in normal daylight.

I had a bulb failure in one of mine, which did not prevent the others operating correctly.

I do not believe mine are sensor operated, and there is no mention, as far as I can remember, that they are in the Owners Manual.

Do the off side ones work at all ?

Have you had your OEM head unit replaced ?

3 hours ago, KennyJayB said:

Hi all,

Been a member for a few months but never actually posted!  I bought an AH10 2.4 from Ian Taylor in Stoke and so far I'm very happy with it but I do have a question about the HID bulbs as unfortunately I don't have an owners manual.

 

I have an AFS model and the off-side bulb is noticeable yellow compared to the near side.  I want to check whether it's the bulb or ballast that needs replacing so I wondered how easy it is to remove the bulbs when AFS is equipped?  Is it a simple bulb change or is there something I need to be aware when working with the AFS?

 

Secondly, if I do need a new bulb, can someone clarify what bulbs I need?  I've found 2 topics on the search function but they contradict each other:

 

This topic says D2S 35W with AFS.

 

And this one says D2R, 35W

 

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Kenny

Hello Kenny,

Welcome to the Forum

5 hours ago, WideCharlie said:

Ok, forget all that nonsense please. When I went to the car this morning the lights had gone off. So either they are on a long timer or they are light sensitive and switched off when daylight finally appeared through the drizzly murk. Whichever, the problem ceases to be a problem although the puzzle remains.

I don't have a TV casing, but my dash switch has four settings.

Off, dim, medium and 'bright'.

1 hour ago, threepot said:

There is a lot of confusion with the dash display in this post.

 

If your cluster has a speed fascia like mine like this one below... then your fuel computer still works in KM/L, along with the odometer. Nothing has been modified other than a new scale is printed on the fascia.

 

 

But if you have an original fascia like this one below, then you have an inline KM's to Miles converter wired into the harness to the cluster, so all the values displayed are really miles, including the fuel computer, the odometer etc etc. The display still has the units as KM/L and KM's, as the display is original but the display is really showing miles as the converter box is manipulating the speed values sent from the ABS module which measures the wheel speeds/rotations.

 

 

 

So make sure you are doing your calculations appropriately to the odometer conversion that has been carried out. Many of you are really getting a reading of miles per litre.

I think it has been a fairly common practice to 'black out' the k in the km/h legend.

1 hour ago, dave murrell said:

Wish I had taken my test on a bike when I had the chance so now only restricted to a chicken chaser or trikes (had 3).

Dont expect much help from toyota MD's, as I went to one the other day and asked the dude what are the specs for the engine oil and he replied I cant tell you that, but I can sell you some...

We use a mechanic who makes extra cash on the evening and weekends and if it dosent involve too heavy stuff then I do it myself, its just another car but without the workshop manual, you could find MOTORPARTS DIRECT very useful for parts, best to go in the shop as they dont list it all on the net and the quote me cheaper if I go in the shop!

You want an insight to your car watch this guys videos, quite good.

 

TC's Anything Goes

 

 

oil 5w 30, or 5w 20, or 10w 30. Toyota prefer their own brand (surprised?).

5w 20 is the best for fuel economy, according to the Owners Manual (JPNZ)

4 lt without filter, 4.5 with filter.

Did you go to Snows ?

They are normally excellent.

You may have asked the wrong question.

Perhaps which type may have been better, rather than the actual spec (albeit that is what the W rating is).

1 hour ago, Chris12345 said:

Just purchased my 2007 Japan import Alphard and I am looking for recommendations for an awning. I have an awning rail fitted. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Hello Christopher,

Welcome to the Forum,

If your Alphie has been imported recently ....before buying an awning, ensure your Alphie is undersealed.

1 hour ago, ThuMentaliss said:

     Yeah, the space inside once the seats, runners etc are removed is in fact only slightly bigger than a Mazda Bongo the depth of the Alphard floor to ceiling is misleading from when the vehicle is (viewed from outside) my point is the so called converters are making a nice healthy profit.

I agree about the profit, but don't forget 20% goes straight to the Taxman.

11 hours ago, Rov said:

 

Hello Roval,

Welcome to the Forum

6 minutes ago, Picasso said:

Noticed yesterday one of my head lights not working only changed bulbs couple weeks ago so tried another bulb still not working so had to be the ballast gave toyota a call nearly fainted when they told me how much £467.85 + vat each 

Hi Lee,

Try your Jaguar friend, he may be able to help.

The following is a video I found on youtube, about Hybrid battery replacement.

It is NOT about an Alphard or Vellfire, but I thought it may be of general (it was to me) interest to club members, especially Hybrid owners or anyone considering a Hybrid purchase.

It explains what is involved.

Interestingly, it refers to 5 hours labour.

https://youtu.be/EjH68Y8Fqzo

Tanya Batteries do mail order if you need it.

Very good service too.

2 hours ago, Tarak Benzeggouta said:

Hi all, I had an Elgrand 51 type, did sell it due ULEZ, now I am planning to buy a vellfire or Alphard. 

Are both have same size please ?

How much per gallon on the HYBRID vellfire or Alphard?

Which types have chain and which ones have belt please?

Much appreciated it 🙏 

Hello Tarak,

Welcome to the Forum

25 minutes ago, pipsyp said:

Hi guys,

 

Does anyone in the know, know what the part no's are for the front door outer window rubbers are (both sides)?

 

Mine have gone rock hard and curly at the ends and cause the windows to judder most of the time when opened or closed so want to replace them (assuming they are still available).

 

Thanks in advance!

Try toyota/alphard/epc.com to find the part numbers

37 minutes ago, big_boz said:

Just had a look in my owners manual and with the use of Google translate it's got a 65l tank..... that's 10l left when the dash said zero!

 

I guess that is why it is called reserve; just in case !

2 hours ago, dezufo said:

I have 17" x 6.5" with 215/65 tyres and have approx 12mm clearance on the wheel well, sounds like your off set is wrong, you can check clearances , speedo error in the link  https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/

That's the one, and there are a few others too.

1 hour ago, GB57 said:

This link will take you to a great website which will tell you all you need to know about wheel & tyre options on any Alphard -:

 

https://www.wheel-size.com/size/toyota/alphard/

Not the one I was thinking of which is generic.

Even better though for Alphard owners.

4 hours ago, biffo said:

Hi I've just put a set of 17 Honda type R wheels on. 

I've got 215/60/17. Profile

The near side rear wheel arch inner catches. front part 

Question ..what is behind this ?

 

Or I have dropped a clanger by not going 55 profile but the clearance still would be close at 5mm smaller.

 

Ps. I've swapped from 20inch.

 

Alternatively now. I need a set of stock wheels with descent tyres on.

 

Hello Biffo,

Welcome to the Forum.

There are many things to consider when changing wheel and tyre sizes.

Not least of which is telling your insurance company !

Clearances, as you have found, can be a real (and dangerous) issue.

There are websites that will let you 'explore' differing combinations, and the effect they will have on wheel arch clearances.

As Larry points out, wheel offset can be critical (and also importantly effects wheel bearing loads).

What is the condition of the rear axle bushes ?

5 hours ago, WideCharlie said:

Thanks Roger and David for the welcome messages. I am slowly getting to know this new vehicle and gradually compiling a list of disappointments (you know how it is) but trying to fight off buyer’s remorse. My wife is much more sensible about things and wonders why I’m surprised that a dealer in second hand Japanese imports would be disingenuous. 
 

Onwards and upwards!

Hello Charlie,

Disingenuous ?

I agree with your wife. Don't despair.

Have you never bought a pre-owned vehicle before ?

There is always the case of buyer beware.

Did you perform a comprehensive inspection, or have an AA or RAC Inspection, prior to purchase ? 

If you have bought from a recognised trader you have some legal protection under various consumer laws so take it back.

Some dealers are very good, others are not.

Please do not mention the dealer's name here, in public, but for my awareness, could you send me a PM and let me know.

Share your issues list with us, perhaps our members can help fix some of the problems.

In our eagerness to acquire a very desirable luxury set of wheels many of us tend to overlook the fact that the vehicle we buy is often over ten years old, and may come with some issues.

As winter is approaching one of the first jobs is to ensure your starter battery is in tip top condition.

Most important, is check it is undersealed. If not get it done immediately.

There is a chap near Saltram House that could do the undersealing if necessary.

You may like to know that most official Toyota dealers will not work on grey imports.

However, as a backstop, Snows of Plymouth will