Rojie

8 minutes ago, atlanticcobra2023 said:

I only comment on questions that I myself have experienced, and I thought that was the purpose of a forum to get advice and idea's from other members.

If I am wrong then I will not post any suggestions in future.

You are not wrong.

27 minutes ago, Stuart Donovan said:

Can someone please advise how to remove the back seats from a 2007 Alphard V please?

Hello Stuart,

Welcome to the Forum.

22 minutes ago, atlanticcobra2023 said:

Ah right I thought I advised a different model owner wrongly 😁

I don't think so.

But giving advice to anyone remotely is not easy or without it's risks !

6 minutes ago, atlanticcobra2023 said:

sorry my mistake

 

No mistake.

The sun roofs need this treatment too sometimes, after a battery refit.

2 hours ago, Breezy62 said:

We have a 2008 mzg  with 7 seats with foot rests in the middle row and they don’t turn. Could we still have a rear conversion? We  don’t think we can afford a professional conversion and don’t want cooking facilities so looking at a diy flat pack kit but want the cupboard space and the table and chairs. But we are not sure the bed arrangement can work with our seats. Any experience and or advice would be welcome 

Hi Laraine,

Welcome to the Forum.

Yes you can have a simple rear conversion.

Are you thinking of retaining the rear seats ?

There are companies that can supply units that are flat packed.

There is one in Barnstaple. I am sure there are others around the country.

My caution to you would be to consider the ease (or otherwise) of getting passed the middle row seats, even in their forward position.

The seat back only tilts forward a little.

If you don't remove the rear seats, the problem goes as you won't be able to get to the conversion from inside (unless you have the rear seats folded all the time!).

The footrests tuck away nicely, but I removed mine.

I have just advised another member that I know of a company that can make a slatted frame bed that fits over the seating.

In use as a bed you place an air mattress, or whatever, upon it.

The frame can be dis-assembled and stored reasonably easily.

58 minutes ago, atlanticcobra2023 said:

Hi fiaraz, 

you need to reprogramme the windows. open the drivers window and count to 5 then close it again counting to 5. press the open window on that doors panel I.e. Passenger side window to open and count to 5 then close it counting to 5. you cannot program them from drivers door switches

This method applies to any Gen 1 window that starts to misbehave.

1 hour ago, fiaraz said:

Hi all, 

 

I have just purchased an Alphard but it needs a few bits and bobs.  bit of a silly question as I am a science teacher and not very knowledgeable regarding cars. where is the best place to find parts in the UK? and how would i find the exact terms for a given part? i am looking for the front foglights and maybe one at the back and a driver-side external window cover thing.. (god that's embarrassing!)

 

Thanks in advance

Hello Fiaraz,

You must have a rear fog light already, or your machine would have failed the MOT.

Try Toyota/Alphard/Epc.com for part numbers, or ask Picasso who will need your Vin or registration number.

Toyota Direct can supply parts, but will need the part number.

There are plenty of other outlets for more 'normal' service parts.

5 hours ago, Alasdair said:

FAO Roger.....I checked out page 14 of the manual and followed instructions to unlock doors when P is selected....works a treat now thanks for that. My wife no longer needs to unlock the door to get out as selecting P unlocks them all 👍👍

Glad to help.

Glad it worked.

For other readers, That JPNZ Owners Manual is a MUST.

Note. It is not a Maintenance Manual.

3 minutes ago, kroniksan said:

Hi everyone, new Vellfire 2008 owner here, new to the forum a well.

 

Just got our Vellfire 3 days ago and looking at replacing the head unit (an apparently quite rare NHZT-W58G) for potentially one of those tesla-looking screens. I have seen the one from dvdgpsnav.com being touted around in the forum, so I was wondering if anyone has one of them and, if so, what would be their opinion on it and long term review. Good, bad?

 

Any intel appreciated as I'm considering it at the moment.

 

Thank you!

Hello David,

Welcome to the Forum and Vellfire ownership.

18 minutes ago, leoniejonesy said:

Hi folks, I have a MK2 Alphard 2008 plate that needs a replacement bumper (among other things).

 

All I can find so far is a facelift version which I believe is 2012 onwards. I know the grills are a different shape between these two versions, but does anybody know if both a facelift bumper and grill would fit a standard MK2 model? 

Hello Leonie,

Welcome to the Forum.

3 hours ago, Geralt said:

In our rear conversion camper, one thing that’s not quite right for us is the bed arrangements. We use the two middle seats opened out as shown in the photos below. The issue with these is that we have to carry foam fillers to level out the seats and meet the height of the kitchen bench padding. The foam is bulky and a bit of a pain.

 

One idea I had was to replace the two Toyota seats with a bench seat, i.e. with flat foam padding. I guess it can be described as a 2/3’s rock n roll bed. The bench seat would always face backwards and attach to the existing moveable rails so the seat can be slid backwards and forwards. We don’t carry passengers in the seats so seat belts not needed.

 

Has anybody come across such a bench seat that might work as described please?

 

Many thanks.

 

 

Hello Gerald,

Just a word of caution here.

Food for thought, based on my opinions.

Firstly, I doubt any bench seat will have Type Approval. You may not care, but your Insurers almost certainly will !

Regarding no seat belts. Almost certainly an MOT fail.

The MOT tester isn't interested in whether the seats are used for travelling, or not.

All they care about is that 'correct' seatbelts are fitted and fully functional.

Your current seats should have lap belts, the minimum requirement for rear facing seats.

Your bench seat, in my opinion, would need them too.

I would check with an official MOT tester before proceeding.

5 hours ago, Alasdair said:

Hi Roger.....I have the JPNZ manual and the head unit I have is Android 8227L.

 

I have been looking through the manual but just not seeing how to configure the auto locking 

Sorry Alasdair,

I had assumed you had an OEM Head Unit.

However, it appears, the method woks independent of head unit.

JPNZ page 14.

12 hours ago, Chris.ac said:

Did some research. 

 

Toyotas OEM Wipers for the alphards used blades provided by nippons blade division called NWB (nippon wiper blades)

 

For the 10 series, the fronts are 26"(650mm) and 16"(400mm), with rear being 16"(400mm)

 

For the 20 series, the rear is the same, but the fronts are 30"(750mm)and 14"(350mm)

 

 

NWB blades are coded D** (** is the 1st 2 digits of the size in mm, E.g. D75 = 750mm) and the rear is GRB40

 

The 'D' is their design range that use graphite coated rubber.

You can buy their HDA or HDB range (the frames are identical, but the rubber blade is coated in varying qualities of water repellant material that coats the glass (better performance with frost/snow))

 

You CAN buy just the rubber inserts (check that your existing blades are the nippons ones, they should have a metal clip/rail that needs to be removed and reused - the rubbers do not come with this metal part)

 

I bought a set from amazon.co.jp (you can create an account in English)

Search term for 10 series is NWB D65 D40 GRB40
Search term for 20 series is NWB D75 D35 GRB40

 

 

You can also buy DENSO, which is a decent OEM used by Toyota.

Their largest blade, unfortunately, is only 700mm(28") so if you have a 20 series, you will have slightly less coverage on drivers side.

DENSO codes are
DU-070R (28") or DUR-065R (26") driver side
DU-040(16") or DU-35(14") passenger side
And DRB-040 rear.

 

For all these wipers, the passenger and rears are about £8 to £12. 
The drivers side, being much larger is about £22 to £26

 

These are hook fixings, so any cheapo blade of manufacturers wipers will work if you get the sizes right.

 

The rear blade has a different connector design, so probably best to stick with the NWB or DENSO designs.

 

Opieoils (linked in a previous post) is very competitive of you are buying the denso blades, but you will be limited to a mac size of 28"

 

If you still have the original NWB (Nippon) blades fitted, you can save money by buying the rubbers only, from Toyota, or amazon.co.jp 

Thanks Chris,

A VERY worthwhile piece of research

34 minutes ago, Alasdair said:

Can anyone advise me on how to stop the passenger door from having to be unlocked after the vehicle has been in motion. Having to use the unlock / lock button is a pain instead of just using the normal handle like any regular car does.

Which head unit do you have ?

(Depending, perhaps, on the head unit you have). The autolocking can be (re-) configured through it.

Have you bought the JPNZ Owners Manual yet ?

Get one, they are a must for all Gen 1 owners.

There are two versions available, one that includes the hybrid, and one that doesn't.

An owner has just bought the normal version that is surplus, so is available on this Forum.

Otherwise, they can be bought from ebay.

1 hour ago, Scotty 28 said:

Hi I'm Stewart from Scotland. I have owned my Alphard V 2007 for about 3 years now. It has had some modifications to the wheels, suspension and exhaust. Love It.

Hello Stewart,

Welcome

2 hours ago, Paco Lavanne said:

Hi Alan,

 

This is my first time on here too! 

I bought my 2014 Vellfire last year, for the same reasons as you. Elderly Great Dane needs frequent trips to the vets and is more than happy to travel in the back.

This car replaced my trusty old Nissan Navara pickup, and I can honestly say that the Vellfire can fit more inside than the truck. Not only is it very comfortable to drive, but it has also ferried worktops and building materials to and from site. I have two other vehicles at my disposal but always choose to drive the Vellfire.

 

Get rid of the Honda!

All the best,

Rachael.

Hello Rachael,

Welcome to the Forum.

54 minutes ago, Derek B said:

Hi Rojie thanks for your replies regarding my brakes on the alphard good news my local garage checked my brakes and the fronts were 80%worn so replaced front discs and pads changed brake fluid all ok the dealer paid the bill. Also I need a rear seat belt extender not the same size buckle as front  Thanks for your help Derek B

Hi Derek,

It is refreshing to know that some dealers support their responsibilities as yours clearly has done.

1 hour ago, Bluemoon69 said:

Hi All,

This is my first post as I have just purchased a 2011 vellfire and owned this for a total of one whole week.

Have already travelled to Southampton to pick up from Southcoast Jap Autos.

They were very helpful also having a vast stock of different vehicles on site for me to look at and even let you test drive anything on site.

 

My dilemma now is do I keep my 2016 Honda Crv as a just in case or do I sell it as don't really need two vehicles that hardly do more than 5,000 miles a year!

 

I bought this car as I need space for a large dog and passengers for when going on uk holidays.

 

Thank you in Advance as new to all of this.

 

Alan.

hello Alan,

Welcome to the Forum, and Vellfire ownership.

Hi Guys,

The tailgate struts are not electric; not on the Gen 1 vehicles.

I have a Gen 1 facelift, with electrically assisted tailgate.

The struts are mechanical/pneumatic, not electric.

The whole tailgate is electrically assisted through an electric motor in the rear nearside pillar.

My MZ G Edition struts are type K.

Good Luck

27 minutes ago, andy2963 said:

Does anybody know where ii can get a catalytic converter for my alphard 2.4

Hello Andy,

Welcome to the Forum

57 minutes ago, GB57 said:

Dogs in an Alphard ? I am horrified. I won't even allow anyone with shoes on in the back of mine - the carpets and footrests are so luxurious and like new - and the car is now 21 years old ! Maybe I am OCD, but I am unlikely to grow out of it at 65.

Hello Graham.

You won't believe it !

I have an MZ G Edition. Leather Captains chairs and very plush carpets.

That's why he has his own heavy duty wide hammock, imported especially from California !

However, the rear area, that is the luxuriously carpeted kitchen area, is covered in very durable (removable) rubber from the B pillar rearwards

Much easier to remove the mud !

The matting is even the same colour as the leather seating !

I am somewhat senior, in years, to you.

I am also very OCD.

So ?

Pooch doesn't get to ride the wagon unless necessary.

Why ?

I said you wouldn't believe it !

He has is own car !

One dedicated to his walks on the beach and in the countryside.

It is worth nothing.

Every year it passes the MOT without any advisories !

Strange but true, every word.

One VERY lucky (and well behaved) pooch.

4 hours ago, Alasdair said:

It's worse if reverse parked and there's a pavement height .....getting the dogs in and out of their cage has resulted in a couple of head knocks.....but it's safer for getting the dogs out when parked that way. 

Unlike you, we have a rear conversion.

So our filthy wet muddy mutt gets to enter, and exit, only the nearside slider (for safety) and sit in his hammock type luxury accommodation !

Oh, and my wife stipulated that when seated in his hammock, he must be able to look out of both middle side windows so he can see all there is to see.

Me? I'm just the chauffer !

1 hour ago, El gato said:

Hi, we’re just about to get our Toyota Alphard 2006 2.4 converted into a camper van and so have taken out the back & mid seats and all the rails and fittings. 
The seats are beige and are in great condition. They look like new. We’ve wrapped them in plastic and stuck them in the garage. 
Hoping that someone would make use of them. Seems such a shame to put kit like that in the land-fill. 
I should’ve taken full photos before we removed them, but I’ll add some to give you an idea. 
Pick up from SE London. 

Interested parties please note.

These are from an eight seater. That larger one and a half middle seat will not fit in a seven seater; just in case you were wondering.

8 minutes ago, Jim N said:

I have recently took possession of a 2007 Alphard from Andy's Imports, and I can say it is one of the most comfortable motors I have ever known.

The conversion is top notch, I would recommend Andy's Imports anytime.

Roll on Summer.

Hello Jim,

Welcome to the Forum.

3 hours ago, Alasdair said:

Thanks Roger....I'll see what I can find. They do open to theur extremity but was hoping for something else that would just give that little bit more room. I'll keep the group updated if I source anything 

Maybe you need to check the tailgate hinges.

If the hinges have 'stops' to limit the travel; then longer rods won't meet your needs anyway.

That rear hatch is heavy !

I am not tall, but do need to be careful when stepping off a curb if the tailgate is open.