Rojie

# Hi Alan, Is your van a 2011, or the earlier Gen 1 ? The Gen 1, according to my Owners Handbook, should return about 9.7km / litre, under test conditions no doubt. About 6 miles / litre.

Do your front tyres have even wear. Across each tyre, and tyre to tyre ? Are the tyres the same age; there should be a date code on them. Have you hit any curbs lately? Maybe worth a trip to a tyre fitter and have the tyre wheels rebalanced.

RAC or AA did my vehicle survey. Very thorough. Found some issues where rear axle had been dropped for bush replacement and had not been reconnected correctly. Hence fault codes galore. They were all cleared pronto before sale. Very reassuring too. Your proposed vehicle seems rather old for a recent import. Be cautious.

Hi Megjo, Welcome to the Forum, Your intended dealer should have a copy of the auction sheet when the car was exported from Japan (probably a while ago). Even if they didn't import it ! If they cannot provide it, think twice. The document should be part of the documentation trail / package. If it hasn't just been imported, and it is registered, check out DVLA. Year imported, MOT history, etc. My due diligence would start with a independent mechanics report unless, of course, you are a mechanic. Next, you should identify a person able to service / maintain your purchase, should you proceed. Most official Toyota dealers will not work on grey imports. Many UK dealers are just dealers. They are not necessarily suitably qualified or equipped to work on the vehicles. Conversions are not normally cheap, so you must ensure you have a great base vehicle. Is it undersealed ? Will undersealing it be as part of your purchase contract ? Is your proposed dealer registered for VAT? I am sure you can check for outstanding finance, but if it has only just been imported .... I am also sure you will soon receive other tips.

Sounds like a flat battery to me. You need to try to start with minimum load, lights off, everything off. Try and charge your battery. Or use jump leads to start, and take a drive for 45 to 60 minutes; which should be enough to get some significant charge into the battery. Kwik Fit (and others) will test the battery if you can get there.

hi Neil, Welcome to the Forum. I suggest you search Awnings here on the Forum.

Hi Chris, Welcome to the Forum I have a 2006 V6, and the temperature needle does sit just below the mid point. This time of year I would not be surprised with such a quick warm up, the water temp is probably already 15 degrees before you start the engine. Until you become confident I would check the water level every day, engine cold of course. I cannot comment on the 'hot smell'

Some, but not all, Gen 1 machines have middle seats that swivel.

I don't have the same manual as you. I have the Gen 1 version. Near page 117 there is reference to the pedals. Reading mine, I think it is referring to the parking brake, but has omitted the word parking !!

Looks very impressive. Is there any figured wood (actually plastic) trim for the dash etc. That would be really keen. I look forward to seeing the completed model; maybe a winter pastime for me too.

hi Steve, Good to know. Thanks. What's an Elgrand ???

If you are not planning to fit it yourself, I respectfully suggest you locate a competent fitter first. As others have said, keeping the surround sound and cameras can be tricky.

My (slightly better than standard) battery has 640A CCA. I looked at a Clarkes Jumpstart (Machine Mart) with a 21000mA capability; but bought jump leads instead !

Try the 'Heal and Toe' technique. The main problem, imho, with learning to drive an automatic when used to driving a manual is keeping your left foot off the brake otherwise you will create some 'excitement' behind you.

Hi Rod, Welcome to the orum. You could speak to the team a RomaHome (Cowes). They may be able to help.

I moved it for you.

Apologies. I have no experience with these later vehicles. Despite what it says, I wouldn't try to pull 1500 watts If P equals I times V, that Power, Current, Volts. Then I equals P/V. 1500 watts is 15 amps. Where is that 15 amps coming from ? I guess it can only be coming from your Hybrid battery ! Proceed with care. Earlier Alphards/Vellfires do have 100w 100V outlets as noted by the photo above.

Looks interesting. Let us all know how you get on.

Hello Richard, Thank you for asking the question. Can I ask you to wait, please, while the Alphard Team consider your question regarding copyright ?

Hello Rich, Welcome to the Forum, and Alphie ownership. The 100v outlets are 100w, not 1500w. The 100v outlets can be modified for USB. Keep searching, it's on here somewhere. Sad, but true, you can't change your head unit language (unless it is not OEM). You should find the purchase of a JPNZ Owners Handbook extremely useful. Try eBay.

As Picasso says, automatics cannot be towed with their driven wheels on the road. Make sure your insurer covers for a flat bed truck. I have two autos and would not allow either to be towed under any circumstances. The Breakdown cover I have (with my Bank) covers me, not the vehicle. By that I mean any vehicle I am travelling in is covered ! I pay more than Picasso, but receive other services too.

There are no restrictions. Ownership wise, there are many more Gen1 (up to 2008) than Gen 2 (from 2008). There is a Gen 3, and a Gen 4 ! General Chat is a new addition to separate the social conversations from the more technical queries. Threads were becoming diluted by social chit chat, so General Chat was created for the purpose. We have some new members who are very active creating new information threads. In the meantime The Alphard Team is working on several, imho, significant improvements. The topics you seem to be 'landing' on are the newer topics. Favourite topics seem to change with the wind; and can be quite 'trendy' Gen 2 owners tend to have a different set of question s to Gen 1 owners. I can't help you with OBD other than what you already know. Get a JOBD version. Rest assured, you have full access. Bon Voyage Toyota have Techstream which is, by all accounts, very good.

Hi Mick, There is no minimum of posts necessary to use the Forum. There was a restriction on how many messages newer members could send per day (to limit spammers); but that has been increased and should not be an issue. The Forum team is putting in a lot of effort to restructure the Forum so that it is easier to find things of particular interest. Recently, the vehicle categories have been increased to assist getting to the 'heart of the matter'. Be patient, use the search engine, and be inventive with the search criteria you use. Try to read the unread content each day, you will soon get a flavour for what's what. The Gen 2 is becoming affordable and quite popular, so the Forum knowledge base is building quickly. What are you specifically looking for ?

Another mistake of mine. My answer should have said passenger side. I think quicker than I can type !. 8 seat, MS model, according to my JPNZ Owners Handbook. (Highly recommended). Not sure about the significance of the E suffix.

I am biased. I have the 5 speed, and have never driven the 4 speed. The 5 speed will be ULEZ compliant. You can check on Transport for London website. I seem to recall there have been compliance paperwork issues with the early Gen 1. I can vouch that the V6 is smooth and quiet, and has a pleasant under load burble (not quite like a V8 though!) Regarding resale values. What we all tend to overlook is how long we expect to keep the vehicle. That has a large affect on resale value. If you can afford the extra £2k; spend it. Here's hoping you make the correct decision for you.