arthurj

I did a long drive in my hybrid recently and got 630km to a tank, which is 55l. So that’s about 33mpg on average.

Getting mine done tomorrow. Quoted over £800 by Toyota, £500 by a local garage that deal with imports.

20-series hybrid original is a Panasonic S55D23L AGM. The Yuasa HJ-S55D23L is a perfect replacement. Not sure if the same battery is used for non-hybrids.

I think ULEZ in cities requires Euro 4 status for petrol vehicles, and my 20-series hybrid is classed as Euro 5 in section D2 of the V5C, so it passes.

Well, I took it to the Toyota garage, showed them the squeak. They said that since they can’t connect their computer to the Japanese systems it’ll cost £120 of an engineer’s time to diagnose!

I got the Lockwood dials fitted. Very happy with them. Clock remains in km.

That was it! My wife lost her house keys a couple of days ago. I just found them under the passenger seat with her fob attached, so mystery solved! Actually two mysteries solved.

Recently the keyless entry on my key fob has stopped working. The car doesn’t unlock when I slip my hand behind the door handle and pressing the lock button results in a long ‘beep’ that sounds like an error. The courtesy light no longer comes on when I approach the car. Weirdly I can use the buttons on the fob to unlock the car no problem, and the car starts when I sit in the drivers’ seat. I thought it might be a flat battery in the fob so I switched it out, but the same problem happens. Does anyone know what could be the problem?

It seems to work the same as other Toyota hybrids. It adjusts the throttle control response to make it easier to stay in the “Eco” range and puts the air conditioning into a low power mode. The AC is very noticeable on a hot day. With Eco mode on, you need to push the accelerator quite some way in to start the engine, it tries to accelerate on battery power alone, and there’s a noticeable delay if you stamp on it. With Eco mode off it starts the engine almost immediately so you get full power.

Thanks. I’ll see if I can convert it to a different format.

Did you find it an easy job? I want to try replacing the bushing, or at least seeing if it’s the problem, but I don’t know if it’s something that should be attempted by someone who isn’t a qualified engineer. I’m pretty handy, have some experience with motors and electrics and can do normal car maintenance, but I wouldn’t call myself a mechanic.

This is the squeak. Excuse the dirt, I’ve just come back from a trip. IMG_5130.mov

So I think this might be the coolant pump based on this post on a Prius forum. https://priuschat.com/threads/attention-if-you-have-a-squeaky-chs-water-pump-new-tsb.48722/ Can anyone with more knowledge than me tell me if that seems like the right diagnosis? There are no warnings on the dash, just that squeak noise when the engine shuts off, especially when cold. I can't find anyone in the North-East who will touch the hybrid systems on my Vellfire. The Toyota garage refuses because their computer system can't diagnose it. Is replacing the pump the sort of thing that any garage could do?

I have the same issue. Almost completely certain this is the issue. Mine sounds like it’s just starting, only just noticeable so it’s a job for next year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU3IeGh8kMw Those little bushings can be found on Aliexpress for £10. Way cheaper than replacing the whole motor, but beyond what I’m comfortable doing myself.

An eye-watering £890 this year from Advance for my 20 series hybrid. This was literally the only quote I could get and it took Advance 2 days to find an insurer to do it. Annoyingly this model is not on anyone’s system, so many won’t touch it, and the company that covered mine last year has stopped covering imports.

Ah, maybe there’s no mod then. I read that it was the case but the front screen certainly doesn’t switch away from DVD output unless I press the navigation button. What it won’t let me do when I’m driving (above 5mph or so I think) is adjust the audio EQ settings.

Last year Toyota did a full service my Vellfire Hybrid but didn’t touch the hybrid systems, as they couldn’t get their computer to talk to it. Looking at last years’ bill I see they did an oil change but no mention of changing the transmission oil in the CVT gearbox, which I read was something you should do regularly in the hybrids. Is it likely that this would have been included as part of the regular oil change, or did they skip it?

DVD playback through my rooftop monitor. I tend to send the sound to the back speakers and press the navigation button so I don’t see it on the front screen (which is the essential feature I can’t seem to find in any replacement system). The other day I drove 5 kids to a party, 45 minutes each way. DVD on and didn’t hear a peep! I think dvds are supposed to stop playing while the car is in motion but you can modify the input wires so it won’t do that. I didn’t do it, I assume the previous owner in Japan had it done.

I’ve noticed a new sound and was wondering if anyone has the same or if it’s something to worry about. When the engine shuts off and the car goes into EV mode there’s a short, quiet but noticeable ‘squeak’, a bit like a rusty gate. This is not the usual mechanical whirring of the pumps, which is much louder. At first I thought it was when I was braking, but I’ve narrowed it down to the exact moment the ‘EV’ light appears on the dash after the engine shuts off. If I am outside the car while it is in ready mode and the engine turns on, I can hear that same squeak when it shuts off again. It’s more noticeable with the windows open, so maybe it’s always been there and I’m only noticing it now the weather is hotter. Anyone know what it could be?

Perhaps a better comparison is what happens when I use my Vellfire hybrid vs my Yeti Diesel for the same kind of trips. I’ve noticed that for short trips around town, from cold, less than half an hour’s driving, my Vellfire is roughly the same as the Yeti in terms of fuel consumption. Makes sense if you consider the hybrids are designed to be luxury taxis. I often go on trips to Edinburgh, about 130 miles or so of A-road and motorway each way. For trips like that, I normally get 45-50mpg out of the Yeti and about 30 out of the Vellfire. A return trip will use 2/3 of a tank in the Vellfire and less than half for the Yeti. The Vellfire has until very recently been cheaper to fill up. Of course I can’t take the Yeti to Edinburgh any more because of the congestion charge, whereas the Vellfire is fine

Same with Halfords online, by the way. Computer says no.

2012 JDM models don’t have English, only models made for export, as far as I know.

Yes I bought a H409 after seeing your post and can confirm it’s a perfect fit for the rear blade.

So it’s not coming through the pedals, but I have some rattling of the steering column. There was a post the other day on one of the Facebook groups that suggested this is a common fault with the 20 series, but I’ve not heard of that before.

Sounds normal. My local Toyota garage serviced the car but it cost me a fortune after all the 'extras'. Glad I got the car checked by an official garage but I'm going elsewhere next time for sure.