arthurj

How much were they, if you don’t mind me asking? Was looking for OEM 17” or 18” but they seem to cost a small fortune

Can you identify what model rear screen do you have? In mine the IR receiver is part of the screen assembly.

I have an 11” rear screen and remote but no premium sound system. I have the manual for it too.

AFAIK all the 20 series *hybrids* come with 16” regardless of trim level (mine’s a ZR). The 17s do look quite a bit better though. Tyres make all the difference though. I replaced the old Pirelli Scorpion Verdes with Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV and they are much quieter and softer.

215/65R16 98H on mine. All the hybrid 20 series come with 16s, as far as I can tell. The tire circumference is basically the same on both 16” and 17” rims, the sidewall is just bigger on the 16 to compensate for the smaller rim. No change in reported speed.

My 20 series doesn’t have a front or 360 cam fitted. I’d quite like to add a front cam at least, as seeing the clearance in front it quite tough. I was wondering if I could buy a used OEM camera and simply plug it in to the OEM radio? I know I wouldn’t have the steering wheel control but would that matter?

Are you sure your aux battery’s not flat? I left my OBD reader plugged in while I went away for a few days and my hybrid wouldn’t start. I bought a 4 amp trickle charger from Argos and let the battery charge to max for a couple of days, then the car started fine. You don’t need to take out the battery to charge it either, there’s an emergency charging connector under the hood.

I tapped the passenger-side inside fuse box for mine and ran the cable under the trim and down the left-hand pillar. There’s a bolt behind the cover at the bottom which you can use to earth it. Its easier to get to the fuse box if you remove the glove box. Open it, then there’s a little rubber attachment on the left side that you can unhook, then the glove box opens further and you can detach it easily.

I mean is it something I can easily identify by raising the car up on jack stands and taking a look underneath? The local Toyota garage will do the work for sure and source any Alphard parts no problem, but they cost an absolute bomb and last time tried to make me pay for a load of extra work. I know they'll be able to do the work but I don't trust them not to try to overcharge me, so I want to know as much about it as I can.

Sounds expensive Any way check them myself? I'm not a mechanic and do intend to take it to the garage, but I like to know exactly what's up so I don't get ripped off.

If you sign up to one of those Japanese car auction sites, often there’s a place where you can enter the frame number and it gives you the auction history, which can include the trim level.

When I took my Vellfire to get serviced about 8 weeks ago the Toyota garage replaced both drop links, due to worn covers. Since then I’ve noticed a knocking sound from drivers side front when going over bumps, which I thought I was imagining at first but is now definitely there. I’ve also started to notice a bit of play when turning the wheel left & right when stationary. I had a look at the drop links and there’s no sign of them being loose at either end, but I don’t really know what I’m looking for. Question is: is it likely to be something to do with the job the garage did? If so I’ll take it back to the Toyota garage and moan at them until they fix it for free. Otherwise I’ll take it somewhere that will be cheaper.

Hope it's ok to start a megathread here. I'm finding it hard to get someone to inspect my 20-series hybrid battery. My local Toyota garage would service the mechanical parts but couldn't/wouldn't touch the hybrid system. I thought it might be useful to have a single thread that listed places that will do it. If anyone has had this done, could you please reply to this thread with - NAME OF GARAGE: LOCATION: TYPE OF SERVICE (diagnostic/refurbish/replacement etc.): ROUGH COST: WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?: Thanks!

As I'm generally quite happy with the OEM head unit I've decided to try a band expander so I can pick up stations other than Radio 2. The one I received has two bare power wires - no plug, clamp or anything else. The wires are very short, but I guess I could extend them and use yet another fuse tap, but I would prefer to piggybank on to the head unit power somehow. Anyone got any experience with this?

Mine is the lowest mpg data I’ve seen for an Alphard/Vellfire hybrid, series 10 or 20. I do think the battery’s on the way out but I can’t find anyone to diagnose it. That said, it’s lovely to drive. Even in the best case though it’s not going to be cheap to run. It’s huge - I parked next to an Estima yesterday and there’s quite a size difference, the Voxy’s even smaller. So I’d pick what size you need and go with that.

Only the ones sold for export (Malaysia etc.) as far as I can tell, the JDM ones are still Japanese only. You can sometimes find firmware upgrades for non-HDD models that have English language. It looks like switching to English may have become a feature only after 2014 or thereabouts.

BTW this is an option that you can easily change with a OBD2 reader and the CarScanner app on your phone (there are a few threads on here about it), at least for the 20-series and possibly the later 10-series too.

Found it, the back of the console just pops off 🤦‍♂️ It is an air intake but there’s no paper or cloth filter, just a metal plate with holes in it. It was crazy dusty though.

Thanks. It looks like those fans have ducts out to the vents under the seats. I still don't know where the air's being pulled into the unit, if not through the vent in the centre console which is just called a 'shield'. It doesn't look like it has a filter you can change.

It was hiding in the paperwork. Wonder if I can use it to get OpenStreetMap data onto the head unit?

The intake is definitely in the centre console for the Gen 2, but I can’t find a way of taking off the cover without dismantling the entire console. Not sure if the vents under the driver and passenger seats are air coming from the battery or from climate control, but they seem to blow air out.

I can’t seem to find an easy way to open the intake fan cover on the centre console, as that’s the thing everyone says you need to clean as part of regular maintenance. Looks like you have dismantle the whole thing, which involves taking the seats out!

So I had a go at applying Lanoguard today. Jacked up the front on to a pair of axle stands - bricks under the wheels as backup - and I just had enough room underneath to slide around on a piece of cardboard. It was easier than I thought. Spent about 45 minutes applying the grease to bolts, weld seams, and especially the box ends, which were starting to corrode but not flaking yet. Then another 30 minutes spraying the underside, and finally another 20 minutes using the long nozzle to get in all the holes. Hopefully this stuff is as good as the hype. The kit I bought was about £90 and I used just over half. You’re supposed to apply it every year or so. Waxoyl works out cheaper if you do it yourself but this wasn’t very messy, and it’s much cheaper than any quotes I had to have undersealing done for me. I do smell like a sheep now though

I have a 2012 hybrid and the back of my unit looks like this, apparently - no green port. I think the hybrid info displayed just comes from the canbus, it’s not that detailed.

Not the same radio but the connectors may be the same.