Neil_c

Mine comes on if I drive round with the wing mirrors folded in, so could be all sorts of things... Plugging an ecu scanner in should tell you more. On other cars I've used a cheap ODB to USB cable and a laptop but never managed to get it to work with the Alphard. Could be worth trying if you're reasonably IT savvy, or if not get a garage to run a diagnostic.

Assuming you have the same seats as I have (don't want to be presumptuous), make sure the seats are completely locked in position with the backrest up before you use the small lever to fold the back down. This shouldn't unlock the rails. Apologies if you've already tried this, just checking all the obvious things are covered.

Very presumptuous There certainly is on mine, but perhaps there's some variation between different trim levels? This video shows the three different levers I was talking about https://youtu.be/L-qAIC0UMTc

There's two plastic levers on the side of the seat. The bigger lower one unlocks everything so you can move the seat around and recline it. There's a smaller one above it on the seat backrest which will allow you just to fold the back flat but leave everything else locked in place With the back folded down, if you then want to slide the seats on the rails you need to use the handle on the front, the big lever on the side won't do anything with the back folded down. This is probably easier with photos...

I'm no expert but I would have thought any debris would have to get through quite a bit of the blower system before getting far enough to cause noises you can hear inside the car. Try adjusting the temperature to see if it goes away. Maybe slowly go from min to max and vice versa. If it's wear in the blend door actuator, by adjusting the temperature it might move to a position where the wear doesn't affect it as much and it stops making the noise.

Sounds like the heater flap motor as dezufo said. Iirc it's called a blend door actuator. Had similar with mine, I 'fixed' it by pulling the actuator out and opening it up. I can't quite remember how much trim, if any, I had to remove to get to it but a bit of googling will probably see you right. As per dezufo's post, the contacts in the position potentiometer had worn grooves into the tracks. I just bent the contacts so that they don't sit in the grooves any more and instead are on an un-worn part of the track. That was quite a few years ago and it's been fine since. Well the noise has stopped but I'm not convinced the air out the blowers is the same temperature as what it says on the dash but that might be unrelated... If you're at all handy with tools etc then this isn't difficult, though getting the actuator out and back in was a bit fiddly.

Probably should have mentioned it's a 2004 2.4 4WD Just for anyone with similar issues: after a bit more research, it turns out that it indeed doesn't have a gasket and I need Toyota Seal Packing 103 FIPG compound. Can't find a UK seller for this, though it's available in the US, I guess cos the 2AZ-FE engine is used in a few models there. Found a few posts on other motor forums suggesting alternative products to do the job so I'll try one of those.

Was going to change the engine oil the other day and noticed traces of oil all round the oil pan. No problem I figured, I'll get a new sump gasket. I can't find anywhere selling one, does anyone know where I might get hold of one? I started to wonder about using some instant gasket or similar sealant and after a bit of research into whether these are actually any good, I found that some cars use sealant from new instead of gasket. Is this the case with the Alphard and it's why I can't find the part?

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement ride height sensor for the rear axle? After lots of googling I can only find sensors for a prius or land cruiser. They look identical, albeit with a different mounting bracket (easy to swap), but without testing the resistance it's hard to know if they will work. Not cheap parts so would prefer not to have to take a gamble. Thanks