John Harrison

I'm with Adrian flux for my 2.4 8-seater; so far ok. As to parts. Plenty on line, but yesterday I priced parts for rear axle fixing bushes, an advise for my MOT. You can get plenty of bushes on line but the high tensile bolts for the bushes were harder to find. I went to my local Toyota garage, Johnsons, Wallasey, at 11.30am and ordered two bolts (with washers) and 2 nuts. They phoned to say they had arrived at 10.00am today! Brilliant service!!! John Harrison. Wallasey, Wirral

Hi. The side doors on my Vellfire close the a motor takes overand closes it fully. The back door(hatch)closes by hand but the motor doesn't take over. I've checked and it is the motorised type, I'm not sure if it is the motor or the wiring. How do I check? John Harrison. WALLASEY, WIRRAL.

We replaced the room lights in ours with an LED strip. What a job!!! Once we started we found out that the room light covering it screwed in from the inside of thr roof lining before it was fitted.8 The pillar light harness, I think is from either side up the pillars John Harrison.Wallasey

Hi. Either a floor bung, if it is round, or as I did on my old Toyota Townace Noah, I made an aluminium plate, painted it ans pop riveted it on with some sealer under it. It worked fine! John Harrison. Wallasey.

Hi. When we got our 2008 Vellfire about 2 years ago there was a smell coming from both Aircon units. We were recommended to use Air conditioner smoke bombs to flush the air systems out. I think we bought them from Halfords. Not sure of the price (think about £9 each) but set them going in the car and leave for a few hours. Once we returned, the car smelt great and had no trouble since. They recommend doing it every so often, or if a smell developes. Hope this is a help? John Harrison. Wallasey, Wirral.

Hi. You got a really good deal there. I think a lot of it is to do with the number of seats. Mine is a 2008, 2.4 Vellfire. My last quote was about £800+ about a year ago. Mine is an 8-Seater though! I suspect that yours will be either 4 or 5 seater with the conversion? I'm with Adrian Flux too! John Harrison. Wallasey!

Hi. Try 'ALL JAPANESE MOTORS' in Stockport. They are on he internet. I think if you can get it there, they should br able to repair it for you. I haven't dealt with them for a long while, buy I'm sure Kara (the owner) would be able to help? She used to carry spares for cars she sold, but if not, she might be able to help find the parts. Hope this is a help? John Harrison, Wirral.

There are some good manuals on ebay. If you can't find one there Google your model and one should come up...Obvious, but state UK version. The one I have has a picture of my Vellfire on the front. These tell you most things you need to know about your Alphard. John Harrison. 2008 2.4 AH20

Hi. I have a 2008 2.4 Vellfire. My remote starter hunt worked since I bought the car. I have changed the battery twice but to no avail. The good news is that it has a blue light on it that flashes and seems to be a deterant to thieves. Most people would think it is another alarm! John Harrison. Wallasey, Wirral

I looked on the ULEZ site, put my reg in, and didn't have to pay anything. My son did in his 2 litre diesel Golf; £12.75! As far as I have been told, japs have stricter emissions regs than the uk, so imports should really be cheaper??? John Harrison. 2.4 08 Vellfire!!!

There was an after market switch and a thick cable fitted, so he used that. It's handy to know it's there though. John H

Hi. I have a 2008 2.4 Vellfire. When I bought it it had 26" and 16" blades. The 26" one was skipping. I changed the blades o 28" ones to cover more of the screen, which they sid but not a lot of difference. When I looked at the actual blade, it wasn't square to the screen. I decided to bend the arm so it was parallel to the screen and blade was 90° to the screen. The wipers were then quiet and cleaned the whole of the screen. The other blade is a 16" (actually 15.5"). Over the years I have adjusted dozens of wipers like this for friends. The wipers seem to last longer too! Also, it's amazing how many garages don't know how to adjust wipers! John Harrison. Wirral. PS. Lidl have Michelin wipers on offer now for 6.99 per blade...Time to stock up!!!

A mate of mine has a 2.5 petrol BMW, also newer than mine, and has to pay the £12.75! John H

My Vellfire is about the same price but it has 8 seats. I am going to London in a few weeks and looked on T

My Vellfire is a 2008, 2.4, but got 8 seats. I'm paying the same price as you. I don't think it has anything much to do with emissions, as I looked at London's ULEZ website and my car (you have to put in your reg No.) passed the emissions test. Japanese regs are tighter than European regs so I don't have to pay the £12.75 charges when I go to London later in the month. My son on the other hand has a 2013 2litre diesel Golf estate and has to pay the £12.75! I think they make it up as they go along! John Harrison. WIRRAL

Hi. I have a 2008 Vellfire 2.4. Unfortunately, my after market rear fog lamp fell off the other week. The metal bracket rust away. I looked around for a pair of better ones. On ebay I found a set of new body fitted fog lights for a VW Transporter. I had to buy the lights and the lamp holders separately, and had them fitted by a local body repair shop. He was as nervous as me cutting into the back bumper but he did and they clipfit in well. The metal panel behind had to be tapped in about 4mm so holder didn't foul, but it hasn't affected the bodywork. The person who did the job said all the wiring was already in the harness, so it was just a matter of plugging it in. It cost me £47 for lights and £90 for the fitting (including delivery home!) The lights clip out to change bulbs. My rear fogs work well and will not get knocked off again!!! John Harrison. Wallasey, Wirral. PS. Sorry aboutthe muck on my Vellfire in the pictures. Had just come back from Manchester Airport and hadn't had chance to clean it!!!

Hi. There isn't another key in thr car is there?

John Harrison. 2.4 Vellfire

Hi. My 2008 Vellfire 2.4 had the wrong tyres on it when I bought it. It had 205x 55 17s. It was grounding on most things. I put the correct 215x 60x 17s on it and now, no problem! It doesn't seem like much of a change, but I'm also getting 5 mph more than the speedo was showing; checked by GPS. I fitted a cruise control lever to my Velly (They are plug & play for £7; all rhe wiring is already in the loom!) All Japanese cruise controls are factory set st 68mph. Mine now does 68mph; before, with the wrong tyres, it was doing only 63mph! Usually, if you want bigger wheels, you need lower tyre wall. If wheels change from 17"x 60mm tyre wall, to 18" (25mm more diameter) then the tyre wall depth has to reduce by 1" (25mm) to 18" x 35mm. This will hopefully keep the outer tyre diameter the same, but give a bigger wheel. Anything larger will require a lot of hassle with suspension, etc. Itcwill also make the car go faster than the speedo shows and make you liable to get speeding fines!!! The lower tyre wall will also give a stiffer, noisier ride. Hope this has been a help?

Hi. I have just looked at the ULEZ site, and if you put in your car reg number, it will tell you instantly, Yes or No. Mine is a 2008 2.4 auto Vellfire and had a YES and nothing to pay! Jap emissions regs are much tighter than UK regs so I think that is why? My Velly has done 89,000 and passed! Have a check...Good Luck? John Harrison. Wallasey, Wirral.

Hi. CHAIN! You're safe!!! Best wishes John Harrison. Wallasey, Wirral.

I'll ask my lad. He's the techy! John H

Other owners may be able to confirm this? JBH.

Hi. I've been told that Jap vehicles have to have a different diagnostics plug in to ours. They can be bought on the internet, I believe? John Harrison. Wirral.