James

Thanks that very helpful. having dried out the car it repeatedly started so I drove to a hill to test the drain which all drained rapidly from the moon roof to behind the wheel arches. i then attempted to drive to refuel but got 800m and the power went as the car failed to see the hybrid battery! pulling up off the road I disconnected the 12v battery and reconnected after 5 minutes. Fortunately the car restarted and I drove home 800m. Unfortunately the car now will not see the hybrid battery and will not start, the original problem! I cannot feel any dampness in the carpet in the drivers footwell or at the base of the drivers pilar so perhaps it was a red herring although failing so soon after doing the moon roof drain test ??? I do not know what the water could be affecting to cause the problem?

I bought a set of the stick on ones as garage broke one of mine. Worked fine. Had to buy as a set of four but were very reasonable.

Yes it has a moon roof. I checked the drains that go forward to the drivers sun roof and these were clear but cannot access the forward sun roof to see where the drains go from there

Good morning my 2004 hybrid alphard has been having intermittent power loss not recognising its battery and failing to start. Two months at the garage found no specific fault but seemed to get it working. After 4.8 miles it failed again, same problem. After several days the garage recovered it as it wouldn’t start! After a few days they got round to looking at it and it started and behaved normally every road test! I drove it home, all well. Next day tried starting it several times all ok. Next day wouldn’t start same problem. at that point I noticed the fitted carpet in drivers foot well was soaking wet, the mats above it dry! A day of dehumidifier and heater in car and in the afternoon the car started! next morning it failed to start. Another day of heating and dehumidifier progressed the drying but a storm and torrential rain brought to my attention a wet patch formed in the carpet around the base of the drivers pilar! more drying and car started again. Today car starts having overnight drying and keeping roof covered!! I suspect the leak down the drivers pilar ? Cause may be at the root or the problem of power loss?? Could it be causing a short or current leak that the car detects and shuts down?? Any ideas how to find the leak? How do I remove the drivers pilar trim to see behind it?? sorry it’s a very long post but grateful for any thoughts and ideas. thank you everyone. J

Thanks Smurf

Thank you Michael and Smurf your advice is much appreciated. i am in Colchester Essex so if anyone knows an alphard specialist closer that would be good. At the moment the car is stuck at the garage. the differential was replaced by a small garage in water beach near Cambridge with a reconditioned unit. They had a few Alphard there and it worked ok afterwards but I lost my confidence in them when they tried to tell me my tyres were 25 years old and needed replacing along with other stuff!! Fortunately I had videos of the car taken the day it was transferred to them (I had been scammed on tyres in the past)!! Having the work reviewed by my local garage they found my inner wheel arch protectors had gone awol! I will keep you posted as to what is happening and the outcome but any suggestions appreciated. Once / if it gets back into service so I can take it somewhere I will try book it in to an alphard specialist to have a look over it. I think it’s a great car but recently have lost my confidence with it having spent significant money only to be recovered twice!! hope everyone has a safe and happy festive season. j

Thanks all. update. Recovery to garage who after a few days decided it was the battery that had died. They took it on a drive with replacement battery and after 200m the car died and needed recovery. Any further suggestions please? the rac man found the alternator was charging but thought it had a noise that made him turn think it was failing. Garage found alternator ok. Could it be alternator is causing the problem? I also had noted prior to breakdown that when I braked sometimes there was a noise and the brakes would sometimes apply sharply despite me only breaking very lightly. Brake pads had been replaced and had work check by another garage who said all was ok. I wondered if the problem might be associated with the regenerative braking system?? any thoughts gratefully received. Thanks

Any ideas please? I was driving when suddenly engine stopped and all lights came on on dash. Managed to coast to roadside. Head unit screen flashed and lights all died on dash as if power loss. after 20 minutes I put key in and it restarted! the car has had a differential replaced a few months ago new bushes and brakes just a few days ago! have not tried driving again yet as concerned Sam may happen in a dangerous location! any suggestions what might be the problem? Computer control unit??

Sorted 😀thanks

Ok thanks

So that explains why the Toyota listed it as a standard battery and why that’s what it came with!! Thanks so much! Brilliant news. J

Thank you. having done some research I see that for a hybrid with stop start and regenerative braking I may need a different sort compared to the standard wet lead acid EB451 exide that I had? Perhaps that’s why this one hasn’t lasted so long? They mention EFB and AGM batteries. Thank you for the link I will check it out. J

Thanks that is most helpful and much appreciated. J

Hello my starter battery has failed! It currently has an exide excell EB451 45A 12v one but when I look to get a replacement on line I keep being told it does not fit my vehicle! My car recently had a gear box replaced which left me with serious concerns about the ethics and integrity of the garage that carried out the work!!!!! So I am not sure if this was my original battery. please can someone tell me what the correct battery should be? Thanks

Sorry didn’t think it had sent