Michael Brown

Hello Billy I bought myself a 2007 Alphard Hybrid on 26th August 2022. One hopes to get some mileage in of ones own, before the gremlins appear. I had bought then a 15 year old Alfie, One does not expect to be spending serious money on repair bills. One of the most expensive spare parts is the Hybrid Inverter, costing £5,200. to import one from Japan. At least I should get at least 10 years trouble free motoring out of it. Goes a dream. Last big spend was to have the 2 trailing arm bushes replaced at £555. Older vehicles fast becoming a money pit. I do not regret buying it. I just wish the insurance was not so much. Good luck in your quest

Very good pictures again and your updates on what you are doing. Fingers crossed you will be successful and have Alphie back on the road in no time. Good Luck

Very nice, I like the upholstery colour and the woody effect. Why don';t you go and have a look at it, I doubt it will be for sale for long. Check the tyres. get a quote to insure it and good luck

I bought a Mk2 Estima in 2011 on a W reg , 2000 I think and I drove it home from Hendon and it was clipping a few speed bumps. I got a garge to try and make adjustments to the suspension but unfortunately that did not work too well, the threads on the adjustments were too rusty. Next over a period of time I managed to buy the right ones from motor factors in Chichester and when I had everything I needed, Colin Campbell my local mechanic fitted it all on and it rode much better, with the right ones.

At long last I have had my Trailing Arm bushes replaced. After getting quotes from Listers Toyota in Stratford Upon Avon for £850. They then upped it to close on £1,400. So I got Colin at CMC Motors in Sidlesham to do it. £555.. He said it was a pig to do

There is nothing wrong with that. I pay just over £3,000. with Aviva. last year it was £4,200 with Aviva. Having 2 Estima's written off and the insurance did not want to repair them did not help

I would not worry about that. First registered in Japan in 2008, came into this country in 2023, where it will need an MOT etc Welcome to the club

I am quite a tall chap and would like to be able to slide the 2 front seats back about 2 inches ? can it be done

I have it in mind to fit a mini digital receiver/radio on dash somewhere. A digital aerial on the windscreen. The digital signal will come in and the idea isit will be picked up and transfered to the FM in the Alphard. Then you can have the best of both. I have bought everything I need, Just not gotten round to fitting it up yet. The system worked on an old Estima I used to have. I must get round to it. I miss Radio 4. Radio 2 I am getting used to

The Inverter vertually runs the Alphard, get it checked over by a specialist

Check coolant levels in radiator, top it up till you cannot get anymore in. Then you should be getting heat out of the vents

There is no consession for Hybrid owners, we pay the £325. too

I have had a similiar problem. I thought a fuse had gone and they are a devil to get to behind the glove box. Someone suggested checkng the radiator fluids, so I did and put in a litre and a half. Heater started working. I now carry radiator coolant to top up should the heater fail again

You are very brave to entertain doing this job, I hope it all works out fine for you. Looking at the gravel drive might have been an idea to lay a tarp on the ground under the vehicle to retain anything falling off. Nice pictures

Silly question, are they easy to fit, without fear of cracking the mirror

No, it's usually a fault in the hybrid system or the inverter, you get warning lights come on and the engine won't start till its fixed

Its also ULEZ compliant

I drive fair distances and often, keeping within the speed limits. The hybrid comes into its own in slow moving traffic as under 10mph most of the driving is on the electric motors, either front or back or both unless the battery bank wants charging up and the engine kicks in to charge up the bank. Its a a stop start engine, that took a bit of getting used too. My Alphard cost me £9,500. in August 2022, the most I had ever spent on a motor and I have always wanted to try a hybrid. So when the Inverter packed up the Alphard was useless and I did not want to have to throw it away and finding Peter Holland on reccommendation was my saviour. I'll bet when Alfie was new they would have given the Battery bank and Inverter a set life and mine ran out when he was 16 years old.Now I would hope to have at least 10 years use, should I keep it that long. My biggest problem is my insurance is crippling me, because I had to write off two Estima's and a claim made against me. Been trouble free since June 2022. I just hope my insurance comes down conciderably next March or I will be thinking of selling Alfie and buying a motor made for the British market and not an import, as that is I am told will get my insurance down. I am getting 36 -38 mpg on a regular basis and most I have had is 40. So I have been happy with that. The Estima only did 32mpg on a good day and that was a 2.4 engine too but not a hybrid. When I drive to southern Scotland the journey is 410 miles. On the Estima on a full tank, I would have to refill at Carlisle, 65 miles short of my journey. But now not only can I make my journey in one hop, I can drive around for a week whilst there and only filling up before return journey. So I am pleased with my hybrid.

Hello Ben Last year my Hybrid Inverter packed up and I had a chap reccommended to me, Peter Holland. Who specialises in car and boat electrics, sort it out for me. Peter could not find and parts to repair the Inverter, but said the Inverter was still made in Japan. For £5,200. inc del and VAT it could be ordered. Well I don't have that kind of money floating about, so I rang my bank and explaining what the money was for, managed to borrow over 3 years. I rang Peter back, having to pay upfront for the new Inverter was told it would be 10 days. 2.5 weeks later it arrived and as he already had Alfie, then fitted it, set it up, road tested it and Peter rang me. Not had a problem with engine since. Things have a limited life, I hopefully will get at least 10 years life out of it. I saw it as an investment in Alfies future

Hello Adrian The Auto light setting will turn on your lights automatically. It has to get pretty dark for that to happen, or they turn on going through a tunnel

Disaster ......... I pulled out the 2 bags it was in and on a quick inspection there are holes in the tent material. So sorry now not available

Hello Brian The photographs I have of the driveaway tent, are locked in an old computer and I cannot remember the password to get into it. The awning tent itself is in a shed outside my backdoor. The padlock is seized up and I am going to have to cut it off. At least if you had a name, you could look it up on the Internet. I see you are up in Scotland and if weather is kind to us I will be driving up to Scotland next Saturday, to a village called Palnakie about 55 miles from Carlisle. I live in West Sussex near Selsey. I will report back later this evening if I find the name

When I used to go camping I had an Estima Aeras, I used a 2.5 - 3.0m square awning /tent I used to fit to the vehicle. It had a built in groundsheet. You could roll up some of the sides. If you wanted to go out for the day you detatched it from the vehicle and zipped it up. Its held up with rods that click together. I used to rotate the middle row of seats. Take out the back 3rd row and I made a wooden bed base and put a mattress on it. sleeping in Estima under a duvet, heaven. I used the tent part to wash, prepare meals and eat in, stopped using it and I will see if I can find the name of it or some pictures, probably in an old computer

Glad I am not the only one having to fork out huge ammounts of money to drive their Alphard. Perhaps we ought to have a £3,000. club. If my premium is'nt reduced significantly next March, Alfie and I will be parting company. I'll be sorry to say good bye. I am already looking for a replacement, but built for UK market. My insurance broker says the insurance will come down a lot if I don't have an import. My insurance this year has been £305. a month, over £3,000. this year

Sorry to see that John, My 04 Estima looked a bit like that in June 2022 and the insurance wrote it off, they said because it was an import it would be too costly to repair. I was insured Fully Comprehensive, but I think they gave me a fair price for it. I bought it off the insurance company and tried to get it repaired. But unfortunately it could not be done because the main body members had been spread outwards. My insuranse is high now at £305. a month and I have been told don't buy an import buy a vehicle made for the British market. So unless my insurance next March is greatly reduced, I will be selling mine reluctantly. I'd be sorry to see it go. Lovely vehicle to drive and so spacious.