MarkATH10W

Weather currently just below freezing with a few days down to -10c, generally damp. oil is 5w30 vavoline restore and protect. I have the ability to recondition my battery, so ill do that tonight. Adequate spark is what I am going after... plugs and coil. Thank you for everyones thoughts.

Update on 2) Startup in the morning didn't seem to get better or worse. I took my time to clean the MAF without damaging it, but the alcholic solution may have had additives which affects performance. As a last ditch effort, I may get official MAF sensor cleaner. and then decide if its worth a shot to replace the MAF sensor itself. Or could it be something else, such as spark plugs? A more general question: why would my MAF function differently when my engine is cold?

Hi. I previously owned the 2.4 4 cylinder hybrid as per my profile. I am asking for help for my 3.0 V6.

Update on 1) . tried to start car at work. It started, but my cleaning has seemingly made it worse, too additional time with ignition in on position for car to start. 2) Ill see how it works out tommorow morning. I will be ordering a MAF sensor if it is worse than before. Hopefully that is the root cause.

Cleaned by dunking MAF in cup with 70%+ alcohol for a while, swirling it. I resorted to compressed air and wipes to get gunk off exposed resin bulb. What I observed: pre cleaning: resin/glass bulb was covered in black coating/dust on one side (no i do not use a rechargable air filter). I did not inspect the 2 filiments inside the wind baffles. post cleaning: bulb is dark amber, but appears totally clean. I cant remember original colour of the resin bulb. 2 filiments protected by wind baffles appeared to be clean and in good shape. 1) Excited to see if I wrecked the thing and am unable to drive home from work 2) Excited to see if I fixed it tommorow morning on a totally cold engine. Thank you for all of your continued support.

half way thru a full tank of premium fuel.

Vehicle is the V6 unfortunately. plugs are hard to reach according to my mechanic.

I will inspect and try that next. I am hoping it is easily accessible. Can you tell me the theory behind MAF sensor's impact on a car starting? Thank you.

No effect. SO I guess that means its less likely to do with fuel delivery? (fuel filter, pump, can i rule out injectors?)

Thank you for the response Neville, I will try and report back.

Hi All. I noticed that when temperatures are approaching freezing and when the engine is cold such as having been off overnight it consistantly results in a hard start / longer start process: It always starts and no issues after starting. It requires key turn to ignition position for up to 3 seconds longer than would be expected from an instant start. It cranks strong and likely not related to battery issue? water remover and fuel injector cleaner added to fuel without improving the issue. this is a new issue this winter, no issue last winter. Anyone experience this issue and has resolved it? Cheers, Mark

From across the pond: I've had no issues with running regular fuel long term; engine adjusts fine. Engine idles smooth. less power and fuel economy. Whats happening in the UK? why are there fuel shortages?

I am from across the pond, and this is rather bizzare. In some of the states that see harsh winter conditions (cold winters, hot summers, road salt) the cracking of bushings is universal and according to toyota specific mechanics here, it is not near end of service life.

Hi All. Sensors: I can't get used to my parking sensors. They seem to only register an obstacle when I am already very close to it, therefore it is not really useful. Maybe around 2 feet of it. In my previous JDM van, an 1994 Estima with Gen 1 parking sensors, they were calibrated very well. And I could basically drive and park with a 6th sense. They also had a dedicated rear sensor, not just at the corners. Backup Camera: I only wish that it was tilted up a bit more to capture what was directly behind me. the ETC warning also blocks out the top 1/5 of the screen. What do you guys think?

1) I decided to not change the filter even though i had 2 spares; It is a low pressure pickup filter (at the pan) and very coarse. Based on peoples documenting their findings of filter media, it is typically not dirty at all. The amount of labor and risk to scrape off old gasket maker (holds in the gasket) reinstall a pan is not worth it. 2) regarding the drain and fill: On my 4speed automatic transmission, there are 2 drain locations, one at the pan, and one on the round transmission housing. I believe this allows us to drain almost 100% in a drain and fill, unlike our USDM models where there is only 1 drain at the pan and will rid about 50% of total volume. 3) consider getting synthetic fluid if the 5 speed calls for non-synthetic, i think thats biggest gain. Hope the information above is useful for you choose this route.

Tge one from deflectors.eu is fibreglass, therefore black is likely the only option. Here are some acrylic/plexiglass ones which come in clear and shaded: https://eng.deflektor.ru/catalog/Toyota/Alphard/2010010103002/

Hi all. While working on my vehicle, I noticed that there appear to be 2 drain plugs: 1) drain bolt on the transmission oil pan 2) drain bolt on the very bottom of the transmission housing If I am right about the 2 drain locations; this would mean we could potentaillly get most if not all of the transmission oil out in a drain and fill procedure rather than the normal 30-50% and without using a flush, or anything else more invasive. Has anyone drained from the transmission housing? Or have I mis-identified something? Cheers, Mark

Cardinal Automotive Repair Shop in Calgary SE is parting out my 2004 Alphard Hybrid. I believe the rear entertainment system remote was left in there, give them a call or drop by.

for my MNH15W Front brakes are shared across MANY toyota vehicles of the same vintage. rear brakes are not; only shared with toyota sienna (north american mini van). Use this resource to match your vehicle and find your exact part number; u can likely buy it locally. https://jp-carparts.com/toyota/cartypelist.php?maker=toyota&type=713120

This is a very common engine, at least in north america, it is found on: highlanders, camry, sienna. Look up the part number and you should be able to find it locally: use this resource, match your VIN number on the plate inside your engine bay and you will get an exact match of part: https://jp-carparts.com/toyota/carlist.php?maker=toyota

Heads up. Toyota switched to low tension piston rings sometime in the mid-late 00s to improve fuel economy but lead to much worse reliability, especially with extended oil change intervals. THe way to mitigate this change is using shorter oil change intervals; use that cheap full synthetic as well. more on it here:

Update: I completed the rear differential gear oil. I like the tested viscosity values for option 2 and option 4 and that they are fully synthetic. I chose option 4 for the following reasons: 1) effectively the same price as option 2, 2) comes in a squeeze pack. 3) the advertised 80W90 is closest to toyota's hypoid 85W90 gear oil 4) is considered the more premium product 5) has LSD aditive, just in case my vehicle has the LSD option. Drain and fill plugs are loosened using 10mm hex. The procedure was a breeze due to lots of clearance to work with in conjunction with the squeeze pack. Front transfer case is next... about 0.4-0.5L of fluid needed. large 23-24mm bolt? (I don't have this size) to perform the service. Less clearance to fill so I will likely need to add a tube to the squeeze pack if I don't want to do a messy job.

Across the pond: I stick to synthetic but not exotic brands. cheap and lab tests show that they are better than non-synthetic. Supertech - Walmart brand synthetic Kirkland - costco.

AMSOIL online store is quite good in terms of pricing within North America, I will be using AMSOIL moving forward with this branded oil: AMSOIL Signature Series Multi-Vehicle 100% Synthetic - viscosity of 7.5 @100c less viscosity variation, better pour point (performance) at freezing. AMSOIL OE Multi-Vehicle 100% Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid - viscosity of 7.5 @100c 25% cheaper than Signature series

I did more research. Generic Translated Alphard manual page 256 states that Torsen LSD is a grade option. The optinal LSD is manufactored by "ZEXEL TORSEN INK". While unlikely, I will need to ensure that I do not have an LSD, otherwise use gear oil option 4 which states its compatible with every use case but supports LSD. @Picasso Can you please tell me if my vehicle has LSD from the following information? Otherwise Can I look by looking at the differential itself?