pipsyp

This is very true. That said as long as it is 5w 30 fully synth and the Alphard already has that installled, for the sake of a top up it's incredibly unlikely to cause any harm. TBF in the case of an AH10, most if not all oils you'll pick from the shelf will exceed the specs required....newer Alphards/Vellfires definitely something to bear in mind 👍

Probably won't work on an aftermarket head unit unfortunately.

5w 30 is 5w 30 really, shouldn't be an issue at all Dave, though making the assumption it has 5w 30 in it already.

Very nice indeed! Like the colour!

Depends somewhat on whether it's a V6, 2.4 or hybrid to be honest. I have a 2.4 and it does appear that the reserve on them is pretty massive. When run until the light comes on, I'm pretty sure there is still between 12 and 14l of fuel left in it....certainly good for a good many miles (50/60 at a push). As others have said though age of these vehicles and the garbage that's probably in the bottom of the tanks, regardless of fuel filters etc it's probably best (whilst not really a problem to run until the fuel light is on as there's plenty left) not to run it on vapours.

I have an AH10 and I found wiper replacements a bit of a challenge too. The blades on mine were ancient and I didn't like the original frame (super twin style) wipers so wanted to replace with aero ones. Also my driver's blade was skipping and not clearing the screen properly so just figured they'd seen better days. I bought Bosch retrofit ones, think 26 and 16 front and also an OE matching type for the rear but found the 26 inch one skipped badly too. I therefore ended up getting a 24 and that is fine...naturally misses c. 1 inch of screen top and bottom but not that you'd ever notice. I have however had a brand new Toyota screen fitted since so am curious if the 26 will now wipe properly. I might give it a go at some point and feed back.

Challenge is what's good in Japan and what's good here (given the relative climate differences) it's hard to say. 5w30 is just a bit heavier weight and you'll likely trade the tiniest bit of fuel economy for better high temp protection (I imagine a heavier weight oil probably lubricates better when cold too). What is important is to try to not mix grades, as they don't mix well together. So if it already has 0w20, use 0w20 to top up etc. Also if you put the Alphard (2az 2.4 engine at least) into Opie Oils every option that comes back is 5w30. Certainly it won't do any harm and again might offer a bit better protection for our climate for a slight trade off in MPG.

No worries Bri, insurance on these isn't ideal....you'd think it'd be a bit less of an issue nowadays considering how prevalent they are becoming in the UK!

Depends if it's a camper conversion or still a regular minivan. If converted it's harder still TBH. These vehicles are rather in an unfortunate category, as even with minimal damage they can prove expensive to repair (as parts aren't cheap anyway and typically would need to be sourced from Japan).....also many repairers would probably refuse to work on an Alphard so from a write off standpoint they are considered high risk (I.e a minor prang will likely result in the insurer just wanting to write off and pay out the insurance valuation). Mines with JustKampers at the moment, they've been very good so far but again not what I'd consider cheap.

It's probably axle tramp, most of these things don't have traction/stability control so you push 220hp through the front end of something like an Alphard harshly, it's somewhat to be expected.

0w 20 or 5w 30 fully synthetic. Depends rather what is in it already. In Japan 0w 20 I believe was preferred and tended to be what was used but 5w 30 works fine over here (is what was put in mine at it's last service).

You might do already chap, but if not definitely give 99ron a go. Found my 2.4 drives quite a bit better on it, top end performance when revved is definitely improved too. Probably all the better on yours now!! 👍

Where you get it done in the end big_boz?

Poor Alphie, that's horrifying 😆

Nah they run fine on E10, no problem at all. You'll find they run a bit better (certainly a bit more perky) on E5, but it's purely a choice thing. They don't need additive really, particularly if you are putting good quality fuel in and have it serviced regularly....being a port injection engine they don't really suffer from coking.

Yeah the soft close is a really nice touch, same on the tailgate if it's powered 👍

No not really, only that they are quite complicated, expensive to repair (relatively speaking) and given these are now quite old vehicles I can understand why they wouldn't warranty them. If they work now chances are they'll continue to work for some time to come so I wouldn't be too concerned. Just check that they open and close OK as of now and that there is no obvious damage to the cables that run under the rear 3/4 glass.....some minor splits/cracks in the plastic sheathing isn't anything to get too worked up about.

......do note however that most Toyota parts are pretty expensive. I had to have a new radiator in mine and from memory the part alone was getting on for 500 quid ex VAT 🤢 General consumables for servicing aren't too bad though!

Mechanically these are heavily based on the Camry, which was available in the UK and Europe so from a parts perspective many are common and can be supplied by a Toyota main dealer or in many cases there are equivalent pattern parts. I had a garage (admittedly run by my best mate) service mine, and they sourced all genuine Toyota parts from a local main dealer for it so it's absolutely not an issue. Mines a 2008 and is literally to the day 16 years old, so I wouldn't take it for routine maintenance at a Toyota dealership anyway (just not worth the extortionate labour rates), but I can understand wanting to take a newer one to one given they become increasingly more complex the newer they are.

The other sensor on the dash for the climate control is a solar sensor......it adjusts the air distribution depending on how the light is shining into the vehicle, I believe to try to eliminate any heat build up that might occur when the vehicle is in direct sunlight. Most Alphards have UV/Solar glass anyway which also helps with this.

Hi Duncan, I'd be keen to replace the fob battery first (assuming you haven't already). The vehicle shouldnt typically just forget it's sync'd keys after a 12v battery issue and seems the logical thing to check first. The process of pairing the remote with the car is a bit painful (as it's alot of steps to remember all at once) but I did this with my smart remote (note not the regular remote key), I also fumbled it a bit and didn't do it exactly to the letter but it still worked. One thing you obviously cannot do is synchronize a new immobiliser chip (for a brand new key) in this manner, you need a dealer level ODB computer or Techstream to do that.

Brilliant vehicles, takes owning one to understand why I think! Enjoy it!

Yeah they are not the easiest things to insure, it's made considerably worse (well the options are far more limited) when converted. I'm with JustKampers at the moment, they've been excellent to date in fairness to them but I'll be due renewal May time I believe and be interesting to see what the premium is.....I'd rather stay with them as shopping around these is no fun but I guess we'll see! Sadly in the OPs scenario, the accident history and medical situation will be playing a big part, making something relatively expensive to insure anyway extremely so.

Sorry Roger, by that I mean it's about 60 lb/ft short of the V6 too, but at 160-something lb/ft it's pretty torquey for a 4 cylinder NA.

About the same