Dat Guy

That makes two of us

Hi Pipsyp, First, thanks for taking the time to reply. Second, I won’t take it the wrong way because I don’t believe an Alphard hybrid of this age and km is the best reliability choice either. I decided to go this way because there were fairly notable financial and quality of life perks extended to me if I were to switch to an EV or Hybrid van. I was able to negotiate terms to a point where the van will pay for itself with what I’ve saved in fuel costs and van rental charges (used to rent) within approx 95 working days. The goal is to put the van up for sale at the end of 5 months and to be under 190,000km at that time. It’s a gamble, but I really only had two other choices and I felt they were bigger gambles. Im trying to talk to a Toyota service tech today or tomorrow regarding the parking brake idea. I’ll update on what I hear. Take care man

Yeah, The rules change based on what city you’re in. Different cities have different bylaws. In Ottawa for example, anything warmer than -5, I believe it’s no longer then 5min of idling. If colder than -5, the time changes. The more north you drive, the less you can expect this to be enforced. As a general rule, if you’re outside Ottawa, Toronto, Mtl or Van, and you get a ticket for idling, you’ve upset the bylaw officer and are being taxed for another reason. I wouldn’t be looking to restart the van with it in gear. I’d just be looking to pull up to a house, leave it in the gear it’s in, put on the Ebrake, make delivery, remove Ebrake, drive away. What about this do find to harmful to the hybrid powertrain and why?

To the mechanically inclined that are familiar with this van’s hybrid system; I bought this van for courier work over the next 5 months. During that time I’m going to put roughly 13,000km on the vehicle. It’s a 2004 with 175,000km on it. I’m trying to do whatever I can do, to minimize wear on the hybrid system. With my old van, I usually don’t even pull into peoples yards as the extra walking from the street to the house really add up when delivering 200packages a day (health benefit). I’m thinking doing the same thing with Hybrid, but instead of putting the vehicle into “Park” at every stop, just putting the E-brake on and leaving it in gear. I’m thinking this would be the move as it would prevent shifting from Park to Drive and back to Park again, roughly 200x/day. This would put the wear on the Ebrake system and not the drivetrain. But, given I’m unfamiliar with EVs or hybrids, I want to be certain there isn’t an issue with this idea I’m not considering. Is there anyone reading this that thinks this isn’t a good idea? Please explain why. Thanks

Hey All, I’ve been going through my new-to-me Alphard getting it ready for safety. New pads on the front, shoes on the rear and the rear rotors turned as sourcing rear rotors for this thing in North America is too expensive and timely (at least at any of the prices I’ve seen). Last night I pulled the plugs and there was a bit of build up on the bottom side of strap. Given how the porcelain was tarnished the plug is a few years old. So, I think the oil consumption issues I’ve read about may not be affecting this one to a concerning amount. I’ll pick up the plugs, oil+filter, and trans fluid today. I do have a question regarding the trans and fluid. I saw on another thread that was detailing service info, “Make sure the specifications are for the Toyota T-IV ATF oil.” I just want to be 100% that info I’m reading applies to the hybrid and not other non-hybrid Alphards. Can someone confirm the type, quantity and anything else notable regarding a trans fluid change with this vehicle. Also, I believe there is a very faint sound coming from the accessory drive location at the front of the engine (beginning of bearing failure). My stethoscope is misplaced in the shop somewhere so I haven’t determined the exact location. I believe it could be coming from this tensioner pulley or whatever is just behind the tensioner pulley. I’ve read about HV coolant pump failure being a thing with these vans. Where is that pump on the accessory drive?

Also, the frame # is ATH10-0008699

The parts I need for the Alphard are the; front brake pads (04465-65021) rear parking brake shoe assembly (46590-44010) rear rotor (42431-28091 or 42431-28090) when cross checking the parts numbers to see which North American sold Toyota models used these parts, it seems like the difficulty will be in trying to source the rear rotor/rotors. Any online databases I’ve searched show Toyota only used that part on the Alphard and the Tarago. I called a local Toyota dealer to see if their part database could bring something up, but on their North American system it shows the part number as invalid. So if anyone reading this has any suggestions on how I can source these in a timely manner, let me know please. Cheers

Hey All, My name is Brandon, I’m from Ontario Canada and I just purchased an 04 Alphard Hybrid. The vehicle has 175,000km and is in good physical condition. I did a full diagnostic scan prior to purchase and it came back clean. It was imported to BC two years ago and spent last winter there. This will be its first Ontario winter (this is notable because Ontario salts its roads and BC doesn’t). I’m going to be taking the next bit to go through the vehicle. So far I know it needs front brake pads, rear shoes and drum/rotor for the RR and LR. I’ll be trying to confirm the part numbers for the items listed above by the end of today. I’ll then post the numbers in here. If some of you could look over my part numbers to confirm I’m using the correct ones, I’d appreciate it. If some of you have recommendations of things I should be doing while I have it in the shop, let me know. I’m specifically thinking about maintenance related to the hybrid system. Thanks

So, This happened. Fingers crossed.

Hello again, First, thanks to the community members that took the time to answer my last post. I’ve been a member of numerous car/truck forums, and this, by far has the most polite members. Im thinking about a Alphard purchase. The vehicle is a 2004 Alphard Hybrid in very good condition with 180,000km. What I think I would find helpful would be confirming some info with you all. I’m trying to establish a list of what I believe to be the most common failure associated with this vehicles hybrid system. From there, I’d like get the parts # for said parts, determine which part # (if any) interchange with North American released Toyotas, and determine the cost associated. From what I can tell from my research, the most common hybrid component failures are the; HV inverter w/ converter HV Inverter cooling pump Rear transaxle motor assembly HV battery assembly If anyone reading this thinks there’s something that I should add to the list, please let me know. Also, I found a site that I think is common with this communities members. I’m having trouble trying to determine which numbers listed are the actual part numbers. Here’s a link to the page listing the inverter. I would’ve thought the part number associated with this would have been G9200-58010, but I don’t think it is. Can someone recommend a better site I should be using part searching for this vehicle, or, confirm this is the right #. https://www.megazip.net/zapchasti-dlya-avtomobilej/toyota/alphard-vellfire-42427/ath10-53759/ath10w-prxgb-901780/hv-inverter-17647249#) Cheers

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Hello, I’m writing from Ontario Canada and I’m hoping to get some opinions from this communities members on a purchase I’m considering. Over the next 16months (approx), I will be working as a courier delivering for an Amazon affiliated company. There has been incentives extended to me if I were to purchase an environmentally friendly vehicle. What this means, is if I show up with an EV or hybrid van, I will get a priority route selection (my own route). This could mean as much as 500/700km less driving/week, 15hrs less/week, while being paid about the same amount per day as I’m currently receiving. It’s a big deal. Regardless of this van and it’s potential purchase, I’m having to put a winter vehicle on the road this winter. To get anything remotely reliable, and pass a vehicle inspection, you will need to spend 3.5-4K on a vehicle in Canada. I have found a 2004 Toyota Alphard Hybrid for a listed sale price of 8.5k. It has 178,000km. I’ve crawled underneath it, and it’s as clean as you could expect from a van of this age and km’s. No dash lites and drives great. I feel I might be able to negotiate approx 1000$ off his posted sales price… purchasing for 7.5k. This means that for only spending 3-3.5k extra on a vehicle purchase, I could significantly improve my quality of life. Over the next 16month, I would drive approx 50–60k km’s. This would put the van at 240,000km near the end of my time. I should also mention that I would be selecting a route that would be in a town… meaning that it would be mostly stop-and-go, in city driving with very little time spent with vehicle exceeding 50km/hr. So, the bulk use/wear would be placed on the electric system (I’m under the impression that this vans hybrid uses the electric motor at low speeds and the gas at hwy speeds). To me, this seems like a decision I should move forward with. But, I’m not really in a position to get burned with a silly purchase. I thought I’d run this by members of this forum who are more familiar with this van reliability and get your opinion. Is there something I’m overlooking. I have some understanding of the costs and hassles in the event if it’s hybrid system breaking, but even if this were to happen, it still seems like this purchase would be not be irresponsible. What do you all think?