smurf

The light comes on at a specific tank level, so how far you can drive depends on fuel consumption. When the light comes on go and full the tank. The difference between how much fuel it took to fill and the maximum capacity of the tank will then allow you to work backwards to calculate how far you could drive after the light has come on.

Ethanol is used as an octane booster and high ethanol content fuels (such as E85) are deliberately used in high compression engines such as race cars. I can't say I have heard of any detrimental affects to engines from the combustion of the relatively low amount of ethanol found in pump fuel.

As all Alphards are automatics, they shouldn't be towed with the driven wheels on the floor, so at the very least they should be on a dolly if 2WD. A short tow out of some mud won't be a problem, but being pulled on the road is.

I'm sure I read somewhere about needing some extra jiggery pokery to get an aftermarket headunit to work with the OEM microphone. From what I read it was worth the effort as the OEM microphone system is high quality. I might be talking rubbish though as I've read a lot recently. As regards the radio signal, is there an aerial amplifier hidden somewhere that needs a signal from the headunit to turn on? I have seen this situation on other cars with aerial amplifiers, and there is normally a blue wire in the harness for turning on amps.

103Nm was just written within the text for the wheel nuts. The wheel nuts aren't shown on those diagrams. I think what you are looking at are the fixings that hold the hubs on. The wheel nuts would have been shown to the outside of the discs if they were on the exploded diagram. Different torque settings between front and rear for the same fixings would be very peculiar if it were so.

PM your email address and I'll see what I can do 😉

103 Nm is about 75 ft/lbs, so isn't a million miles away.

I have a copy of this that I bought from the same website. The price seems to vary daily, and I think I paid about £11. It is about 150mb in size. It is rammed full of information and the wiring diagrams appear to be the original Toyota diagrams but annotated in English rather than Japanese.

Multiply litres by 0.22 to get imperial gallons, and divide the miles by that. 60 litres is 13.2 gallons, so you got about 21 mpg.

Wheel nuts on gen 1 are 103Nm The images below are taken from the translated Russian manual for the gen 1. Where it says "Hm" it should be read as Nm. Front Rear

You are probably right as regards shall, but it definitely doesn't say must. I remember some years ago there being lots of discussions on car forums as to whether a car being towed on a car dolly trailer was classed as part of the trailer, and therefore not needing to meet the legal requirements required for a car on the road, or if indeed it was still classed as a car moving on the highway. The official advice from the whatever the relevant government agency was at that time was something along the lines of we don't know because the law as it stood would need clarifying in court. This was probably because the law hadn't been written to be specific in that scenario, like lots of our laws, and only ends up becoming specific and definitive due to case law. This towing issue may be a similar one because the law is grey and untested, and government advise can only be just that. I can't say that I actually plan to make any great use of the fitted tow bar and will likely use it as you suggest, which is just as a mounting point to carry extra gear, and I agree that it therefore wouldn't be classed as towing anything.

The policy is completely silent on the matter of towing, which is in my favour as the law on whether it is legal to tow with an Alphard ( or any or motor car without a gross train weight specified) is also grey. Guidance on the .gov website does not say you "shall not" tow with a vehicle without a gross train weight on the VIN plate, it says you "should not". Shall is an absolute requirement and should is a choice. I can find nothing in the actual construction and use regulations that explicitly say a PLG vehicle must have a stated gross train weight on a plate, but I would be happy to be shown otherwise. If a driver decided to be an idiot and tow some ridiculous weight they could fall foul of other laws regarding driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition, but that would be for a court to decide ultimately.

It has a hybrid battery, which is what the dealer is talking about, and it is located under the front seats rather than under the floor. Still a pain to get to to do any repairs. It is made of lots of relatively small and inexpensive cells all connected up to make a large battery. In addition it has the standard sort of 12V battery that a normal non-hybrid car has for powering all the same sort of things that non hybrid cars use 12V for, such as engine management, lights, heating controls, stereo, etc. This is the failed battery that is being talked about in this thread. Leisure batteries are also a 12V battery, but if it hasn't been converted into a camper it won't have a leisure battery. What is it that you are worried about in particular?

If you can prove emissions and get the taxation class changed from PLG to emission based then the tax would be significantly cheaper with CO2/km of 144g. Getting the class changed is the part that might be problematic after it has been registered. The only reason imports tend to pay a flat rate is because the CO2 data isn't available when it is first registered in the UK, so the old pre-2001 tax rates are applied. It isn't anything to do with the fact it is a used car imported from abroad.

Did it work ok previously, or is this a completely new camera or reversing light setup? Is it possible that the camera is getting light directly shining on the lens?

Might be worth contacting the camper conversion companies. They probably throw the seats they remove into a skip as the second hand market for them will be miniscule in the UK.

Progress inside of a month is pretty good for the DVLA 🤣. Does the update of the emission data mean your car tax is now related to CO2 rather than the standard import rate? That would be quite a saving if so. ULEZ compliance would then be the cherry on the cake.

It is interesting that you say that Adrian Flux wouldn't insure you. I've just taken out insurance with them, declared I have a tow bar fitted, and nothing was further was mentioned about it. It may be down to whomever the underwriter is.

Sorry, I haven't the foggiest idea how to do it on an Alphard. It is normally as simple as inserting something under the glass and popping it out.

There will be a plug of some description that directly connects onto the back of the mirror glass to power up the heater element. It is possible that this has dropped off because of the impact.

I'm glad you're back up and running, but I would be concerned about needing to top up your coolant with 2 litres 😳. Coolant generally doesn't require much in the way of top ups if the system is properly sealed, so I'd keep a close eye on that level and if it is noticeably dropping over the next month or so it will need further investigation before you find yourself with a hefty unexpected or avoidable repair.

I have read that the servo motor that operates the flap can stop working, but that putting the temperature up above 28C makes the flap move. Probably worth a go if you haven't tried full heat already.

This is the wiring for the side doors Power slide doors.pdf

Depending on the age of your Alphard, DOT 4 may not have been in existence when it was originally sold. DOT 4 or 5.1 can be used instead of, and even mixed with, DOT 3. I really wouldn't worry about buying Toyota branded brake oil. Just go with any reputable brand. Unlike a lot of the other lubricants/ gear oils in cars there isn't any specific manufacturer requirements for brake fluid so there isn't the same anxiety about an aftermarket product possibly not have the special secret ingredient. One thing to definitely not do is use DOT 5. It is silicone based rather than mineral as DOT 3,4 and 5.1 are.

@Jeza did you ever hear anything back from the DVLA?