smurf

Currently £345 per year. Going up by RPI in April, so no risk of it doubling. Probably around £360 from April onwards.

The only MOT requirement for a speedo is that it must be working. There is no requirement for the tester to do a road test to confirm this. If it is obviously non functioning then it is a fail. If they do have to drive the vehicle to do a brake test then they must check the speedo actually works. The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 basically require that a car first used after 1984 must have a speedo capable of indicating the speed in mph and kph. So, a speedo only capable of indicating in mph isn't legal for use on the road but that is an issue for the police to deal with, not an MOT tester. Odometers can record in km or miles. It doesn't matter, but it will be recorded as it is displayed on your MOT certificate.

Mine is 2 metres including roof bars on the top of the pop top. It is all going to depend on the installation really. I've easily cleared 2.1M height barriers, but I normally do it cautiously at the first attempt for the reasons Roger gives.

Do you mean the little motor that release the lock and does the soft closing? It is nothing special or Toyota specific. Search eBay for Alphard soft close motor and you will find lots of them. This one is pricey but has some good pictures. There are further auctions linked to it that are cheaper. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166640472616?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=JEKqaJlcTCG&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ql8_keC9RJe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I tried Dr Prius and I can't get it to work either. There is something about the pre-facelift Alphard hybrid that seems to be different.

My hybrid is the same amount as a V6 - £345 at today's prices.

I can get car scanner to connect using the K line protocol on my 2003 Hybrid, but the data available is a very limited list of standard OBD information. Revs, coolant temp, throttle position, IAT, MAF, fuel trim and O2, off the top of my head. Torque pro seems much more customisable, but as yet I haven't struck it lucky by finding custom PIDs to get at what I really want - live hybrid data. I've tried different versions from similar vintage Prius and Lexus RH400 models with nothing working so far. My googling suggests nobody else has had any luck using anything other than techstream on the early hybrid.

I'm fairly certain that it is as easy as putting the new numbers of seats in the relevant box on your V5 and sending it in for updating.

Presumably you mean for the stereo? Is so, there are converter boxes that take the signal from the switches and convert it to what the stereo needs. You would have to find one that works with your vehicle and your stereo, but it is normally straight forward enough to find one that is compatible.

As the most converters looking to save pennies tend to use the same cheap round rocker switch, you can replace it directly with one that has the built in light. No need for extra wires as the light is powered by the circuit running through it. Here is just one example...https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251361499016?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=YRTmJau9QrW&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ql8_keC9RJe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY The proper switches look neater, but you can get it MOT compliant for a couple of pounds if that is all you want.

The only way to know for certain what is going on is to use techstream and get some live data. Did it have this problem before you replaced the O2 sensors? Did you buy quality branded O2 sensors from a reputable supplier (not ridiculously cheap but apparently branded items from eBay)?

Is the AH10 2.4 a CVT? CVTs don't naturally creep. It is torque converter automatics that creep on tick over. I know on the hybrid with eCVT that creep has been artificially added to make it creep when in drive. I'd imagine they did the same on the non hybrid for same reason of giving it the traditional auto driving experience.

Flickering dash lights suggests a problem with the 12V system. Obviously you have a 12V battery, but there is no alternator in the traditional sense on the hybrid. The battery is charged, and the 12V system is powered, by a DC to DC converter from the hybrid battery. Unlike a traditional 12V setup from an alternator, this means the 12V system has a constant voltage with the ignition on. If it is anything like mine, this will be 13.9V at all times. The best way to be able to see what is going on is with techstream. If you can put a windows virtual machine on your Mac you can then put techstream on it. Failing that, an old laptop will run techstream easily. You will also need an mvci cable to interface between the laptop and the car.

I've heard a couple of anecdotal stories about a Cambridge based hybrid specialist, and they wouldn't be on my list of prospective garages if I had a hybrid fault. Don't know if it is the same people, but there can't be too many hybrid specialists around there. Options are limited, as you have no doubt already discovered. I'd be going with the best expertise available rather than local garages willing to have a go at your expense. You might find your breakdown cover will transport the car to a location of your choice. If you are on Facebook you could try asking on this group if there is anyone nearer to you that could help https://facebook.com/groups/584860908755825/

When you say it had a differential changed, do you know exactly what was changed? The gearbox is quite a complex and unusual piece of equipment, and I'm surprised you found a garage willing to replace a component of it. You need to take it to a hybrid specialist who understands Alphards and has the correct diagnostic equipment or you will waste more time and money with garages taking a guess after two days, or RAC mechanics that think the car has a dodgy 12V alternator (it doesn't have a 12V alternator). There is a hybrid specialist in the Exeter that travels https://www.hybridrepairservice.co.uk/ Another alternative is this guy in Wigan that seems well regarded. You would have to get the car trailered up there though. https://www.facebook.com/Vjkomix

I own a gen 1 hybrid, which I am happy with, but from an engineering standpoint the gen 2 hybrid is the better of the two, and not just because they are newer. As you were looking at a gen 2 I just wanted to highlight they are different and if you go googling you will no doubt find horror stories than aren't applicable to the gen 2.

The gen 1 and gen 2 hybrids are completely different beasts, so do bear that in mind when researching whether to buy one or not. Some simplistic differences are the gen 1 uses the original Toyota Hybrid System, gen 2 uses Hybrid Synergy Drive. Gen 2 has a more powerful engine, is more economical, and can go faster on just electric drive. The gen 1 has a CVT gearbox with a belt drive, but the gen 2 has a CVT like gearbox with epycyclic gears. Both types contain a motor/generator within the gearbox so they are not interchangeable with non hybrid gearboxes.

You will quickly drain a battery with a heater. For example, if we assume it was possible to extract all the energy out of a 100ah battery, it only holds 1.2kWh of energy. It isn't actually possible to totally drain a lead acid battery of all its energy without turning it into a door stop, so it would be far less than this. You might be lucky to get half of that it you don't want to wreck your battery.

I'd be careful buying items like spark plugs from eBay. Counterfeit parts are rife. Buy them from a reputable place.

I think this was ET's latest attempt to phone home. Open the box and take a photo and we can stop the guess work 😀.

Details here of how I did it.... https://uk.alphardclub.com/forums/topic/7919-awning-rail/#comment-28307

Some modern cars, and I know VAG cars need this, have to have information from the battery programmed into the ECU when the battery is changed. I haven't heard that a 2010 Toyota would need this. If you have a working alternator (which it sounds like you do), no significant parasitic drain and your battery volts is dropping below 12V after a couple days, then your battery is on it last legs. A bit of cold weather might just kill it off. I'd just replace it with whatever the recommended replacement battery is. You could buy an increased capacity battery if you like, but there is no need if you have no actual use for the increased capacity, such as leaving it for long periods unused.

It is indicating fault with something related to the hybrid system. It could be simple, it could be expensive. You need the codes read to find out what exactly.

You may have one already, or might not wish to confirm or deny it on a public forum, but it may be worth looking into the discounts available for having a tracker installed.

As it has now got me really interested, I thought I probably know exactly where that is. 5 minutes later and I have my hands on it. My rock and roll bed is on rails so I can move it forward out of the way, but this really is the easiest job in the world to swap out.