smurf

Have you tired contacting this seller on eBay? From their listings it looks like they have broken a hybrid Alphard. https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/nipponautospares?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=uJUhQDGBSfe&sssrc=3418065&ssuid=ql8_keC9RJe&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

10 miles should be plenty to get some heat into the engine. A compression test is easy, and cheap.

Using for lots of short journeys, or occasionally for longer trips? The reason lots short trips can cause it in winter is water vapour condenses in the breather pipes when they are cold and doesn't get evaporated again by the heat from the engine, then it builds up and emulsifiers with the oil vapours. Excessive oil vapours will also accelerate this mayo building up. That is why the engine needs testing to be sure.

Mayo in breather pipes can be caused by lots of short journeys in the colder months. Does this sound like your journeys? I'd suggest a compression or blow by test be done before condemning the engine.

The cables seem to be a bit of minefield with no guaranteed way of getting a "good" one. Price seems to be no guarantee of sucess. I bought one from Amazon and tried it on two different computers, one in a virtual machine and one directly on Windows Vista, and on both it had an update time of 11 seconds and kept dropping comms when getting data. That one is going back to Amazon and I've ordered a V2.0.4 lead from AliExpress to see if that is any better. In terms of getting a copy of techstream that isn't rammed full of malware, this is the best method of getting a virtual machine with techstream inside it. https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/how-to-techstream-in-5-minutes.1034923/

Sounds like the inverter is overheating, but without some diagnostic information being taken from the car it is impossible to say for sure. If the inverter is overheating the possible culprit is the inverter coolant pump.

That must be a different manual to what I bought. There is several hundred pages of information on absolutely everything, and all the wiring diagrams in English.

I've sent you a PM about it

Is the info just a few posts above any help to you? Sounds like it could be the same situation that might have a similar solution.

This should help https://uk.alphardclub.com/forums/topic/2866-video-link-heater-flap-solenoid-motor-replacement/

Are you saying that you get no heat out of the vents unless you put the temp above 28? If so, that sounda like a problem with your flap actuator not operating correctly and not a coolant issue.

Has there a benefit to doing this such as becoming ULEZ compliant or getting road tax based upon CO2 emissions? I have a 2003 and whilst not being ULEZ compliant isn't the end of the world, nor paying a little over the odds for tax, it would be nice to able to gain a little of something for not much effort.

It is possible that it will go that way in London, but then in Manchester they have gone in the opposite direction and found that restrictions aren't necessary as improvements in air quality are happening anyway as older vehicles are replaced at the end of their life, especially buses and lorries.

ULEZ is more about emissions that directly affect human health, such as Nox and particulates. CO2 from a car exhaust into the open air isn't an issue for human health.

@FrenchDJ Hi David. How have you gone about translating the wiring diagrams? Could it be something that could be done piecemeal by various people to speed it the task?

Just sounds like any old Vellfire to me 😉

What does say the model is on the V5? If it is vague, then use that to your advantage. If it says 2.4Z and you insure it as a different model it could come back to bite you.

So they have changed their advice from "not permitted to tow" to "recommend that you do not tow". They clearly haven't a clue what the answer is, which is hardly a surprise because the law isn't clear and they aren't in a position to create a clear definition without some case law. They are not right about the VIN plate as well, as SR Tech issue new plates all the time to show the changed weights that they have done the calculations for. Frankly, I'd trust SV tech over the DVSA. It is just a shame SV Tech aren't able to help.

That statement makes no sense. It says you can't tow without a stated train weight, but then says you can tow but the combined weight of the trailer and load can't exceed the stated gross weight of the vehicle. They need to make up their mind 🙄

One extra thing, it is worth googling to see if there is a throttle position learning function for any Toyota that comes with your engine. It can sometimes fix these sort of problems and is often simple to do.

I'm guessing based upon my general knowledge, but that error sounds like it knows what throttle position it is trying to achieve, but it either a: isn't happening or b: the position feedback for the throttle position (if it has such a thing) is defective. I'd be looking at the throttle stepper motor and throttle position sensors. I'd also guess that diagnostic software like techstream would be able to do a test function of both and it should be obvious whether the stepper motor is driving correctly.

Googling that fault code shows that on the Prius it is associated with the service plug on the battery or an interlock switch on the HV inverter cover.

Without SWG connected in some way it just isn't going to work. It needs it to measure the resistance and determine which button has been pressed.

So long as the 5w30 oil for the Merc meets one of the specifications show in the manual above then it would be fine. Oils, and engine design and emission control, have moved on quite a bit in the last 35 years. The weight of the oil is only one measure of the properties of that oil so I'm afraid that one 5w30 oil could be very different to another because of the additive mix, and whether it is mineral, semi-synthetic or fully synthetic. There is a specified standard that the oil needs to meet and this is what should compared in addition to the weight of the oil. The days of garages having a drum of oil that can be used to service every car that crosses the threshold ended a long time ago for very good reasons, and those reasons apply at home as well.

From what I have read, I would be very surprised if the stereo has any part to play in charging the HV battery. The hybrid system has its own ECU, which does connect to the headunit as it shows hybrid system info. I'd imagine anything they want to do could, and probably should, be done with techstream. Techstream will show a lot more information than the head unit ever will. Toyota did make dealer equipment for charging a flat HV battery which is easily repricated these days with cheap constant current LED drivers.