BigNev

You're a good man!!

No worries! Did you need help with the numbers for the rear too? (I don't have myself- yet!) I'm lucky that my local autofactors do have access to the Toyota parts system.

Hi guys! I didn't mange to look at the brakes when I hoped, the family had other ideas 😂 But I did this weekend! Free play, travel, and distance to floor under pressure are all sound. So I did a "lazy bleed" of them - put a tube on the bleed nipple and let it dribble into the jug, keeping a watch on the reservoir and topping it up. I do have a little one way hose device for one man bleeding, but I just did it that leisurely way with a cup of coffee! I let around 200ml through each front caliper. Feels a bit firmer! Also, I checked the free sliding motion of the caliper pins and pistons, very free, as are the pads in the carriers. This can cause lots of loss of brake effect if they're not lubed properly, with the correct grease. Perhaps something to check on @turnerjr to be sure that's not a thing with yours. And I have been trying to look into what part numbers the 328mm discs, calipers and carriers may be........ 🤓

Hi Joel! I have the same model same year - but it is not a guarantee they will be the same - Lee should be able to confirm this. I have only done the front, and I used Apec discs DSK2829, 296mm diameter, Toyota 43512 28190, and Apec pads PAD1580, Toyota 04465 28520, and have found them absolutely sound. They are certainly a heavy piece of kit! From those numbers - but only if Lee confirms the originals for yours are those - you can cross reference to other manufacturers.

Hiya Roger, thanks for those numbers, much appreciated! You've cajoled me into setting myself the aim of getting on it this weekend! I do agree, so much can affect the way brakes feel. I seem to remember a few VW cars I drove felt like they were very "over servo'd" - way too much brake for very little pressure. I always used to change hoses on my motorcycles, but as yet never felt it necessary on any cars, not even the Impreza we had a while ago. Yep, I've only got little legs, but strong, so I do have it far enough back to be away from the steering wheel with bent legs on the pedals. My Mrs and I have the same leg length, so never have the argument about the seat position, but in the Alphard she does have the seat higher than me. 😁

Does that company say how they can improve the braking significantly, without swapping calipers or disc size? Just disc type and pads? Yes, an improvement can be made with a softer pad material, at the expense of longevity and dust. Or a material that works really well when hot, as per track day cars and bikes, which wouldn't any good for the road.

Yes indeed they are, loving ours!

I can say ours had a jolly good testing last week away to Wales, 4 of us, loaded up, including the kitchen sink - my 3 always pack enough for the available space...... A couple of rapid haul ups gave me no thoughts at all about the brakes. Ours has a little more free play at the top of the pedal travel (but it's still not a lot) than than other stuff we've had. It's not a firm, hard feeling, (yes, I know, I need to get my act together and go out and rebleed them!) on the pedal, but with only gentle pressure on the pedal it pulls up no mither. But so what, I still might want to have a tinker with them 😀

Pretty much every car I've ever owned drops faster on the lower half of the fuel gauge, related to the same number of miles on the same full tank, when the gauge read full. Don't know the actual reason why, but had a thought about the shape of the tank at different heights of liquid in it, but I'm pretty sure I'm over thinking that one heehee! I don't suppose that really matters either! Anyway, is it a lot of town stopping and starting? Stockport's a total and utter mare for it, some days I can't go, quite literally, 2 minutes without stopping at a set of lights or junction. Getting going again slurps fuel even if it's gentle, compared to just driving along. Also - what was the price per litre? Round here it can vary 1.23 to 1.34p per litre, for normal 95 E10 unleaded. So on £50 that's 40.65 to 37.3 litres, 3.35 extra litres, or 22 miles at 30mpg! (I dream of that level of economy 🤣)

Hello there! I've been considering this after reading it suggested somewhere! My brakes are absolutely fine, I fitted new discs and pads by Apec shortly after we got it last November, no concerns at all, but I'm still tempted! Do you have any pointers? One note I did make was that the calipers ref "4533" should be the ones, from Lexus range and Toyota RAV 4. Cheers!

Hi there! We have waved to a few fellow Alphard owners, and been greeted in return! Let's start a tradition! Even to other Japanese 7 seater models, why not? Very many moons ago, us Impreza drivers did it, it raised a smile every time!

But then they would be potentially too long to allow the boot to close....

Oh yes! I've shrunk over the years, age is a wonderful thing! Down to 5ft 7½" 😁 I got them from Aliexpress.com complete with the end brackets! Around £30 the pair I think, last December.

Hi Martyn, so I can be sure in my head, your original post states you are not using the lpg, and are using high octane petrol 90% of the time - therfore 10% of the time normal 95 octane, is that correct? Any idea how long the lpg system has been on yours, how many km? Obviously sensors fail eventually. But on our lpg cars I've yet to have one go. 60,000 miles on one Grand Voyager 3.3 (80 to 140k) over 9 years. 42,000 miles on another Voyager, (66 to 108k) over 4 years. A paltry 16,000 on the Subaru Outback 3.0 (158 to 174k) And 24,000 miles, 38,000 kilometres, (not all of that by us this time, it was done by the previous owner) on this Vellfire, just over 3 years. So, if it was my car, I'd consider 2 options at this point. Firstly however - you have checked there is no "un metered" air getting in to the engine, no little air leaks on the air intake system? One - If the cleaner has improved things from where it was, perhaps try another, and when your pour it in make sure you're ready to give it a good drive up a dual carriageway, or motorway, and use the gear selector to keep the revs up, but you don't need to speed! Two - change the Lambda sensors, new ones won't be a negative thing. I don't know what cost they are, but I do know there's a certain fella on here who is mustard (ie very good!) with part numbers! @Picasso

Drat! And very odd! I've got no immediate idea why it would be lean on town driving, and fine on distance!!!!

Hello there! Nope, that's the connecting arm for the motor opener. The length of the gas struts is what determines the maximum lift. I replaced our struts as it wasn't quite reaching fully open position, they were weak, it would go another couple of inches if pushed manually. I've just been out and measured it, and it's just about 5' 10" to the lowest point in the middle of the tailgate. Personally neither of us have never had a problem - lol.

Hi Andrew! You did say changing down makes it better, so with a bit of experimentation, can you establish if the judder is related to revs, speed or load? Change down a couple of gears and load it up to accelerate. If it's revs, it could be a slight misfire under load, plugs, or injectors, or related to the torque converter in the transmission. But plugs misfire should give a pending fault code if you have a code reader. Pending will not set a fault light. If it's speed, then driveline related, possibly as you suggested engine or transmission mounts. Do you have any knocking noises at full steering lock either direction? For drive shaft CV joint failure. If it is driveshafts, can a local autofactors send them off for a rebuild? Now a daft one - is it the same hill, and not others? There is a stretch of motorway near me that has a very odd effect on all my vehicles, a kind of stuttering/bouncing.

"and FROM the lovely people on this forum too" is what it should have read!

We had a Sedona a few years ago! But that was wheelchair converted for my mother in law, and ran high pressures for the lots of extra weight of the ramp. As a side comment, that had the same wheel spec - pcd and offset - as the Chrysler Grand Voyagers we had, and the Vellfire now. That was very handy, as some previous owner of the Sedona had ended up with soft sidewall tyres, so I swapped the wheels over for a spare set off the GV, with proper stiff sidewall / XL tyres. That did make the drive far less "squidgy" and wallows. My opinion is you're a better person for thinking about it, (please don't worry though) than those who only do when it's too late, spotted flat or bald on an MOT! We agree, this is one of the nicest cars we've owned too! The Voyagers were a fantastic family bus, armchair comfort for many many miles of driving, and we we're a little apprehensive when it was time to change. But this is WAY better, REALLY happy with it so far! You're most welcome for any advice that I can help with, and the lovely people on this forum too. I'm pretty jolly new to the Alphard family as well, and this forum has been a great help!

Ditto, as per the book. (And most cars of the era are the same. But by no means all) But - there is also an additional spec for our engines, the ash rating. C3 is very likely the most commonly listed for ours, Low SAPS - Sulphated Ash, Phosphorous, and Sulphur. So that when some oil inevitably gest burned, it doesn't wreck the catalytic converter., and also other stuff that is beyond me!

45 is a bit too high. It really will be fine at the same as the 55 height ratio, I'd guess it's 2.3 or 2.4 kpa (bar). 34 to 36 psi, on the plate. They are not Formula 1 racing machines, a couple of psi are not going to mess up the ride or handling. Nor would it in any car, in honest reality. The pressure should be increased for extra load, most cars I've had give different pressures on the data plate for number of passengers, and then luggage carried. So a small amount of pressure either way is absolutely not going to mess up the car. What did you drive previously? And what did you run the tyres at on that? To put into context your concerns!!

Yep, they will be jolly darn good!

You could simply declare alloy wheels as a "modification". Then it won't stress you out. The size is totally fine and will not upset the car. The last few years doing this hasn't made a penny difference to our premium. Bizarrely, the LPG conversion brought the insurance DOWN on this Vellfire, and our Subaru, strange as owt..........

I will be keeping my fingers crossed for a good result!!