Jimmympv

you can get replacements pretty cheap on AliExpress. I got a set of sequential ones for about £20. Get hold of a plastic pry tool, you need to tilt the glass down and pry it off, if you have the heated mirrors be careful as they will be wired in so don’t want to break them. There are a few clips holding the casing on, pop them out and run the pry tool along the opening to pop it off. there should be two screws holding the light in place. You can just unplug it and plug the new one straight in. I guess you could also pop the working one you have in to see if that works on the other side.

Went in for part two today. Stereo control buttons don’t light up. As suspected previous owner had soldered them off Top original Bottom donor board. so I took everything apart and replaced the old with the new but I still don’t have any lights on the buttons so not really sure where to go from here. Unless it’s too bright outside for me to see them. Top lights on Middle close up of temp control lights on Bottom close up of stereo control lights on Took another look at my shift indicator lights whilst I was in there and I think they are 100% after market. They are pretty blinding at night.

I’ve had this panel out too many times this week. Easiest way I found was to pop the little lid up then pull from the bottom. Then use pry tool working all the way up. I disconnected mine as it was too bright for me at night. I wonder if mine was changed because there’s no bulb in there just LED soldered to a board so buggered if they go. The heater controls had been changed to white, unfortunately they did a shoddy solder job and the A/C indicator light was broken so had to source a donor and have it back to stock green now. I have to swap out the board for the stereo buttons as well as they don’t light up at all. Whilst I was in there I also found this little light taped up. It’s orange same as the footwell and glove box lights. Does anyone have any idea where this light was supposed to go?

They sure can.

Sorry it's a month late but I'll also chime in for some more perspective. Vellfire or Alphard? I think this is really a personal preference. They share the same platform and engines etc. they are just marketed at different customer bases. Alphard is marketed as the premium family focused car with a more conservative appearance. Vellfire is the sportier version aimed at the younger crowd with a different front grille, headlights and clear rear lights. Interiors are pretty much identical, there are some colour combos that are exclusive to each but you mostly see black or beige interiors with various red, brown or grey wood accents. Based on my Elgrand spec, which versions should I refine my searches to? Based on your Elgrand spec I think you would be looking for at least a "G" package or above. The trim levels, at least for the 2012 (the year I got so where most of my knowledge lies) went "X" "S" "G" "S C Package" "G L Package" You can also find the "Royal Lounge" but honestly unless you only use it to chauffeur around two rear passengers it's not worth looking at. The standard "G" package has higher grade upholstery, leather seats as an option with either 7 or 8 seats. Dual power sliding doors, power front seats and rear climate control. Sunroof, power tailgate and upgraded audio were all optional extras. A lot of the features you list for your Elgrand can be had on the higher spec Alphard/Vellfires but there were so many options for all the trim levels and sometimes the trim levels aren't listed in the adverts so you have to look through the pictures to try and spot the features you are after. In any case the front sunroof only pops up the rear moonroof opens completely. If you want rear facing middle row seats you will be limited to the pre 2008 10 series as they were removed for the 20 series onwards. Cruise control is pretty much standard across the board. You can get Radar cruise and Lane Keep Assist on some of the higher specs. I absolutely love the radar cruise on the motorway. Blinds/Curtains aren't fitted on the 20 series as standard, you can buy third party alternatives though. 360 cameras are also available but again will be a tough find and usually found on higher priced models. What models/years/configs to avoid? Here's a link to the catalogue showing all the various options https://www.toyota.co.jp/jpn/company/history/75years/vehicle_lineage/catalog/60000926/html5.html#page=1 Is hybrid available on older Vellfires? The Hybrid was introduced to the Vellfire in 2011. Are they all ulez compliant, regardless of being hybrid or not? You should check the number plates on the gov website, but everyone I checked is regardless of engine. Somewhat of a loophole in the system, probably the same reason that we only pay £345 tax when a UK car of similar age and spec engine would likely have been over £700. Is the indicator stalk on the left? It's on the right in my Elgrand, they can be swapped if you are suitably skilled/confident (I am neither of these ) It is on the right, I think they can be swapped but I've never looked in to it as I actually prefer the stalk on the right. Are the buttons and any on screen menus in English? Elgrand buttons have some in English and some in Japanese! The on screen menus can be changed on newer models with a magic box from some guys in Russia. Unfortunately, mine is too old for this. This is a tricky one, as there are lots of different model headunits out there. I know that my 2012 has an option for some English on screen (still a lot of Kanji regardless.) The model number on the front of mine is 56107. Older models don't have this option. Apparently the only way to get English is from a non JDM import but I have honestly never seen a non JDM for sale in the UK. Do the radio's support Apple CarPlay? Nope, they are pretty antiquated but keep in mind these are now pushing 17+ years old. I actually read a write up recently about ICE in Japan and it seems very common for even modern JDM cars to have pretty basic features on the headunit. You can get a massive amount of different types of replacements though. Mostly Android units that have CarPlay and Android Auto. You can even get a Tesla style tablet to replace the centre dash. It can be a pain though if you intend to keep things working like the 360 cameras and video to the rear TV screen. I have stuck with the original unit as I like the G-Book feature that tracks your average fuel consumption. I just use Bluetooth to stream the radio from my phone. Another option is to get one of those portable CarPlay screens, most of which have wireless CarPlay, so you can stick it to the dash/windscreen like a sat nav and still keep the OEM features of the headunit. I'm going to be looking in to these in the next couple months myself. Does the speedo also indicate mph? The Elgrand was kph and I had a new panel fitted. The odometer is digital and fixed at kph. The place I bought mine had it electronically changed to Miles. Rather than replace the panel they have put an MPH sticker over the KMH on the physical dials. The digital reading on the dash has had a tiny black sticker placed over the "K" so it just reads m 😂 Apparently even though you can change the ECU to show the numbers in miles you cannot change the display to show MPH/MPG, so the car shows you average mileage as X.XXkm/l at first I thought I was just getting really bad fuel economy until I realised the numbers were representing MILES per L not KM per L I seem to average 5.3m/l in my 3.5 V6 which is about 24mpg. Range is also displayed with a KM rather than M. The only thing that has stayed as true km/h is the cruise control reading which maxes out at 117km/h. Are most of the commonly used parts readily available? I can't speak for the Hybrid, but as far as the Petrol goes it seems pretty easy to find most of the common parts you would need to change. IT shares a lot of parts in common with other Toyotas in the UK. Brake pads, filters, spark plugs, battery etc are no harder to find than any other UK car. It's the things like headlamps and body panels that will be a real killer if the worst was to happen. Frustratingly little things like the TV remote for the rear TV have a habit of going missing during import. Trying to source one over here is possible but you are limited to horribly expensive third party options on eBay. I ended up going through Buyee to purchase a second hand one direct from an auction site in Japan for around £40 including all shipping. Going direct to Toyota would have cost over £200 and that's if they even had any inventory left. Another annoying thing on the 20 series is that the lights that light up the A/C controls are LEDs soldered to the MoBo so if one goes you have to be handy with a soldering iron to replace it or again try and source from Japan. The tricky part is that the part name is Air Con Cntrl Assy and because of the word Air con being used it gets flagged as a restricted item so it get's tricky trying to import it even though it has absolutely no gasses involved. Any recommended dealers that would be open to part exchange? I live in Surrey and happy to travel for the right car. I bought my Ellie from West Yorkshire. This is a tough one. I wouldn't recommend the place I bought mine from, but unfortunately it was the only place at the time that had the trim and spec I wanted and short of importing one personally I took the chance and travelled down south to purchase. I had really good experiences with Stuart Spencer Autos in Tipton. Really helpful there and were more than happy to let me and the wife to take a look around a lot of their stock. Only reason I didn't make a purchase with them was that they didn't have the spec I was looking for. They also take other imports as part ex too, a lot of the place I spoke to were happy to take imports as part ex. Not so keen on UK cars though for obvious reasons. Has anyone used an importer and achieved a happy outcome? Can't help with this one. I was very close to going this route as you could easily save yourself a good few thousand pounds by doing it yourself. But I was more than happy to pay the premium to one that was already imported and sorted to drive away. I don't think I could take the anxiety of the whole process, especially once it's on the ship. I'm easily distracted by shiny things and would welcome your thoughts if this, constitutes good value? It's a beautiful looking Vellfire. I would compare to your Ellie specs though, it has no sunroofs, no power tailgate, no side cameras, only one power door by the looks, is 2.4l. 14 years old and 72,000miles. £12.995 seems a tad high. I paid £2,000 more for my 2012 Alphard, granted it is the 7 seat version but it has the full black leather, high sided electric middle row seats, power tailgate, power slide doors, 360 camera, radar cruise, LKA, heated, powered front seats with drivers side memory, 18 speaker theatre system 3.5l and 10,000miles less on the clock. My advice, find a dealer that has a decent amount of stock and go take a look around some. I think we travelled about two hours the first time we went to look at Elgrands and Alphards. I was actually dead set on buying an Elgrand until I sat in both that and an Alphard. It wasn't until I'd sat in them and a few different trims that I started to nail down what spec I actually wanted. Once I did that it made looking online so much easier because I could tell straight away from the pictures if it had what I was looking for and could instantly toss it aside and move on to the next one. I would say something like this is more towards the spec you would be aiming for https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407161826239?fromSavedAds=true&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=relevance&postcode=NP19 4SG I fear you will likely have to make some sacrifices though if the 8 seats are a must as they tend to be part of the lower end trims that omit a lot of the features you mentioned. Is the criteria of newest model and lowest mileage the most appropriate? Or are high mileage examples likely to run and run? From the looks of it these cars are pretty bullet proof. The only common "failure" I have seen mentioned is the water pump leaking. What I will say though is that the 3.5l V6 has a timing chain rather than a belt. So this is expected to last the lifetime of the engine, of course it should be checked over at major service intervals. The 2GR-FE engine typically lasts between 250,000 - 300,000 miles. This is the same engine that is used in the Lexus RX, RAV4, even the Lotus Evora. I would 100% go for the 3.5l on the 2nd gen models. The first gen (02-08) 2.4l 2AZ-FE uses a chain. 3.0l 1MZ-FE uses a belt. Second gen (08-15) 2.4l 2AZ-FE and 3.5l 2GR-FE both use a chain. Third gen (15-Present) all use chains. Do some models have twin electric sliding doors? Yes. Do some models have a powered tailgate? Yes. Hopefully I've been able to give some useful info there. I'm more than happy to answer any other questions you might have.

Remote was missing from my Alphard too. It’s a 2012 plate with the 18 speaker system. After a long search and some great help from the forum I eventually found the model for my system. I found it for sale in a Japanese auction site and managed to get it bought and shipped to the UK using a middle man. I think in total it cost about £45 to buy it and get it here. Not bad considering new from manufacturer prices were in the region of £250 😂 this isn’t my actual one as it’s in the car and it’s snowing right now.

I have a 3.5 GGH20 and I’m finding if I fill up when the light comes on there’s still about 10-12l left in the tank! Based on my average fuel consumption of 5.3m/l I should still have a good 50miles of range left once lights on.

I know this is a bit late but hopefully will help someone in the future. The fob should still be able to start the car without batteries in it. You need to hold the physical fob with Toyota badge side against the ignition button with your foot on the brake as usual. Not the best translation but gets the idea across.

I was wondering if anyone knows what type of bulb is used for the switches that light up on the centre console. The bulb for my A/C switch has gone on my 20 series. If anyone can point me in the right direction it would be a great help.

Aliexpress is a dangerous place as there’s loads of stuff that I absolutely do not need but really can’t help but want lol Mine came with these puddle lights. I’m guessing they aren’t stock but cool nonetheless. It also came with a Flare stowed in the passenger footwell. No idea if they’re even legal over here so a bit apprehensive about that one. I’m pretty sure it can’t be thrown in the bin at least. So I’m just leaving it where it is.

Good afternoon all. I managed to get these levers fitted today. Thanks to BigNev for the pics and Skippy for pointing me in the direction of the part numbers! I went a couple steps further and released the two bolts on the arm of the chair and one under the slide back/forth lever to allow me to fully remove the side of panel of the armrest. You need to push down to release it from the metal bar it’s clipped on to. I didn’t take it completely off as there was more than enough give to get lots of access to where I needed to be. This made siting the plastic clips back on to the metal a bit easier. Still tricky mind you. The most frustrating part was trying to guide the the wire back in to the lever. Some needle nose pliers came in handy for that and a lot of swearing.

Haha yeah don’t know where DAVE came from! the extra space it creates is fantastic if you only have mid row passengers. I’ve also been looking at those boot lights, are they a worth while upgrade? I was hesitant at first because all the interior lights have been changed to LED by previous owner and they are blinding at night and they turn on. But that tiny little thing that’s in there already just might as well not exist.

Great posts Dave, I was just thinking I wish I could search the internet in Japanese because I bet there are 10 year old posts on Japanese forums explaining all of this that's new to us 😅 I really would love to know the reasons behind omitting this part, was it an optional extra no one wanted to pay for? I know it's on other Toyota's, I think the Estima? Just seems so strange to have a fully functioning feature in the car just to be hidden away. Anyway. I'll update with my success story (or lack of!).

Nice one! I will take a look at this tomorrow if the weather eases up. Thanks for tips both.

Hey thanks for the reply. I was just looking for a way to take it apart myself. I can see how that the piece that's already sited is just missing the latch and the spring (plus the pin that goes through holding it in. If only the latch could be sited with the unit that's already there! I can't see a way of getting the pin through and siting the spring back in place would be almost impossible. So yeah, I will be looking to find out if the sides come off. Failing that I might just take the whole seat out since I know there are videos on how to do that. Seems drastic though just to put a latch in place that really should have been there from the factory 😭

Assuming I’ve received the right part that is.

Happy new year all. I’ve just received these levers, would you possibly be able to explain how to fit them? Feeling really dumb looking the seat not knowing where to start other than having removed the blanking plate!

Hi Skippy, I did have a good look around there, found the centre headrest which I was happy to find, I'm sure there was some stuff missing from the jack storage compartment too. But I couldn't find a definitive answer as to what was supposed to be in there all together. Unfortunately the remote holder is OOS so I've been refunded for that, but the the levers and new wiper blades are on the way which is probably the more important items on that list.

I read this topic during my research before buying my Alphard and was kicking myself for not following the thread. Glad I found it again, thanks a lot for the part numbers. I've just put in an order for these, new wiper blades and the rubber TV remote control holder, that and the remote were both missing when it arrived in the UK, seems like they are very popular items to go missing. New one from Toyota was in the region of £200+ so I managed to find one on a Japanese auction site for £25.

I finally got the time to take a look at this and after pulling everything apart turns out there was absolutely nothing wrong with the bush that was in there, it looked brand new ☹️ replaced it anyway so back to square one.

I got my Alphard AH20 3.5 V6 on Saturday just gone. First full tank lasted me around 260miles which is about 23mpg. That was 60% motorway as I drove it 130miles home from the dealer. I filled it up with Tesco premium which is what I always used in my VXR and never had an issue with it plus it’s the cheapest premium around me by about 4 or 5p/l. I have eco mode set to on, don’t how much of a difference that makes, and I have been experimenting with the go pedal quite a lot! Who knew a two tonne brick could shift as much as this 😂 On my second tank now, I noticed that it only took around 53l to fill up at the pump, I believe it has a 65l tank so had about 12l of fuel left in it when the light came on which is about 80miles of range which I thought was a bit odd. I’m used to getting maybe 25miles when the petrol light comes on in my previous cars. The speedo has been MPH converted and the Oddo is also showing in miles now rather than kilometres. Would this also mean that my dash display is now showing miles per litre not kilometres per litre?

I wonder if anyone could help out. I’m having the same trouble with not being able to open the rear screen. The headunit I have on the 2012 has different options on screen compared to the ones shown in this thread. Also has different buttons to press. My model number 56107, language can be changed to English for some of the top menu options. Do I need the TV remote control in order to operate the rear screen? Looking in the Japanese manual for reference to the rear screen only shows a sliding remote control operating it, which of course has gone missing.

Just picked up my 2012 Alphard today and have the exact symptoms described here. Was a bit disappointed but fingers crossed the cheapest solution sorts it!

Sorry to bump this thread but I’ve just collected my 2012 Alphard and I think it has this exact problem. Would i be able to get the part number please?

EDIT: double post.