MicroMike

I bought my Alphard's tow bar from towbarsdirect: http://www.towbarsdirect.co.uk/

I bought my Alphard's tow bar from towbarsdirect: http://www.towbarsdirect.co.uk/ And then had it fitted at Chester Tow Bar Centre: https://www.chestertowbars.co.uk

Amazing, thank you so much! This is really useful, I'll pass this link onto the garage 👍

Thank you, but I'm not sure what other Toyota vehicles parts would be compatible with my Alphard? The bloke at the garage is an experienced and friendly old guy, but he's definitely not used to working with imported cars. If I could make it simple for him (e.g. "John, you can use the brake pads from a Toyota Rav4 on the Alphard") it would make things much easier.

Thanks @dezufo that's very helpful indeed, but I didn't understand the last part of your post. My garage said their usual parts supplier doesn't have parts for the Alphard. So do I direct my garage to use Autodoc.com, Febibilstein, Toyota or Amayama.com? Thank you!

That's the exact feeling I have. Is it possible to turn the ABS off, I wonder? I'm not sure if that would cause more problems than it solves, but if it's an optional thing, or down to personal preference, I would happily turn it off to get more secure braking during the normal day-to-day, driving to work, school run, etc.

Is there a particular type or brand of brakes that are recognised as being excellent? If so, I'll happily pay the cash to put them on the Alphard. I love everything about this car except these pesky brakes! 🤦🏻‍♂️

I've never heard of this. Is 'brake dust' a problem worth worrying about? If it's just a cosmetic thing (e.g. literally just surface dust), I don't care. But if it can cause mechanical problems then I'd be more concerned.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing this, I'll change the brake fluid and then reassess. If it makes no difference, I'll try changing the pads for a more effective brand.

Should I mention this to the garage when I take the car in to them, do you think? Is the brake servo something they can check?

Some really helpful & practical ideas in here, thank you! I'll mention the braided brake pipes and disc rotors to the garage when they investigate and change the brake fluid next week. The MOT was done just before I bought the car last week. (It passed with no issues.) I have driven lots of cars over the years (both my own and many company cars at work) and my previous vehicle was a 7.5m Auto-trail motorhome, but the Alphard definitely has the 'worst' brakes I've known. Don't get me wrong, the brakes do stop the car, but my word, it feels like you have to really work for it. There's lots of play in the brake pedal and you need to really pump the pedal to stop the car. It's such a shame because I love literally everything else about the car! I'm hopeful I can improve the situation with some diligent work and follow-up over the next few weeks. I'll report back here and hopefully it may help other users who have the same issue in the future. Thanks again for your comments and help in figuring this out. 👍

That's very kind of you, thank you. I just sent you a DM. 👍

Thanks for your feedback. On one hand it's reassuring to know that I'm not to first to comment on this issue, but on the other hand, it's disappointing to imagine that it might just be the way the brakes are (and that I just have to live with it). The guy at the garage suggested a change in brake fluid might help, so I guess that's the first thing to try. Apparently the brake fluid is 'hydroscopic' and moisture ingress over many years dilutes the brake fluid and that can make the brakes feel more spongy. I don't expect it to solve the problem, but maybe it will mitigate it? I'll give it a shot and report back. Thanks again

First post here, hello everyone! 😊 I just bought an imported 2006 Alphard (campervan conversion), it's superb, but the only problem is the brakes are spongy. You have to press the pedal down quite far before any braking happens and then you have to REALLY press down hard to make it properly brake. I'm used to driving a VW Golf and VW Sharan, both of which have firm and responsive brakes, so I'm naturally a little worried about this. When the vehicle is loaded up with our camping gear and my wife and kids, the problem is even worse because the vehicle is obviously heavier. • Is this normal for Alphards? • How can this be fixed? I've booked the car in a local garage to investigate, but the garage pre-warned me there's only so much they can do, because their main parts suppliers don't recognise Alphards at all. They said they're happy to take a look, but beyond changing the brake fluid there's nothing else they can do, as they can't get the parts to modify or fix the vehicle (e.g. brake pads, etc). Is there another Toyota vehicle that can be used for Alphard parts in the UK? If there is, I can let the garage know and hopefully they can get the parts we might need. Any suggestions or ideas on how to respond to this would be much appreciated, thank you!