turnerjr

Hi all. Just wanted to post a recommendation for leather seat repairs in the south west. I used Jeremy at leather care and repair, he’s done an amazing job on the black leather in my Vellfire. I used a different company before hand who failed to get a good colour match 3 times and left the seats in a right mess. Jeremy spent a lot of time undoing their work and has done a flawless job. He came to my work, mixed the colour on site which is a perfect match, and even cleaned all the other seats for me. He’s a really nice chap, very knowledgeable and great at his job.

I bought some oem touch up paint which I’ve applied to the odd stone chip which I’ve picked up. The colour match isn’t great but it should stop any issues before they occur. I use soft 99 Fusso coat which is a 12 month protection wax. It’s amazing ( and Japanese 😁 ) and then I use autoglym polar seal once a month. I apply this with a small foam gun at a distance of about 3 metres so you just spray a mist over the car, then rinse and dry (not the windscreen ) For regular washes I use autosmart auto wash, 5 litres for about £30 and it lasts ages as you don’t need a lot. Some people love ceramic coats. I hate them and think they are over priced (and can be applied badly even by ‘professionals’) That’s just my opinion, there’s lots of info, reviews etc out there

I have a 2012 in white and researched this myself. I think it affects the earlier models between 2008 and 2010 which I think are classed as pre facelift. To be honest I wouldn’t worry about it until something happens, then get it sorted asap ( repaint the damaged panel ) I would never use a pressure washer to clean my car, it forces water into areas that it wouldn’t normally go. My best advice is to treat your cars paintwork the same way as you would your skin. Keep it clean and use something with good protection from sunlight / uv rays and you should be fine.

The seat belt for the middle rear seat should be stored over head in the head lining, the buckle should be tucked into the right hand rear seat

Hi all. After trying unsuccessfully to find someone to supply and code a replacement fob for my Vellfire I thought I would just do it myself. I bought a used key on eBay and to my surprise the diagnostic tool at my work successfully coded it. I also managed to access all the customised options, so I now have silent electric doors and full window opening / closing on the fobs. It’s amazing how many options etc you can change / customise on these cars. If anyone needs help doing this around Bristol, feel free to drop me a message.

Hi Nev, My brakes are also fine, discs and pads all round are in great condition although I don’t know which brand they are. (They came fitted when I imported it) I can’t help but feel the brakes could be much better, especially fully loaded with people or luggage. yes Lexus and Rav 4’s use the 2 pots, they are also fitted to the Alphard / Vellfire G’s edition I believe. There is another option using a disc and pad setup from a tuning company in Japan using our existing set up which should see significant improvements. At £560 a set though, I can’t decide which way to go!

If you’re going to change the wheels my advice would be to buy a decent named brand. A lot of the aftermarket wheels available are cheap rubbish. You’ll have to do a fair amount of research as it’s a bit of a mine field. I hated the original 18” wheels on my 2011 vellfire and thought they made it look dated. I fitted a set of genuine 19” Rays wheels which are wider and have a more aggressive offset than standard. It looks so much newer and the ride quality is significantly better. It feels much more stable in the corners and hasn’t sacrificed the ride comfort.

Hi all. Has anyone done the 2 pot brake upgrade on their Alphard / vellfires? I’m pretty sure the Lexus NX front calipers with a 330mm disc will bolt straight on. I’m just wondering if anyone has done this or has them already fitted?

Thanks for your input kinging, that’s really useful, I will take a look. I’ve found rhdjapan and Blackhawk which have some nice bits and pieces and their shipping to the uk seems quite reasonable.

Hi Chris. Thanks for the info 👍🏻 Is there any way of telling which I need? Mines a 2012

Hi all. I think I’ve found a suitable replacement to turn the rear bumper reflectors into fog lights / reflectors on the 20 series vellfire. Could someone with a series 20 vellfire measure their rear bumper reflectors please?

Ok Rojie, thanks, I thought amayama was only oem parts so I will take a look there. yes I’m well aware of the issues, funnily enough I’ve never had an issue with my supra in 20 years but have had blow outs due to pot holes on both my Hondas which are completely standard. I’m only looking on moving to 19 inch wheels and a 15mm drop on lowering springs which will be the same as the Vellfire GS sport editions.

Hi. I’ve been looking at upgrades for my Vellfire when it arrives and the uk stock seems quite limited for obvious reasons. Has anyone had any success in ordering parts from Japan and who have they used? I’ve used nengun performance for many years with parts for my supra but they don’t have much for a vellfire. I’ve also used yahoo auctions in the past but they seem to have barred Europe from using them now. I don’t want to go crazy on modifications as it’s going to be a daily family car, just subtle things like the grille, wheels, lower it a bit and a few upgrades inside like lighting, carpets / mats etc. It seems like there is a big following in Japan to modify these cars, it seems a shame that we have such limited access over here.

Hi all. My names John and I’ve just purchased a 2012 Vellfire V6 from Japan which is due at the start of April. I’ve worked on cars for the last 20 years and always owned Japanese cars, so I’m very excited about my pending arrival. No doubt I’ll have lots of questions, hopefully I’ll be able to answer a few aswell!