Alphard Auxiliary Heater Problem

My 2002 Toyota Alphard (gasoline engine) auxiliary heater isn't working. It has 85105 km on the clock. The parking heater refuses to activate, and the diagnostics keep throwing up an error code. I've checked the basic fuses and coolant level, but no luck. Any ideas where I should be looking next? Could it be a faulty temperature sensor, or something more sinister within the heating system itself?

4 comment(s)

Interesting. Sounds familiar. I had a similar problem with my old BMW 5 series a few years back. The parking heater would just refuse to fire up. Did you check the glow plug? It's a common culprit for auxiliary heater malfunctions. Or have you checked the error memory?

Glow plug, you say? Hmm, I hadn't considered that specifically. Whereabouts is it located on the Alphard's auxiliary heater unit? Is it easily accessible, or am I looking at a garage job?

On my BMW it was a pain to get to, buried deep within the unit, and I suspect it will be the same with the Alphard. But I would recommend you check the error memory first to see whether glow plug defective is a potential error. To be honest, unless you're comfortable working on such things, I'd suggest getting a professional to take a look.

Thanks for the heads-up! Dropped it off at my local shop today, and they confirmed it was indeed the glow plug. They replaced it, cleared the error memory, and now it is running smoothly again. Cost me about 440€ all in. Appreciate the advice!

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