Pre-Facelift and New Facelift?

In my last post, I show you how to determine the year of manufacture on the unit you are interested in. I also mentioned that from May 2005 onward, the Toyota Alphard receive a minor face lift. In this post, I will show you how to differentiate a pre-facelift unit from a new facelift unit.

Exterior

On the exterior, there are some changes in the head light cluster at the front and at the rear.

In the photo below, it show side-by-side the front head light cluster of a pre-facelift (left photo) and new facelift model (right photo).

The new facelift front light cluster has two extruding white lip at the side. The pre-facelift light cluster has an orange signal light at the back portion of the light cluster while the new facelift has clear glass at the back. If you view from the side, you'll see the different as shown below.


Since the front light cluster is different in size, the front grille size is also different but it is not easy to see through the naked eye. The easiest way to identity the different is that the new facelift top grille is thicker as shown in the right photo below.


Anyway one should not use the grille as the absolute way to differential the model because the previous owner might have change to after market grille.

At the rear, there are changes on the appearance of the signal light cover and the reverse light cover.

The new facelift rear signal light cover has two white strips (right photo) while the pre-facelift has only one large strip (left photo).


The pre-facelift reverse light cover is smaller (left photo) while the new facelift model (right photo) has a larger cover with distinct round shape internal light element.


Interior

The major change in the interior is the head unit. In the photo below, the left photo shows the new facelift unit has an 8-inch head unit while the pre-facelift unit has smaller head unit.


Since the new facelift model come out in May 2005, by looking on all the features at the exterior mentioned above, you can be certain that a it is a NFL unit.

Is it possible to upgrade a pre-facelift unit to a new facelift look? The answer is a resounding YES. However, the cost is also very high because the entire front light clusters, the grille and the side panels has to be changed. At the rear, the entire rear light cluster and the center panel also needs to be changed. Last I heard it will cost RM8K upward for the facelift to be done locally.

Even if the owner has change the exterior from pre-facelift to new facelift, the interior such as the head unit cannot be easily change. The wiring harness from the pre-facelift model cannot be fitted into the new facelift hear unit. I have seen cases where the dealer posted the ad for a NFL unit but then the interior clearly shows that it is a pre-facelift model.

My next post will go cover the front and rear camera operation.