2010 prius oil change

Man, I hate these damn plastic fasteners. They are such junk, not just on this car but on all the ones I've ever used.

Just did my oil and was surprised that I only broke off one teeth of one of the three fasteners. It's quite difficult to pry the center piece out independent of the rest, so more times than not I just put a flat head under the whole thing and rip it. I'll buy a bunch of spares or come up with something better. I know Lowes in the screw-drawers locally has a drawer or two for auto parts and I'm pretty sure they have screwable fasteners, which function the same as these ones but the center part screws instead of just flicks in and out, so far less likely to bind up and snap.

 

Does anyone know the sizes for these pins? After my last oil change, the pins fell out and the cover opened. I would like to replace these pins with an after-market brand. (The local Toyota dealer seems to over-charge on everything. I was forced to pay $30.00 dollars for an oil filter wrench from this dealer that I could have purchased on-line for $15.00.)
Thanks for any assistance.

 

Hallo Gentlle men.
I recently bought 2010 Prius from copart. I need the following parts.If some one knows where to get them secondhand or new but reasonable pricing.
1.Oil pan+gasket. 2.Driverside headlight Assembley. 3.Front bumper with foglights. 4. Both front coolers. Please [email protected] Thanks.

 

NAPA has push pins that fasten better and last longer than the OEM Toyota push pins and they cost less at $4.49 (plus tax) per six or seven pack. The smaller NAPA push pin is part number 665-3278; the larger NAPA push pin is part number 665-2388 (see attached picture).

The small OEM Toyota push pin that connects the oil change door with a tab to the undercover is one that does not refasten as good as I would like. I cured this by using the larger (665-2388) NAPA push pin in this location (see attached picture of pin with red dot). The larger NAPA push pin seems a bit too tight the first time you push it in, but after it is in and out a couple times, the plastic holes in the door and undercover stretch enough to make it a perfect fit. The larger NAPA push pin is also an exact size replacement for the larger OEM Toyota push pin.

 

Here are two excellent DIY oil change links, they will answer all of your oil change questions and have pictures.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii.../67747-oil-change-2010-prius-do-yourself.html

John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more

 

I paid good money for my 2010 Prius V. I have no problem going to my dealer every 10,000 miles for oil changes. I get Mobil 1, the Nippon Denso filter they use (about the best you can get), the car gets washed, tires rotated and whatever else they do ... and I am on my way in about 30 minutes.

I don't have to deal with what to do with used oil or the filter. I don't have to spend lots of time on tire rotations. In and out and $95. Every 10,000 miles ... or, for me, about every 5 months.

I used to do this sort of thing myself 20 years ago. Not worth my time anymore. Too messy and inconvenient. For me, the $95 is a bargain.

 

$95 for convenience is fine if they really do it right. They seem to have a habit of overfilling the oil and I'm not sure how much overfilling can be ignored and how much overfilling is a real issue.
Is there a rule of how far past the Max Fill dot it takes to cause damage?
At least if you do it yourself, you can let it drain longer to get out a bit more of the old oil and you know how much new oil was added.