Changing oil in a Prius sucks

Maybe you should just use up the old gas and then fill the tank. Don't want to have stale gas

 

manual says half a tank every 6 months, so i'm okay for awhile. but i could always put in some stabil i suppose. the engine runs every 124 miles, but only to warm up and shut down. that doesn't use more than a few tablespoons.

 

Do you have family or friends who would rather have you alive on this earth than crushed to death under a Prius because a piece of wood slipped out from under the front passenger wheel? Show them your posting on this forum. I am sure they will take up a collection for the $40.00 that you apparently think is more than your life is worth.

If you don’t have any family or friends, maybe you could try crowd funding.

In the meantime, put down that wrench, stay out from under the car, and keep your hands in the air where we can see them!

 

My PiP doesn't have the oil flap underneath, or even a place where it looks like one is missing. The black plastic just stops about where the engine is...and I can reach the oil drain plug & filter without removing anything. I'll look again tomorrow to refresh my memory, but I don't believe it ever had a flap.

 

Large sturdy wood blocks, 4x6s or better, more than enough to solidly support the car frame (not tires) in multiple places when (not if) jacks fail, can be had for much less than $40.

 

Why are you talking about the gas cap when the thread is about an oil change and tightening the oil filter cap? The gas cap does click, the oil filter cap does not.

 

Finally.

 

Like Mendel, I am Canadian. I simply buy my materials from the US border when I go on a trip. I buy/ship a few oil filters from amazon.com in bulk and I buy my 0w20 oil from Walmart. It costs me about ~6USD per oil filter and 22.66USD for 5 quarts of Mobil 1 0w20. In total, it costs me about ~$30USD for an oil change.

I did my first oil change a few months ago. I have to agree with the previous posts that a good oil filter wrench is needed for an easier job. I have a cheap aluminum CTA wrench and it would bend and stick to the filter if it was too tight. I also bought a push-pin remover from Freight Harbour (which I have yet to try) to help me get the door open.

 

Siward, you might break even buying from the dealership, or at least be close enough to make it competitive. Yeah I know, that's not the only items on your US shopping list. Anyway, here's my costs from my nearby Toyota dealership's parts department:

Filter: $8.53
Washer: $0.98
Oil: $5.65 (Toyota 0W20, per liter)

Considering US/Can dollar exchange rate, and liters vs quarts, likely very close. I always buy just-in-time, which gives me a an invoice per oil change, and leaves a corresponding "paper" trail at the dealership as well. Maybe pointless, but hey.

 

senior moment.

 

Bisco might be on to something though: an oil filter housing that just clicks once it's tight enough, doesn't get any tighter. Now if it could be designed to not screw in if you forgot to put a filter in...

 

thanks for bailing me out ml!

 

6 months ago, the US/CAD exchange rate was $0.97USD per CDN dollar. It was close to par. I compared the dealer's price before I decided to pull the trigger. I also used a credit card that doesn't have foreign exchange fees.

(ML) You're right. Now is not a good time to buy anything across the border.

 

Awesome idea and intelligent design.
But not gonna happen because if it were easy, everyone would DIY. Then how would dealers get owners to pay $80 for an oil change - and give them an opportunity to find something else that "needs to be fixed" for even more money?

 

I was just gonna say, other manufacturers include an oil change instruction in the Owners Manual. Our '06 Civic had an instruction, so: downloaded a 2015 Civic manual (readily available, that's a big plus)..., and it no longer contains oil change instruction. ;(

Still, it is not that hard a chore. I mean, I can do it, lol. Everytime I've loosened the filter housing, it's about the same effort needed. Including the first time, which was torqued (properly) in some factory in Japan.

 

Excellent, thorough video. A few niggling comments:

1. Giving the torque values would be good. That's 18 (ft/lb) for the oil filter, 27 for the drain bolt.
2. There's an instruction on the oil filter box saying to not use a screwdriver to get the old O-ring off. FWIW, I don't think it's humanly possible to not use something, it's a very slippery sucker. But do be careful with the screwdriver.
3. Mainly my preference, I'd take the whole engine under cover off, not just open the flap. Basically a workaround for lousy design: the plastic is a brittle spec, the flap can't take much flexing.
4. There's a quick mention of 4 US quarts of oil. To get the oil to the top mark it'll take 4.4 US quarts, or 4.2 liters. My method is to just put in that spec'd amount, do a quick check, but try not to take it seriously, 'cause for some reason it always shows low, even after a quick run and sit. But check again in a day or two, it'll be right on the top mark.

 

Now you know the goal of auto design is not to make things easy for the backyard mechanic. If you want things designed for ease, buy military vehicles. Nothing easier to fix that an Army Jeep.

 

In fairness to the op Den, he said that the jacking up process was precarious but he didn't say that the placement of the wood under the tire was in any way unstable.

I have no way of knowing how stable or unstable this piece of wood was (nor do you), but I can tell you that a tire sitting on a wide piece of timber can be a lot more stable than on ramps.

I drive my left front wheel up onto a wide plank of lumber (much wider than it is high) when I change the oil in my Gen2 (not much clearance needed), and I can tell you that this is about as stable as if the car were simply sitting on all four tires on level ground. I guaranty that if you got a bunch of sumo wrestlers pushing sideways that your car would topple of it's ramps long before my car got pushed off this plank.

Just saying, maybe you shouldn't chastise the op and treat him like he's an idiot without knowing all the details.

 

I didn't say he was an idiot. That's in your vocabulary, not mine.

It is abundantly clear from his own words that he was working in an extremely unsafe manner without the proper tools and equipment. He faults Toyota for making a car that exceeds his DIY capabilities, rather than recognize his own limitations and bad choices where the true problem exists. Hopefully he got the message that he shouldn't risk death and destruction just to avoid spending a few dollars to get the tools and equipment needed to do the job safely; or, have a professional do what he is not qualified to do. Every year I hear about someone who was working under a car that was not supported properly and it fell and killed them. There is often a family who suffers as a result.

 

Changing oil in a Prius sucks
Changing a diesel truck's gas gauge from empty to full sucks worse.
It's more expensive too.

---Good Luck!