Oldest PRIUSchat DIY OIL Changer

I just did my 30k oil change 2 weeks ago and I'll be 71 next month.
I do it myself because I want to be sure it's done right.
X

 

1. 63
2. To be sure it is done right and with the correct parts, fluids, torqued correctly, etc. I plan to keep my cars well beyond 100,000 miles.

Like you I plan to continue as long as I can turn a wrench and climb under a car. It is something that I enjoy doing. With X HCH2 still going strong at 71, the Good Lord willing maybe I can go to 71 and beyond.

I just completed the 100,000 mile maintenance on my wife's 2007 Honda Accord. Transmission fluid, engine coolant, oil and filter, engine air filter, cabin air filter, serpentine belt, spark plugs, front brake pads and rotated tires. The Prius is at 90,000 so will be doing the same again in a few months.

Great thread !

 

60, i did my last oil change in 1983. poured the old stuff down the storm drain.

 

Geesh, I hope you're kidding Bisco. I remember watching a neighbour pouring a tin of something down the storm drain. When he came back with a second tin I finally got into gear, asked what the heck he was pouring. Turned out to be used paint thinner. He did stop when I told him it was going straight into the streams.

Anyway, I'm 63, still like to do oil changes and anything of similar complexity. For our prius, our son's HCH2, occasional stuff on our daughter's Pilot.

I try to put safety first, especially when under the car. In the habit now to put a section of tree stump under the car, before I get under.

 

At 66, i'm certainly not the oldest, but I may be the cheapest - er, most frugal. After my 2011 Prius maintenance plan ended, I had a whale of a time getting the oil filter housing removed until I finally found an end-cap tool that worked, Private Brand Tools (PBT71110). At one point, I went to a Jiffy Lube to get the service done because they would let me watch. It cost over $80 with the synthetic oil - no charge for watching. Don't want to ever do that again, regardless of how much money I have. I also found an SAE 0W20 synthetic oil on Amazon for far less than I can buy in the Northwest.

 

I'm 66 and still the master mechanic of this household. I do it myself because I want it done right and take some pleasure working on my cars. My 2010 Prius is the most difficult and time consuming oil change I've ever done and I have worked on many cars during my lifetime.

 

#1 -77
#2 - So I know it's done correctly.......it IS serious business.....

 

I'm 64 - I guess $ has some to do with changing the oil - its routine mtce & for me its so easy to just change the oil myself when its time.
Even with a local dealer & a _good_ service department, I still do not trust them 100%. I do trust myself, even when I mess up, at least I know what happened. If I need to take some extra time to chase down some broken push-pins I can. The Prius is a big toy - one of my first purchases was the OBDII bluetooth adapter & Torque so I could see what is going on, & also the China knockoff Techstream. Torque is sooo easy
I do enjoy not having grease under my fingernails often as when taking care of an older Civic.

 

i wish i were. but that's how we grew up. you burned your leaves in the street and dumped your waste in the storm drain. i'm not proud of it, but it was what it was. nowadays, i can barely get under the Christmas tree to water it.

i think your right. if i needed to save the money, and i lived in a warm climate, i might still be doing it myself. as it is, it's cold in my garage, and i see myself helping out the local mechanic make a living.

 

It's the getting up! Not getting down!

 

you got that right. the first time it catches fire, i hit it with the extinguisher and throw it out in the snow.

 

Thanks Guys! ......been pulling on wrenches my entire life......(machine/repair for "G.M."....35 yr.)......an oil/filter change every 10,000 mi. is not a BIG deal......FWIW

 

At 58 I suddenly find myself the youngster in the group

My dad did everything except exhaust and suspension parts--but only to save the money, as far as I could tell. I more or less have continued that tradition (including suspension parts!) simply because it seemed like the way it had to be.

I haven't paid for an oil change yet, though after two years of Toyota Care I was tempted to throw in the towel. Then I discovered the missing oil filter element in October from the Toyota Care the previous November and now figure I'll invest in a combination wheelchair/creeper if I need to, to continue into the coming decades.

 

nice, can you patent it? probably could make a fortune here.

 

Nice thread
I'm sure it will age well.

I'm 56, and my reasons for DIY are numerous

• It's easy
• I gain satisfaction from doing my own work. I like doing 'stuff.'
• I know it will be done right, or I will learn something
• I'm frugal
• I refuse to act old when I am young
• I cannot abide paying outrageous amounts for trivial work

Addendum: I just saw that I wrote my age as 58 in another thread. Irony

 

When I was born in 1932, my father was operating an auto repair shop, so changing oil is probably in my genes. I got my first car in 1950 and have done oil changes since. I have to admit that at age 82 I may have forgotten a time or two.

I now find that the most difficult part of the job is getting up from the ground, and I choose the proper weather before starting.

By the way, the 1939 Plymouth I got in 1950 didn't need oil changes, as it required another quart of oil every 50 miles. It didn't take Dad long to suggest that we rebuild the engine, so that was my first real introduction to auto repair. Although he had moved on after the the business of repairing cars, he never gave up his interest in them.

My youngest son, age 49, continues the tradition.

 

Children, I am 87 and changed the oil in my first two Prii will in this one now that the freebies are finished if the new iteration 4 Prius does not arrive before it is needed.
Now I am replacing my house Radiant heat boiler, 30 yrs old, (under the floor hydronic heat) which blew spectacularly a few days ago. Sounded like a space rocket going off. Just going to bed when an amazing swoosh sound enveloped the house. The boiler is in the attached garage with the Prius nosed up to it. Dashed to garage turned off the circuit breakers, turned off the water supply. The garage was so full of steam I could not see the windshield of the Prius, opened garage door even though the temp was 19 F and as soon as the unit quit the blow and the steam was gone closed the door. Fortunately only condensation on the car. Now have space heaters all over the house as I await the new boiler arrival. I will install it myself as I did the original. Have to go now I have a young wife still in bed.

 

When I was 16 my dad promptly showed me how to change the oil. I asked him what to do with the used motor oil and he told me to refill the empty bottles and throw in the trash. He said it cost money to dispose of otherwise. I was mortified! I called city trash the same day to deliver us a used oil collection jug. I asked my dad to fill it and they will come pick it up for free and drop off an empty one.