First DIY oil change -- can't undo oil filter housing

Could be that they are using up the existing inventory stipulated by the old contract for the cartridge filter components.

 

Everything I read previously said that Toyota changed to the spin-on filter in mid 2017 -- at least on the Prime. I'd think all the Prius engines would change at the same time.

My theory on the reason for the change back to spin-on was that inexperienced people would put the new O-ring against the flange rather than in the groove and/or they would forget to make sure the O-ring was well lubricated which could cause it to roll out of place. This would sometimes cause enough of a shift under pressure to empty the oil sump onto the road. The box for the Toyota filters now comes with a big, clear illustration showing the proper placement of the O-ring.

If the person changing the oil does it properly, it's a nice system. I like it better than spin-on because the filter and wrench engagement is very positive while it can be hard sometimes to get a good bite on spin-on filter housings. I have about four different kinds of filter wrenches for those things in an attempt to find something I liked. Strap wrenches are so far the least bad bad idea.

 

I've pretty much been undefeated by anything since I bought my strap wrench years ago (the kind with a big wide cloth strap and a 1/2" square drive), and it has ended up being used on a lot of things the maker probably never thought of.

I did buy the exact-fit tool for the Gen 3 filter cap, though. Probably could get it off with the strap, if I had to.

 

Same here. But I have crushed a couple spin-ons with my strap on my wife's '07 and some previous vehicles. Gets the job done, though!

 

Much ado about nothing??
Perhaps some brands of O-ring swell.
Mine is always easy to get off, and never leaks, even with an O-ring reused several times.