2018 Prius oil filter is a spin on now?

The jacking points are shown under “Positioning a floor jack” on page 603 of the Owner’s Manual (PDF).

 

spin-on oil filter now? I think that is good news. I sometimes see the dealer mechanic struggling to get that cartridge filter off. And I wonder if they even change it. Maybe I need to switch dealers.

 

Mine is spin on part number: 90915-10003

I think from investigating there are other part numbers that supersede this one; 90915-YZZF2, I believe but will check with the dealer's parts dept.

 

Yep, I had the same thing happen to me. I was apparently the first at the local Toyota dealer to do a DIY oil change on the 2017, since the parts person was very confused. Oddly enough, my wife's 2017 Prius has the replaceable cartridge, and mine has the spin on. Hers is about 6 months older.

 

When I positioned a floor jack on that very spot from the manual during my transaxle fluid change it seems to have dented the metal inwards. There are now indentions that match my floor jack.

They switched to spin on half way through 2017 model year. My 2017 uses cartridge. I kind of like the cartridge better because I can easily look inside it and I can easily inspect the filter material. With a 64mm 14 face socket (27mm socket or 1/2in drive) that I bought from Walmart for 4 dollars(!) I can easily remove my cartridge.

 

Did you ever find out if the -YZZF2 suffix filter is the same as the -10003 suffix one? I'm thinking of buying it for my first service. Although maintenance is included for the first 25k miles, I'm not sure I trust the dealer to do it right. They tend to get these untrained monkeys with impact wrenches to do oil changes...

 

I’ll call parts department in morning and post reply. Several websites that sell Toyota parts cross reference the 10003 with yzzf2.

I am with you on the dealership oil changes, will probably be doing my own maintenance even for first 24K miles, for reasons you mentioned.

 

Yeah there's always a front-central and rear-central jacking point, good to know. I wonder if the 4th gen scissor jack locations, which some people use for safety stands, are as flimsy/skittish as 3rd gen. With 3rd gen I found alternative strong points, be interesting to see the 4th gen options.

Found this image of 4th gen underbody, not sure how accurate it is. I've highlighted in yellow what I think are possible safety stand locations. The front passenger side location seems to be obscured, hopefully not the case.

 

Yes spin on oil filter for some 2017/2018 Prius is 90915-YZZF2, this is the US part number that supersedes the Japanese factory filter part number 90915-10003, this info from my dealer's parts dept today.

 

The "spin-on" filter is more convenient, less likely to get screwed up, but I'm a little disappointed Toyota threw in the towel on this: the permanent housing and paper filter style was better for the environment: no metal housing, just a paper element, easier to recycle.

OTOH, the permanent housing has it's shortcomings:

1. It's possible to reassemble without a filter inside. There's been one case reported here, dealership maintenance neglect.

2. The O-ring is trouble prone, can be mis-located, maybe even shift during install.

3. The plastic housing is somewhat fragile, subject to damage during removal, especially if it was previously overtorqued. Again, often down to dealership maintenance.

All of that could be remedied I think, with a more solid metal housing, with a more definitive O-ring groove, and designed in such a way that it could NOT be installed without a filter inside.

 

I remember my 240D and 300D and I hated the oil changes in my back yard. What a mess. I bet a lot of filters never get changed. That is why I try to go to at least 4 different dealers in the life of a car and if possible watch the oil change.

 

Side note: any news on the 2019 and 2020's as to significant changes other than body stuff?

 

Mendel, Please tell me I'm not driving around with a flimsy plastic oil filter??!
(But there are 1.9 million Prii on US roads, so they must be doing something right.)

 

There should be a place on the frame left and right side. Be sure to use jack stands before going under.


iPhone ?

 

The only problem I've ever seen with a spin-on filter is that some of them can be double gasketed. Other than that, I'd take a spin-on any day.

 

Is there any way to tell if the car has one or the other without crawling underneath? VIN number? Date of Manufacture?

 

Usually, the parts catalog would show either a VIN or Build date break. If it was a running change, you'd have to look.

 

Regarding getting the Prius up high enough for oil filter changing: I haven't bought a Prius for my son yet, but I've been checking out this website to see what's involved in doing basic maintenance. I read here that getting a Prius up on some ramps is difficult due to how low the car is? One member said his jack dented the area where it makes contact. Personally, I stay away from jacks whenever possible.
My wife's Chrysler 300 is low and it hits a "standard" steel ramp before the tires even start contacting the ramp. Using pieces of wood to help get the tires up on the ramp is potentially hazardous too. FWD will spit out the wood pieces sometimes.
I decided to make my own ramp out of a 10' piece of rough cut 2x12 redwood. Any wood will do but rough cut was available to me for free. Rough cut is very close to 2" thick whereas regular cut 2x is about 1 5/8 thick(?). Many standard steel ramps raise a car about 8" when the tires rest in the depression for the tires. Using rough cut wood, I cut the 10' piece 3 times to get a 4' piece, a 3' piece and a 2' piece with a 1' piece left over. Drilling pilot holes first, I used 3 1/2" large wood screws to assemble everything. The top of the ramp is nearly 8" off the ground and I have no problem getting to any part of our cars. You can use it for the front or rear tires. I lay on a 1/4" rubber mat that was used for weight lifting equipment.
As far as I know, the angle of this ramp will allow any car to use it without contacting bodywork. The only con's are the weight of the wood ramp (heavy but I have little trouble moving it) and you do need to be careful when driving the car up on the top step because it's only 1' long. I have no trouble doing it by myself but I always accept help if it's around. My wife always drives her car on the ramps and I just tell her how much more to go. I then place a steel chock behind the tires on the ground.
You can make the top step a few inches longer if you have enough wood or cut the pieces slightly different than I did. You can also mount some wheels to the side of the base and tip the ramp up and wheel it where you want.
May not be for everyone but I thought I'd share.