Can I replace the oil change access door

You have to buy a complete new undertray. You could get a piece of plastic and a piano hinge and make just the door if you're a bit "handy". Or you could just leave it. It doesn't do much. Maybe reduces dirt buildup a bit. Maybe reduces air resistance a bit. The debate has gone on and on here about it's effectiveness.

 

Mine got shredded after the dealer didn't fasten the flap properly when they did an oil change. The shield and 2 adjacent ones were already damaged from scrapes, rocks, etc. I agreed to buy the parts and the dealer installed them free. A Toyota brand replacement for the main shield is over $200 but a generic replacement is about $43. Since it is not a precision part, I was comfortable with the cheap version. It does provide some protection from road debris.

 

The Toyota part is around $197 at the discounters, like here.

A link to a usable $43 generic would probably interest some folks. Salvage could also be an option.

-Chap

 

If you never use the little flap, remove the entire panel for oil changes, it'll last forever. It's obviously, and temptingly there, to be used for oil changes. But the plastic is too thin, and too brittle: this is basically a design failure by Toyota. Repeated flexing of that "hinge" will break it.

FWIW the Repair Manual oil change instruction recommends removal of the entire panel, makes no mention of the flap. It also recommends removal of the narrow panel just ahead too, lol.

I've done around 11~12 DIY oil changes. For the first one, having watched a few YouTube videos, I used the flap, quickly realized what a POS it was, never did that again. Taking the whole panel off (if and when you get a replacement) takes all of 5 minutes.

There's a couple of the plastic fasteners that vary, so you need to stay organized. They're at the flap, have light grey heads, and are slightly larger than the rest. When you've got the fasteners off, rinse them in hot soapy water, move the mechanism a few times. Doing this, they'll likely last the life of the car.

I use a veritable arsenal of tools to gently remove those fasteners:

 

The "delete" I performed on my oil change trap door is my favorite Gen 3 mod!

 

I cut off the cumbersome oil-change door through its "hinge" and reattached it using two short straps with screws (along with the existing fasteners) in the door. By removing just two screws and the push-pin fasteners, the door comes completely off. That solves the ground-clearance problem, or need to lift the car so danged high, or remove the entire large panel. Much better!

 

Thank you everyone for your very speedy replies. I will search the used suppliers for a replacement panel and modify it as CR94 suggested but with Dzus fasteners from Pegasus racing.

 

I did something very much like CR94 did, only I just waited for the 'hinges' to fail rather than cutting them myself. Then I made two short lengths of plastic pipe strap I had lying around and riveted them to the flap where the 'hinges' were, drilled 7mm holes through the straps and through the main part of the panel, and I just use two more of the same 7mm plastic clips (those are the smaller ones) already used at the other places on the flap. Just pop out those clips and the one larger one and out comes the flap.