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

The clip has a wee tang that I believe rides up-and-over a protrusion on the oil filter cap, very gentle and easy.

But yeah: I use the ratchet wrench to unscrew that thing, all the way till the O-ring exits the cylinder it's in, and it puts up moderate resistance all the way.

 

Torqued to 18 foot pound you'll be ok.

 

If you are so worried about the metal "cans" of oil filters going to landfills, you can still get a tool that cuts them open to recycle the metal can.

 

So ...

I can go pay money to buy a cartridge-to-spin-on retrofit kit ...

... and take my car apart, and change the filter housing to the retrofit kit ...

... and buy filters with cans ...

... and buy a special can opener ...

... and cut up my old filters ...

... and recycle the cans.

Or I can leave my car the way they built it, and not have cans.

 

There is a reason why Toyota quietly switched back to the spin on cartridge oil filter.

There are many horror stories all over Priuschat and elsewhere on "stuck on" plastic cartridges and some that leak out all the oil out of the sump.

A $10k -30k plus car is worth the cheap $100 or so investment to avoid all of those issues.

 

Could be that it was revised to avoid the "swelling" of the housing with age. A redesign of either the material compound or physical design would do that. But only time and history of installed units will tell if it was a good redesign.

On that account, I'd spend a little extra and get the "spin on" filter conversion.

 

It's been more than a year since I did it. It was absolutely easy to do. I bought the o rings but didn't use them. The original ones were fine. The last oil change I did in August told me the conversion was definitely worth it.

 

Maybe it's that I do my own changes ... I think I would notice if I busted the cap. or if it were leaking oil when I was done.

 

I still prefer the spin on oil filter system that has been used since the early 1960's. My old retired friend tell me of remembers the old cartridge types with the perforated cans that preceded the spin ons. He thought that Toyota and others went backwards with the cartridges.

He, too, converted his 2015 Prius to the spin on.

 

After reading most of the threads here, it just boils down to a personal preference. If one wants to invest in the spin type, so be it. If one doesn't so be it. For me, it was getting harder and harder with each change to get the original filter out and I chose to invest in the switch.

 

The conversion is so easy that all you need is a 3/8 drive ratchet with a 12mm socket to remove and install the 12mm hex head M8x1.25x35mm long J.I.S. bolts.. If you don't have a 12mm Allen wrench for the socket, you can easily use a bolt with a 12mm hex head as I did held b clamping the threads in a Vise-Grip locking plier. It added no more than 15 minutes to the oil change.

 

Yes, it seems very easy and simple. Please feel free to purchase the kit and send it to me.
But it's NOT worth over $100, TO ME. For some, yes.
But as Montgomery wrote..."...it just boils down to a personal preference. If one wants to invest in the spin type, so be it. If one doesn't so be it. "

 

Black Friday's right around the corner....

 

As I recall, Toyota switched to the spin-on filter sometime in the 2018 model.

 

I like your dog. Maybe, we can work something out.

 

I believe the switch came in the late 2017 models. Mine still has the cartridge.

 

At McGeorge Toyota Parts site, with 2019 Prius entered, I find what looks to be the 3rd gen style, item 22 here??

Engine Parts for 2019 Toyota Prius | Toyota Parts