Oil Changing Easy or Difficult?

did it yesterday on the 2k4 and it took 12 minutes start to finish in the carport. I made up two 2x12blocks with a bit of strapping on one end so the car won't push them out of the way and once up on them slide the drain pan under pull plug and drain oil. The filter is easy if you have the right tool which is a cup type wrench that goes on a 6" extension and a ratchet. This is easier than most as the drain plug is close to the front of the car. I have an old mat that I throw down and lay on. If your used to doing oil changes this is no different.

 

I think it is one of the easier cars for changing oil. The drain plug is right there toward the front of the car and the filter is just behind the engine and easy to reach from underneath. You need one of the filter wrenches that fits over the end of the filter and that you can turn with a ratchet.

 

easy access to the filter...if you're on the thin side, as the Prius is fairly low to the ground. Otherwise I can squeeze my head under the front and see the small oil filter no prob. I've installed a Fumoto drain on the oil pan so flipping that to drain is easy. Get a short oil-catch pan as the taller ones may not fit under there.

 

If Tony can do it, you can. He's our litmus test. :lol:

 

The Fumoto valve took all of the work out of oil change for me. Check them out @ http://www.fumotovalve.com/

It usually takes me about 30 minutes to change the oil and rotate the tires.

 

So having the front end lifted up won't effect the drainage?

And note to John...looks like you need to get an undercarriage wash, the Minnesota salt looks like it's eating away at your car!

 

Is it right that the same part fumoto valve fits all modern Toyotas, be it a Prius, Sienna, etc?

 

You wouldn't believe how horrible the whole car looks right now. Winter is pretty cruel up here... the perfect proving ground for our favorite technology!

By the way, it looks like I'll need to add a note of my own. Have any of you noticed the other oil filter? The last number for the part is a 2 rather than a 1. That means it came from Thailand instead of the United States.

This oil filter appears to be nearly identical, with the exception of it being about 1/8 inch shorter (making it a closer match than the one from Japan). The odd part is the gasket is lubricated with some type of goo and the whole end is sealed in shrinkwrap.

Has anyone else used this one yet? I've got just a little over 1,000 miles on the one I installed.

 

thousands a year as that is the standard forklift filter. I bought 8 filters from work that are the origional Prius number and apparently they are no longer available. Guess I should buy the rest of them.

 

Which valve fits the Prius? I hope I ordered the right one. I got the one that fits " all other vehicles". The number is F104. I also ordered one for my other vehicle. I hate fighting to get the plug out.

 

I installed the F-103. Don't go for the nipple, it adds about 1/2 inch and is not needed.

 

Anyone use car ramps? I'm concerned whether the front of the vehicle will clear the ramps.

 

I kept Hobbit's old post for my reference --

Finally changed the oil tonight; only slightly overdue. After
reading a bunch of oil-filter quality surveys I went with a Napa
[aka Wix] gold 1394. Getting at everything was easy; I cranked
up the *driver's* front jack point to both make space underneath
and tilt the car to the right, making the bottom of the oil pan
slightly "downhill" for more complete drainage. The old filter
came off fairly easily by hand. 3.5 quarts of Mobil 1 back in,
~1/4" shy of the "full" dot on the dipstick and based on the
stunning quantity of oil-overfill rants out there in the forums,
I think I'll just leave it right where it is.

 

I just installed one of those a few days ago (my Prius' first oil change) but I've only put about 100 miles on it since then.

The only problem I had was getting the old filter off. The end cap wrench kept slipping and every other wrench I tried slipped or couldn't fit up there. It seemed like the Toyota factory filter was smaller (on the end) than the wrench, which fit the Toyota replacement filter fine. So the whole job ended up taking 3 hours include 3 trips to get different oil filter wrenches.

 

I purchased Rhino Ramps from Autozone a few years ago, and they work very well for sports cars, or cars with low bumpers/skirts.

Justinc

 

Right tools, no ramps, 20 minutes, piece of cake.