Working on my wife's car sucks.

We have a 2011 Prius and I had a 2014 Corolla, and currently have a 2016 Corolla.

I find the Corolla is easier to work on due to less stuff (hybrid, brake regen, traction battery) involved. Only one coolant system, so much less coolant hoses, no high voltage cables, no inverter...

Also, even though they both use 1.8L engines, the Corolla doesn't have the problematic EGR cooler and EGR valve that the Gen 3 Prius has.

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The conversion to a spin on oil filter is cheap and easy, costing just a little more than $100.

 

Or, you can get an aluminum oil filter cartridge housing to replace the plastic filter housing that swells and gets very difficult to remove.

The aluminum housing can only be tightened till it hits a stop, and cannot be overtightened. The last time I did an oil change, I was able to loosen the housing by hand. It was still difficult, but I was able to turn it.

FYI, I put one on my 2011 Prius and 2014 and 2016 Corolla. They fit all of them.



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I've personally used these. You can buy the OEM ones from Toyota, they're for the Scion iM or something. But the cheap ones work just fine.

I've used Fumoto valves for years as well, but I like to unscrew them at the end of the oil change to get the last bit of oil that remains due to the valve body projecting up into the oil pan which prevents a few ounces of oil from draining.

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Here's a supposedly oem housing at more than double the price of the other one I linked.

Genuine Toyota 15620-31060 Oil Filter Cap Assembly https://a.co/3ERCY8w

Edit: sorry, this product seems to be for the V6 engines.

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As for the 3/8 inch square hole in the cap. That can be used to tighten the housing, but a 64mm cap style wrench should still be used to remove the filter housing.

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Working on my wife's car sucks

Mechanics are like divorce attorneys.
They’re VERY expensive because the alternative is worse, and sometimes you don’t want to hire the cheapest one you can find.

Preventive maintenance is the key.
If it sucks….
You’re probably not doing it right.

 

IMO the nicest thing about the fumoto is that you can get a little snap-on hose adapter. When used with a foot or so of appropriate tubing, you can dump the sump directly into an empty jug for disposal transfer. No intermediate collector pan needed.

 

Does your Prius have a spin-on metal oil filter? Toyota must have changed all of the Prius to a cartridge-type oil filter sometime during Gen3. My 2015 Gen3 and the first-year model 2017 Prius Prime came with a cartridge oil filter. Then they switched back to a metal spin-on type oil filter mid-year model in 2017. For my 2020 and 2021 PP, they are with spin-on type. Personally, I didn't find either one to be easier or harder to change.

 

According to Baxter, the ones who make spin on replacement adapters for many cars, Toyota experienced issues with oil starvation upon start up with the cartridge types and switched back to the spin on filters in all new models.

Obviously, Toyota apparently holds this information as a closely guarded trade secret to avoid potential legal issues.

That might be another reason that Toyota redesigned and superseded their earlier design of their spin on oil filters.

 

Even less, through Amayama. These prices are CDN $’s:


^ About $100 CDN (say $80 USD), all in, no extra excise/tax charges. Ignore the wipers.

 

Yep working on cars can, definitely, be a pain! I'm thankful our old 2008 Corolla hasn't needed any suspension work, that's one area I pay my local mechanic to fix when needed. The engine air filter does have to PITA tabs in the rear you have to get in there before the clips will attach...just practice it and they aren't so bad. Don't forget to change the cabin air filters in your cars, too....we like the carbon activated ones that remove odors and they should be replace yearly. (Which is coming on up on me.)
I agree with replacing the cheap plastic cartridges with metal...they are much better. My daughter brought her Sienna somewhere for an oil change and they tightened it so hard when I remove and went to replace it it went all the way up to the engine way too loosely so that's when I got her a metal one.
I do have a handy rubber tool that fits over the cartridges (and filters) and catches any oil that comes down...especially good when the oil is hot. It's called Oil Udder and the extra large (I have a Tundra) is $29.99 (The smaller one is $25)
But just thinking of how much time I save NOT waiting for a mechanic to do the work AND I don't have to worry about some noob oil-changer ruining my cartridges or over-tightening or over/under filling the oil OR filling the car with the wrong oil is what makes me do as much of my own maintenance as I can.

 

The cartridge filters cost more because of supply. They are for a specific engine block to a particular brand. A spin on model could be used be multiple engines, models, and even brands.

That's for taking off the disc plug. Take it off, and shove the plastic tube widget that comes with the filter into there. It will open a spring valve to drain the filter. Instead of having oil come down the sides of the cartridge holder or spin on walls.

The 2016 Camry 2.5L had the metal cartridge holder. Preferred the cartridge on the Chevies. It was on top of the engine, with a big hex nut on the cap.

 

My 2016 Corolla does this as well, 62K on the odometer.

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It sounds like valve train clacking to me, but it is just for a moment at startup.

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I sold my 2007 Prius and bought a 2010 Corolla. Life was much much easier till i came upon the oil filter.....jesus...is that housing stupid.
Last change at the dealer and it took quite an effort to get it off. At some point I will move it over to canister.

I liked the YT Georgina posted till i saw all the rusted bolt heads on that guys 2011 Lexus. You can mitigate that rust these days now just spray some of this stuff on all the bolt heads and anything that's rusting under the car it will prevent rusting or at least slow it down if already rusted. Rust will kill your car.

Lots of raves on it from what I have read:


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blaster-1018224-12-oz-Shield-Rust-Protectant-Pack-of-6/389861370?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1148&adid=22222222222000000000&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=10352200394&wl4=pla-1103028060075&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&wl10=Walmart&wl11=Online&wl12=389861370_10000001205&wl14=pb%20blaster%20corrosion%20stop&veh=sem&msclkid=f8e1b99d0c7f145763bddb7939de2239&gclid=f8e1b99d0c7f145763bddb7939de2239&gclsrc=3p.ds