Oil Change 2010 Prius - do it yourself

I did my change.. I had to remove allot more than 3 tabs.. more like 9 or so..... looks like there is enough room for a valved oilplug too.

My magnetic one didn't fit "AP-03" the threads were too coarse.

 

I found that the plastic had more play than you may think. Bent my down pretty easily with just taking out the 3 tabs. Don't worry, it's pretty sturdy and won't break.

I'd be interested in info on a valved oil plug. That sounds very handy!

 

QuickOilDrainValve.com - the best way to change oil

I think it was discussed somewhere above or in another thread (I had it bookmarked).

 

I like the one with the nipple.. if anyone finds one with a magnet.. let me know... I suppose we could make one by applying strong epoxy to a tiny strong magnet.

May be worth investigating since its gonna be there so long between changes.

 

Where did you get the magnetic drain plug?

 

This is the plug he sold me... magnet is very strong and it would be great except that for the 2010... "It doesn't fit!!"

 

I don't think that would work well because you would never be cleaning the magnetic area because your not removing the plug.

If I decide to do my own oil changes then I'll be getting one of these. Has anyone confirmed that there is enough room?

 

good point.. I didnt have one to see, but when I was under there, I remember eyeballing it and I think there is plenty of room.. keep in mind the shield is pretty flexible too.. I dont think it will be a problem.
You still have to move the sheild though because the oil canister is pretty close to that too, but it would help a bit.

The whole oil change procedure is sure a pain to access now.. you have to be under the "middle" of the car rather than the front end since you have to pull the shield down.
If you tried to access it from the front, the shield would be between you and the ground.

Im glad John posted pictures because when I got under there I didnt know where to start.

I think I will have to get higher ramps now.

 

Who is using ramps and who is using a floor jack? Which is better?

 

Does anyone know how to reset the Oil Maintenance Screen?? I change my oil last week before the 5000 mile mark. I just hit 5000 miles today and the Oil Screen came on.air conditioner compressor

 

Ramps are much safer IMO and easy to engage an disengage.. "no crawling under the car etc".

My driveway has a little slope downwards as it drops to the road.. maybe about 6 feet wide.. I point the nose of my car out and put my ramps there and drive up.. it gives me more room under the car.

But usually in the past I"ve always been underneath the "front" part of the car.. not the back...

Maybe my same ramps would work just fine if I didn't use the slope of the driveway since I'm not needing to get under the front anymore but rather the middle of the car behind the engine and just use them on the flat part of the driveway only...... hummm.....

 

Can someone tell me if I can change the oil filter with the oil pan full? Would this cause lots of oil to come out of the oil filter housing? The reason I am asking is because I did an oil change a couple days ago and I bought a 65mm tool from Advanced Auto Parts that DID NOT work. I should have tested it before I drained the oil but I did not. I didn't have time to run to a Toyota dealership to by the right tool so I did an oil change without changing the filter. I want to buy the right tool and change the filter but I don't want to waste the 4 fresh quarts of Mobil 1 that I put in. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

1.) turn car on
2.) set the Trip to ‘Trip Mode A’
3.) turn the car off.
4.) press the MPG button on the dash, press the break pedal, press the start button.
5.) the car will start and a box will pop up claiming the oil warning is being reset. A progress bar will scroll across the screen.

 

Another problem I had is with the crush washer on the oil pan. The original one was stuck to the oil pan and I could not remove it with my fingers. I could have used a gasket scraper but I did want to scrape the surface of the oil pan because a scrape could cause the oil to leak more than re-using the washer in my opinion. It makes me nervous using the same washer but I torqued it to the 27 ft-lbs like recommended and it seems OK besides making me nervous. Any comments on this?

 

You can get away with using the same gasket.. just don't keep doing it over and over.

Just drain your oil again in a fresh oil pan and change your filter, then put it right back in so you don't waste it.


Trying to get the filter out while its full of oil "will" be messing because there is not quick way to change a canister filter... if it was spinon, you could get away with more, but would still be messy even at that.

At least this way you loose no oil.

BTW.. you want a 64mm wrench with 14 sides.

 

My original washer was stuck to the pan also. I use a flat blade screwdriver and place the blade against the washer being careful that it only touches the washer not the pan. Then I just give it a whack with the heal of my hand a time or two. I have done two oil changes now and that seems to work OK. Alan is correct thought, you can reuse them a couple of times.

 

I have read most of the posts on these oil change threads and I don't think any one has tried it yet and reported the results. It looks like it would not drain the oil out of the pan, just be sure to check the level when you are done.

 

I did my first oil change and it went smooth. No big deal.

One thing, after I torqued down on the oil filter cap, the metal tab is attached to the filter housing did not quite line up where it was originally. About 1/4" short. But I didnt want to tighten it any more than the recommended torque setting, so I figure it would be just fine.

Also, if they are going to put a cartridge filter on the engine, why dont they just put a 3/8" square slot in the cap so we wouldnt have to screw with a oil filter wrench?

Also I had to pry the wrench off the oil filter cap. I used the 64mm wrench and it fit fine until I tried to remove it.

 

Here is the wrench I bought.....

There are a few cheaper ones out there ... but you really get what you pay for. This one is really solid, and appears to be solid stainless.. it has a wrench adapter "and" a 3/8 hole to just simply stick and extension wrench into.

Again.. there are cheaper ones that simply have a hole to stick the wrench into.

As far as tightness.. I didn't get too scientific about it.
I remember the spinon only want as tight as your hand can fit... with that in mind, there is a fairly wide variance on mens hand strength.

When you shake hands, you find that out..... so I just tried to match a common sense tightness.... not tight, but not loose either.