Hey everyone, new Prius owner here. I bought an 05 Prius off Craigslist for $3900 plus tax/registration/license. My question is, do I absolutely need a jack if trying to change the Engine Oil and the Transmission oil? I saw a video of a guy changing it without having to raise the car.
I usually just run it up on a set of ramps and set the Ebrake. That makes it very easy to: Slide a oil catch container under the car, Reach the oil filter (done with every oil change), have room to work note the general condition of the front bumper, dams and air-flow panels. If you have some scrap wood laying around, you can easily make DIY set of ramps. There are several DIY Videos on doing this, just do a Google search on "DIY Car ramps wood" IMHO, you can't do that with a jack unless you jack up each side of the car and put it on jack-stands. Also, in Seattle, many cars have the Ebrake freeze up from disuse. This lets me exerciser the Ebrake.
For information: There are two points for lifting: in the front middle of the cross member and another in the rear middle (cone shaped). I'm using only these two points with a small hydraulic trolley jack for lifting the complete front or back. Such a jack can lift up to 2 tons and costs less than 20 € (<25 $) I think, oil change should be possible without lifting the car, but there will not be much space. If you can reach the filter and if you can put a flat container under the drain hole, you can do. SM-G900F ?
Thanks everyone. I will attempt to change the oil without car ramps. If I cannot do it, I will buy the ramps.
Anything is "possible". My 2 cents, it's virtually impossible: good luck getting a breaker bar style wrench on the fill and drain bolts for removal, or a torque wrench to re-install. The clearance is less than your rib cage. Ramps are the cheapest entry-level method. I gave up on them decades ago, found them too "exciting". Prefer a decent floor jack and safety stands. For insurance I like to put a large chunk of tree stump under a main support member too, before crawling under. The front jacking point is shown in your Owner's Manual. I would recommend not using the scissor jack locations for your safety stands. There are very solid, heavy gauge points more suitable/stable, just in-board of the scissor jack points. There's a link to a pdf on this page: John's Stuff - Toyota Prius Maintenance - Changing Oil Showing these jackstand support points. Here's some screen-grabs from the pdf: (3rd gen underbody is very similar btw, I use the same points.)
I've only changed the oil once in my Gen 2. You can probably drive the passenger tire onto the curb and get enough clearance for the oil change. See below for an example on a Miata. You can't do the same for a Gen 3, BTW.
Finding a vessel that clears the undercarriage will be difficult without jacking up the car a couple of inches (my store bought oil drain container is a bit too tall). Would bet one of those larger sized rectangular aluminum trays might fit under there and have enough capacity for 4 quarts of engine oil or transmission fluid. Agreeing with @Mendel Leisk on getting enough leverage to remove the transmission fill plug, mine was fairly tight. Is the engine splash guard/shield still attached? Have you looked into http://www.harbourfreight.com , they have some affordable tools. Including a handy liquid pump for getting the ATF WS fluid into the transmission without making much of a mess.
Having done both multiple times its impossible to get the fill bolt off the trans without jacking it up. Don't even bother because if you screw up that fill bolt strip it etc you will be in a world of hurt and will really regret your cheapness. I have seen posters on here say they changed the engine oil without jacking it up but like SFO says I have multiple plastic catch cans and none fit under the car as it sits. Buy the black metal top of the oil filter socket.
