No car in decade, bought a 2012 Prius

Hi! I also bought a 2012 Prius with similar mileage this year. A metric socket set with some extensions and a few deep sockets (at least 10mm and 12mm) is essential. Go ahead and get a couple spare 10mms because if you work on cars long enough you'll lose them.

Be careful with the oil change if you have someone else do it. Many Jiffylubes, etc. tend to overfill, which can wreak havoc on your engine. Sounds like you know about the EGR issues. See the links in my signature for my opinion on it. Cleaning the intake manifold isn't hard, just a bit messy and while it might look scary when you take such a big part out of your engine bay, it's a pretty safe thing to DIY. Change the PCV valve while you're doing it and consider installing an oil catch can.

Oh, and you say "flushed" but know that Toyota doesn't advise actually flushing fluids. Full drain and replace? Sure. But not what most shops call "flushing."

 

It depends what kind of garage you have.

If you have a real garage, I’d get a Daytona floor jack from Harbor Freight and a pair of jack stands. You only need two jack stands unless you’re doing a transmission oil change, then you’ll need four. And you’ll need a drain pan.

Then, I’d go with one if the Craftsman Metric ratchet sets with a fitted case that holds all your sockets. They don’t have many Metric-only sets, but I’d get the biggest metric only set they have. You’ll also need screwdrivers and pliers. Harbor Freight is great for pliers. Actually, you can buy nearly all of these tools from Harbor, except the spark plug socket and the Fumoto valve.

The 14mm thin wall spark plug socket is special (though not Toyota proprietary) and you need a 10mm male Hex socket to drain the transmission and inverter coolant. I bought a Lisle trim tool which is great for taking off the belly pan fasteners. Go to your Toyota dealer and buy a dozen belly pan fasteners and two of the larger size ones because the ones you have are falling apart by now.

For oil changes you’ll need an oil filter wrench and I installed a Fumoto valve. With this valve, I insert a 6” tube to the valve and insert the other end into an empty milk jug, and drain the oil directly into the jug. My curbside recycling accepts these jugs and so I don’t have the mess of cleaning up a drain pan.

That’s about it, although I’ve picked up a few additional odds and ends…

View attachment 214121
View attachment 214122
View attachment 214123
View attachment 214124
View attachment 214125
View attachment 214126
View attachment 214127

 

what about the people with fake garages?

 

Come on…
Some people live in apartments, have only carports, street parking, etc. They don’t have room for a floor jack and a floor jack is more hassle to haul out than to just use the scissor jack.

 

I'd never heard of those Fumoto valves. Don't you still have to deal with an oily mess when you remove the oil filter?

 

still waiting for tool recommendations for fake garages.

 

A little mess, but not much.

 

I think you should stick with paying others to work on your car.

 

Do you still use a container? Just put out some shop towels?

 

one can change their own oil in a fake garage saving lots of money.

 

Yes one can, but we’d better keep you away from the dangerous grownup tools.

 

Last time I did it with my son and we held a funnel under the oil filter, draining into a milk jug. But my Prius has a spin on oil filter; I modded it.

 

Funny, when Exhaust Gas Recirculation commentary is so common we include it in signatures. Same story here: check my sig for EGR info.

Also in my sig: oil change info, and it gets into jacking points, related strategy.

 

same goes for my signature

 

Mickey mouse blow up garage for @Grit?

moto g power ?

 

bounce house!!!

 

Just editorial.

 

Just kidding

moto g power ?

 

+ a set of rhino ramps, jack stands, and socket for oil filter housing.

No one is born to work on cars - it takes practice.

I don't trust the dealerships anymore for doing oil changes. The last time I took a car to the dealership for an oil change, they lied about doing it. So I do all the oil changes for the family cars.

moto g power ?