Official (OEM) Toyota Prius 2016 (Gen 4) oil-change instructions

^ My thoughts run along the same lines, at 1:38 am.

 

First DIY oil change for my Prius Two. Per my 20+ year policy I do not take my car to the dealer for DIY serviceable issues. Total time about 40 minutes. Next time, maybe half that. Also performed a complete check of filters and fluids. All OK.

• Consumables: 4.4 quarts of Mobil 1 $36 (usually $25 on sale -- gotta watch for that.)
  
• Toyota Oil Filter Cartridge: $5 (includes o-ring). Bought 3. The dealer will see it for the 30,000 check.
  
• Toyota Oil Plug Washer $1.10 (bought 10 -- I will be done with the car by then, God willing.)
• Purchased Advance Auto Sure Bilt Low Profile Cap Wrench ($9.95) Model 25412. 64mm with 14 flutes. Not a very elegant tool, but works ok. Says a 7/8" or 17 mm wrench will fit. 7/8" fits fine. 17 mm a very tight fit. Go USA! There is a printable copy of this wrench on thingiverse 64.5mm 14 sides Oil Filter Removal wrench fits Camry Celica Corolla Prius by tonycstech - Thingiverse. Cost to print: 4.5 hours and about $3.45 in materials.

I placed two 4x4 posts about 2 feet long on the ground in front of the car. The Two climbed up on them without issue. This provided a proper amount of clearance without jacking or purchasing ramps. Opened hood and removed filler cap.

Approached the fill process from the front after looking in from the side. The engine in the Prius sits very far forward, which is atypical of previous cars I have owned.

The screw on/off cover is easy to see and detach. Not thrilled with the coarse threaded screws as attachments. I didn't look to see if there were metal tabs (note to do this next time). I would prefer dzus fasteners (preference over from the race car days) for security and ease of use.

Oil drain plug faces toward back, Oil filter faces front. Very neat.

Opened filler plug and drained oil. Washer was stuck to pan. Reinstalled oil plug finger tight, loosened 1/2 turn and "pinged" the washer with a large flat screwdriver via hammer. The washer popped loose. Installed new washer and tightened plug to specs.

Oil filter canister was pretty tight, but I removed it without issue. Removed o-ring and discarded. Dipped new o-ring in old oil, and replaced in proper location. Installed new filter element and reinstalled canister. Filter wrench popped off without issue.

Opened 5-quart bottle of Mobil 1 0w 20. Poured off 0.6 quarts into clean jar. Filled car with remaining oil. It's 100 degrees today, so the oil ran like water. No spills. Remaining clean oil put back into original container. Marked underhood tag for Mobil 1 only.

Checked plug and filter for tight, replaced cover and drove off posts. Left car in Ready for 1 hour while I washed and cleaned inside to monitor for leaks. Turned ignition off and checked level after an hour. All done.

Ironically, the odometer turned 10,000 as i pulled into the driveway to do the change. I reset the Trip B for the next 10,000 mile mileage run.

I'll have 30k on this car before a year is out at this rate.

POSTSCRIPT: Genuine Toyota filter and oil plug washer at same or lower prices than I paid available from Amazon via Prime. Mobil 1 $26 via Prime. Should have looked first!

 

I usually do the hammer and screwdriver trick on the drain bolt washer when I've backed out the bolt just a couple of turns, keeps it on the bolt and out of the catch pan.

I can't see leaving the car in ready for an hour to check for leaks: if you did it right it's tight.

Not sure how you're using the 4x4's. If they're sub'ing for ramps and you drive on them longitudinally, do you end up with front wheels sitting on a 3.5" wide piece of timber? I think I'd prefer kosher ramps, or (my pref) safety stands.

Editorial: oil drain plug?

 

Yeah, the 4 x 4s are a bit thinner than the tire, but there is no danger. Plenty of meat there. Savings, $43.

Leaving the car running in the driveway is just for piece of mind.

 

Just bought a box of 10 YZZA6 filters with drain plug washers for $40 shipped.
Search for yzza6 in eBay.

 

Is the oil filter cap same size as gen 3?

 

TOY640 is the wrench I have

 

The wrench I bought was for a Gen 3. Works fine.

 

I thought all Toyota came with free oil changes for 2 years (no cost maintenance and road side assistance) ????

http://www.toyota.com/toyota-owners-theme/pdf/ToyotaCareBrochure_English_FULL_outlined.pdf

 

That's just in the States. I appreciate the site is pretty States 'centric though, just saying.

Anyway, that some people in the States would rather do their own must say something, lol.

 

It definitely says something. Exactly what it says probably depends on the reader, though.

 

Good point. Some people just love DIY, and it is nice to do something at your own convenience. Kind of like take-out vs going out to a restaurant.

 

No matter which dealership you go to you are not going to get a master mechanic to change your oil. It will be some teenage kid. If a lift is used (and it likely will be) you are also trusting a person who you don't know to raise the car, which is just another thing that can go wrong (seriously wrong). And, since you cannot observe or monitor the process, you really have no idea what oil gets put in (brand, weight, volume). Remember, what the dealer writes on the receipt can be complete fiction, and often is. There is also no way to verify that the oil filter was changed since it is a cartridge type, or that the crush washer was replaced.

When I change my own oil I control all of those factors, plus I treat the car with kid gloves. I am not going to scratch it, I am going to make sure everything is properly torqued and that all of the pieces are put back with all of the nuts and bolts. And my investment in time? Less than it takes to drive to the dealer (20 minutes) where I have to wait for the task to be done at their convenience. I also now purchase everything from Amazon (Prime) which means even less time invested.

DIY is a no brainer.

 

I think the plastic underpanels can suffer at the dealerership. Can depend on the place, the attitude, but I've found they'll lose/break fasteners. The 3rd gen prius "oil change flap" gets no mention in the Repair Manual; it says to take the whole panel off. But it's there, a real tempting short cut, but it's plastic is not meant to be flexed: way too thin and brittle. And: with the fasteners, time is money, they are hustling, not patiently coaxing the finicky fasteners out, not washing the grit out before reinstall.

 

Page 579 in Owners manual describes how to reset Maintenance reminder

 

This is an impressive thread! Is anyone changing their Gen 4 oil at 5K intervals instead of the recommended 10K? A car freak who owns a dealership nearby says that he still changes his oil at 5K...not caring what the owners' manual says. 10K takes me over a year most of the time because I work out of a home office. So maybe I should have the oil changed every year and forget the mileage? (The car lives in our garage, so it is properly spoiled.)

 

The interval is 10K miles OR 12 months, whichever comes first. And if you want to half that, there is the "severe service" proviso. And ultimately: it's your car, your call.

 

How do you guys check the oil level after oil change? After I done, I started the car but the engine was not running. On my old gas car, I started it, let it run for a couple seconds, turned off engine and check the oil level. do I have to actually drive it to get oil circulated?

 

I just put in the specd amount, check it after next drive. It will be about a cup high if you changed filter, until its run.