Will using the 90915-YZZF1 Toyota oil filter void my warranty?

Go ahead, the filter specs are exactly the same except the length as you have noticed. It would be very hard for Toyota to prove their own marginally longer filter "destroyed" your engine.

Wayne

 

The longer oil filter has more (functional) surface area. There is no clear indication that the Prius engine 'needs' this. Would suggest that it could not hurt.

 

Unless, Toyota can prove the bigger oil filter does cause the oil pressure to drop to a dangerous level. Thus the engine is not being lubricate enough. I can't see why toyota will void the vehicle warranty.

 

nope, it won't void your warranty. that being said, toyota picked that particular filter for a reason. the bigger filter was created for bigger 4-cyl engines (az series engines). the smaller filter was made for the up-to-s-series engines. you don't really need that size filter on this size engine.

but it's your car. do what you like.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FireEngineer @ May 7 2007, 06:31 AM) [snapback]436761[/snapback]</div>

I agree and also use them because I had a bunch left over.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chinalfr2 @ May 8 2007, 01:59 PM) [snapback]437616[/snapback]</div>

Exactly correct. First of all, they could not void your warranty, but they could refuse to pay a claim made against it in case of a failure. Under the terms and provisions Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act, Toyota (the warrantor) would have to prove that using the incorrect filter was the due and proximate cause of the failure.

That said, why take the chance? Toyota engineers specified a particular filter for a reason. Why second guess them?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ May 23 2007, 05:21 PM) [snapback]448598[/snapback]</div>

If he was talking about using a smaller oil filter then I would agree with you but he is talking about a larger filter that is only 1/2 inch longer and internally the same.

You act like everything the Toyota Engineers release to the consumer is the only way it can work. The Toyota Engineering department is controlled by the money department. The Engineers have come up with much better engines but have been shut down due to costs. Toyota is in business to make money.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rest @ May 23 2007, 09:12 PM) [snapback]448636[/snapback]</div>

There are plenty of cars on the road today where the engineers have specified an alternate oil filter. I'll give you an example. The car I traded in on my Prius was a 2001 Audi A4 1.8 Turbo. Audi specified an original equipment filter and also specified an alternate filter that was larger. They did this when they changed the factory oil fill from dino to synthetic oil. I regularly ran the larger filter because it increased my oil capacity and the surface area of the filter. However, I knew for certain that the alternate filter was designated by Audi as having the proper filtration characteristics for my car.

Part of my problem with you guys running around here and talking about using other Toyota filters is that it may lead some to believe as long as a filter fits, then it will work. All filters are not made the same and just because it spins on your car does not mean that it is doing the job.

This is not your typical car enthusiast crowd and many people reading these messages are neophytes to the world of DIY auto maintenance. I just want to reinforce how important it is to use parts that were designed for the application for which they were intended, especially if you want to take full advantage of your warranty rights.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ May 23 2007, 08:34 PM) [snapback]448727[/snapback]</div>

I am not saying to use any oil filter just because it fits. Believe me that is just something I would not do. I did my research before deciding on using a different oil filter. And I wouldn't have done that if it weren't for me having 6 RAV4 filters left over.

But I do understand your point about not wanting some noob to read something here and then damage his vehicle or lose his warranty.

 

It's almost like Toyota wants to corner the market on anything done or put on your car for exorbitant dealership prices in order for them to honor their own warranty. Doesn't really take a rocket scientist or even a Toyota Certified Mechanic to change the oil. Of course using Jiffy Lube might and probably should void the warranty.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kcoruol @ May 25 2007, 01:59 PM) [snapback]449939[/snapback]</div>

It isn't Toyota as much as it is their dealers. Dealers like to scare the be bejesus out of you by making it seem as if they don't service your vehicle, then any repairs won't be covered under warranty. It is an act of self-preservation more than anything else. If you are't taking your car to the Toyota dealership for an oil change, then you are taking it somewhere else or doing it yourself. Either way, it is lost revenue to them. So, sometimes they will twist the facts in their favor.

However, the law is on our side. The Magnusson-Moss Act says that a manufacturer may not deny warranty coverage solely because a customer has used an aftermarket part. Magnusson-Moss is meant to protect a guy who goes to the Jiffy Lube down the street and gets a Fram filter instead of a "genuine Toyota filter." In that case, the Toyota dealer can't refuse to fix the engine because the guy used another brand of filter that meets the exact same specifications

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ May 23 2007, 11:34 PM) [snapback]448727[/snapback]</div>

In reality, it's probably just the opposite. I suspect that if the chances of installing an improper oil filter that held the potential to do catastrophic damage were a significant, recurring problem, Toyota would have big, safety-orange warning stickers plastered all over the car to use nothing but the exact oil filter specified for that model/engine (the parts' department guys would be extolling the same warnings when selling oil filters, as well). In actuality, if there's enough room for an oil filter to fit, and it spins onto the threads properly, the likelihood that it's going to work fine are actually quite high.

IOW, Toyota (and all other manufacturers) engineer oil filter - engine compatibility to be as idiot-proof as possible.

 

I went to the local dealer this week and said I needed a filter for my Prius and he gave me the YZZF1. Go figure.