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swap over the small oil cap drain too. that's metal. If it's stuck on your old plastic cap, then you can just buy one. PN: 15643-31050
One time I had to put the car on a lift and use a 10ft pipe to break lose the cap.
I've done dozen of oil changes on lexus and toyota and that's usually what I do. The plastic cap always gets stuck even if you torque it down properly. It's a fail design. the plastic shrinks and expands throughout time from heat cycle. My buddy is a toyota tech and suggest this too.
edit: the cap itself is all the same size for all lexus and toyota. What people don't realize is that the center piece height is different. You can swap this from the plastic one.
Dorman 917-016 Oil Filter Cap kit is an example. https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-GENUINE...-/201508289925 if you wanna see the list of cross-references of cars for this metal oil cap.
Hello! I realize there's probably tons of DIYs on this, possibly on Prius forums. But wanted to add my own simplified take on it. I like to show efficient/cheaper ways of doing things, while maintaining excellent quality. I hope this encourages those to DIY. Just use common sense and be safe. If you don't feel comfortable undertaking an oil change, definitely ask a friend for help or see a mechanic. But really, it's easy! Just go slow and don't strip the oil drain plug. Also for those who want, you can modify your oil filter housing as someone posted earlier to accept the newer style 16+ Prius, 18+ Corolla style metal oil filters.
I purchased my car with 40,000 miles on it. Dealer said they did an oil change but I do not think so. You be the judge. The filter did look pretty good and a peak inside the valve cover looks clean. The oil looks as if it has about 8-10k miles on it. Peace of mind! I plan on changing the oil around every 7,000 miles or so. I may invest in an extractor to make things even simpler. Or even relocate the oil filter to the top of the engine for a double-whammy simplification. Never need to lift the car again!
Anywho...
I purchased literally everything on Amazon. Got everything to my door the next day. Too easy lol. What you'll need:
1) Oil. I used Castrol Magnatec 0W-20. Not only is this oil the cheapest, there's a video series on youtube showing this oil has the best protection for high temp metal to metal contact. Beating out expensive oils. Win/win. This engine calls for 4.2 quarts. This jug is $20 (price can fluctuate) for a 5 quart container. So you'll have some left over.
Drive car onto ramps. The electric motor makes this smooth. Put car in EV mode!
Perfect. Set parking brake! Place extra wheel/support/jackstand under car for extra layer of safety.
Pull dipstick out a few inches and remove oil cap and set aside.
The three main ingredients. Oil, filter, o-rings. Don't forget all three.
Remove the 10mm screws around the perimeter of this square drain pan cover using a 10mm socket and wrench. Be sure to reinstall the cover correctly after you are done.
Pic done for illustration purposes. Drain oil first. Then remove filter using the special tool. Remove clip with screwdriver to make things easier.
Drain into pan. Make sure there's no old gasket remaining.
While oil is draining, work on oil filter. Install new filter AND O-Ring (it comes with the filter inside the box)
Button up the bottom. Ensure everything nice and snug. You can use torque specs if you want which is 27 lbs for the oil pan bolt. I just made sure it's nice and snug. I'm usually a stickler for torque specs, but not on a plastic oil pan. Just tighten it down, but no need to use superhero strength. Do what you are comfortable with.
Refill car with 4.2 quarts of oil.
Check dip stick, make sure the fill line is somewhere on or around the top dot.
One O ring on the oil filter, and one on the drain pan as pictured above where the oil is draining out. If it's stuck, peel it off the oil pan. at first i thought it was part of the oil pan cause it was stuck on and wouldn't budge. but it flaked off when i tapped it with a screwdriver. careful not to scratch the pan
Did the oil change this weekend. I figured we needed to use the 5 o-rings lol. It was a breeze. The only thing that gave me a bit of a struggle was taking the filter housing off.. I bought a tool from Amazon and wasn't sure if it was correct (though description says it is), but it was able to fit on and remove it. I was afraid of damaging it while trying to take it off. Other than that it was a breeze.
I did have to go to AutoZone to buy a 27mm socket for the filter tool
many oil filter tools have a square in the middle to insert a 3/8" ratched square head. did you check to see if yours had that? you shouldn't need a socket. but you have one now!
and don't worry you won't be damaging the oil filter housing.
swap over the small oil cap drain too. that's metal. If it's stuck on your old plastic cap, then you can just buy one. PN: 15643-31050
One time I had to put the car on a lift and use a 10ft pipe to break lose the cap.
I've done dozen of oil changes on lexus and toyota and that's usually what I do. The plastic cap always gets stuck even if you torque it down properly. It's a fail design. the plastic shrinks and expands throughout time from heat cycle. My buddy is a toyota tech and suggest this too.
edit: the cap itself is all the same size for all lexus and toyota. What people don't realize is that the center piece height is different. You can swap this from the plastic one.
Dorman 917-016 Oil Filter Cap kit is an example. https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-GENUINE...-/201508289925 if you wanna see the list of cross-references of cars for this metal oil cap.
FYI to anyone who tries this. I bought part number 15620-31060 off amazon and it didn't fit my CT. It uses the same wrench, but the part that screws in is a larger diameter (otherwise it's identical).
Is it possible I got the wrong part? Anyone done the metal oil filter housing switch on a CT?
If i was going to go through all the trouble of doing a metal cover, i'd just swap over to the whole spin-on conversion so you can use spin on filters and do away with the expense of the wrench as well.
one day i'll do it.
i don't really see a point in converting to the metal cover unless it was free.
If i was going to go through all the trouble of doing a metal cover, i'd just swap over to the whole spin-on conversion so you can use spin on filters and do away with the expense of the wrench as well.
one day i'll do it.
i don't really see a point in converting to the metal cover unless it was free.
I'd love to do the spin on conversion, but I can't justify the cost at the moment. I probably would have just left it alone, but my plastic filter cover has a little chip taken out of it from when the wrench got stuck once. It is still functional, I just have a minor OCD about it. Oh well, I'll just leave it as is anyways.
If i was going to go through all the trouble of doing a metal cover, i'd just swap over to the whole spin-on conversion so you can use spin on filters and do away with the expense of the wrench as well.
one day i'll do it.
i don't really see a point in converting to the metal cover unless it was free.
Would you happen to know the part number for the whole spin-on conversion?
With that conversion, do I just use filter pliers to loosen and hand tighten?
Thanks again for the excellent step by step instructions.
Excellent tread!
the first oil change I did on my Prius was hell getting the plastic cap off! Next oil change I’ll find out if the “plastic” is the issue simply because I know I didn’t over torque it.
if it’s Hell again to remove, I’ll definitely consider the mod.
if you put a liberal amount of oil on the filter housing O-ring, you shouldn't have an issue getting it back off. But that being said, the length of time in which it doesn't need to come off plays a role as well. So if you are only doing an oil change 1-2x per year, then the thing is harder to get off. I have to change my oil every month and a half and notice, too, that it's much easier in the winter months (I can just use a short handled ratchet) compared to the summer months (I have to use a breaker bar). Most people don't do it, but the torque settings for the housing is only 18 ft-lbs. I used a torque wrench once to get a feel for how tight it needs to be and it's definitely obvious that shops over-tighten having felt the difference after they change it compared to when I do it.
12-20-18, 09:49 AM
