Toyota oil filter housing rant

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My mother in law comments this morning that she needs to take her 2010 Rav4 4 cylinder in for an oil change, I say don't bother I'll take care of it. (I've done a hundred or so over the years on my Saab, Saturn, couple Hondas, other random cars). Grab 5 qts of Castrol syn-blend and a PureOne filter from Advance for $23 on special. Note that the filter is a cartridge type, no biggie or so I thought.

So I get the car up and find that the filter cartridge is accessed from the underside (doesn't this defeat the apparent purpose?) and has a separate drain plug built into the cap. So I remove that, a little oil drains out. I then realize that there is no obvious way to remove the complete cap to replace the filter. Hop on the internet and determine it requires a special tool.

After a couple fruitless stops at auto parts stores I find myself at the nearest Toyota dealer, buying a friggen $30 wrench attachment, my rear end was quite sore on the drive home. Get home and finish the change without a problem, except that when you do get the filter housing cap off, another load of oil dumps out all over the place, a complete mess.

Now, I have no problem with specialized tools for special jobs (I have a $25 wiper arm puller that I've used exactly 1 time, it was worth every penny) but this is absurd. I'm a mechanical engineer with two master's degrees and I cannot think of a single valid reason for this setup aside from creating a difficulty for the DIY mechanic, thus driving business to dealer service and parts departments.

Immediately prior to working on the Rav4 I did my umpteenth oil change on my 2003 Saab 9-5. Standard screw on filter located on the bottom of the engine, just forward of the sump. Comes off with ease, drains cleanly right into the oil pan. That's the way it should be done.

So to whatever fool(s) at Toyota thought up this thing, go to [censored]
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ha ha.

jeff
 
I agree. The same thing happened to yours truly when hopping underneath a friend's Prius for the first time.

I don't see why a 1" nut wouldn't also suffice?
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You have 2 Masters degrees.
Were you skipping class the day your professor was teaching common sense ?

Just kidding. LOL.
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I would have not touched her car and let her take it in for an oil change.
 
I don't know if this will work on your Rav4, but supposedly the new Camry's cartridge oil filter and housing is the same thread and gasket size as the old spin-on filter they used previously.

Therefore, you could convert to the spin-on filter easily.

But of course I don't know if you can do this with a Rav4, but at least 50% possibility you can.
 
Don't feel bad. Although I did not make a mess changing the filter, a couple of days after I did the OC I noticed oil spots on my driveway. Crawled under and noticed the filter housing is wet, so, I touched up the filter plug a little and wiped it down. A couple days after that episode, I notice the oil spot on the driveway getting bigger. This time I crawl under and the filter housing is wet again. I snug up the filter housing further and wipe it down. Later that week I was in a parking lot and noticed a massive puddle of oil directly below the oil filter housing, I crawl under the vehicle and the housing is dry and there is fresh oil on the ground. I run my fingers in it and smell it, it's not oil, it's clean ATF!, I think to myself, now what? I crawl completely under the hot vehicle and underneath is completely dry now. I suspect that the previous vehicle must have had some ATF poured into it and some spilled over in the parking lot. What are the chances of the ATF spill being right under the oil filter housing? Talk about an instant heart attack!
 
I changed the oil on a '12 Camry 4cyl and the oil filter housing uses the same size, i think (I have a stack of oil filter caps for many makes), as my nissan filter. Aside from that, the plastic drian plug they provide and a 3/8 extension makes the job pretty easy and less messy. Also, the housing is metal.
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P.S. I know the designs have changed atleast 3 x since 2009? it probably took many designs to finally get it right by 2012.
 
The reason for these is so they can get more people into the Toyota dealer for oil changes, so people will sit in the show room while their vehicle is being serviced and will buy a new Toyota after 3 years.

All of the manufacturers do it.
 
You can get it off with a standard 65 mm cap wrench IF the last person who did the oil change torqued the housing to the correct 20 ft/lbs. most lube shops and dealers tighten it so much, the standard cap wrench just slips off. I bought a tool off EBay for $19 that grips the raised areas on the housing. I use a torque wrench to tighten it to the 20 ft/lbs. it's easy to remove after that. Toyota claims less waste with this setup vs the old spin on filter. It is a huge PITA to remove it the first time without the tool
 
You would have thought a true BITOGer would like that setup as there is no oil filter cutting to see the media.

The only thing is, it should be at the top of the engine (like VW diesels).

Toyota simply converted a traditional oil filter design to cartridge without moving it.
 
Oh, they're not that complicated.

On those, you remove the small cap on the underside of the cartridge housing. Then you take the plastic spigot adapter (provided with the filter, or at least Wix and Napa Gold) and stick it in the housing to drain it of it's oil. It does take a bit of force (swift application is best) to unseat the seal and snap the adapter in place. It's nice to have a section of hose slipped over the adapter nipple to direct the oil. After that, simply unscrew the housing and change the filter and o-ring.

Now I've used the aftermarket 67mm X 14 flute cap wrenches and they're no good. It's lucky that you ended up at the dealer as the genuine Toyota tool is much nicer.

Torque is 25nm or 18.3 ft/lbs. The poster who said the typical grease monkey will crank them down is right. Those guys do it out of ignorance and fear. Neither is the correct reason.
 
Exact same thing as my '08 Mazdaspeed 3. For the life of me, I can't imagine why they put that smaller drain screw in the cap - hardly any thing comes out! Then you take off the main cap and look out Nelly here comes 2 cups of oil!

Crazy.

On my new Speed 3 Mazda switched back to the old screw on type filter, thank heavens!
 
Originally Posted By: double vanos
Exact same thing as my '08 Mazdaspeed 3. For the life of me, I can't imagine why they put that smaller drain screw in the cap - hardly any thing comes out! Then you take off the main cap and look out Nelly here comes 2 cups of oil!

Crazy.

On my new Speed 3 Mazda switched back to the old screw on type filter, thank heavens!



It's because there is a spring loaded valve on the other side of that cap. You have to unseat it to drain it.
 
This system is actually very clean. My 2011 Prius uses the same system.

With the proper cap, turn the cap SLOWLY until the cut-outs line-up with the correct part of the housing. Most of the oil will drain out. When you remove the filter, the mess should be minimal.
 
Stupid, stupid design... Sounds very similar to my wife's vw which is set up the same way. Only difference is that it uses a standard filter socket thing available anywhere.

I love cartridges, but when they are up top like on my Mercedes, BMW and saab cars. Couldn't be a cleaner or more perfect way to change the filter.

The wife's I tears was the worst thou. That filter would spill all over everything and always make a mess. Charm of an engine, fortunately it was easy on oil at 7500 OCIs. Technically the filter was only to be done every other time.
 
Nothing beats the setup on the 2.2/2.4 GM Ecotec. Right on top of the engine, no special tools and not even a drop of oil when changing the cartridge.
 
The cartridge filter housing should be on the top of the engine near the front, like the one in 2000 MB E430. It take less than 60 seconds to remove the filter holder, 1-2 minutes to replace the 4 o-rings and the cartridge filter.
 
Heh, good replies everybody.

Eric, those are great tips I'll be sure to follow next time, thanks. It is ironic that you said "it's not that complicated" and then spell out a procedure that is much, much more complicated than necessary on a normal setup
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The fact that you have to follow a procedure like that to change the filter remains unforgivable
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Same deal with my Mazda CX7 except I used a $5 cap wrench to remove the canister cap. With practive it is a 10 minute filter change job and no spilled oil. Ed
 
I agree with Ed, every filter requires the right cap wrench, nothing special there. Its not a complicated change. I like it because there is less waste and no oil makes it to the garbage can. BTW, tightening the cap will not help it seal if it is leaking, there is no additional force put on the o-ring.
 
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