2010 Prius Oil Change
I have been servicing my scooters myself for the past 11 years but left work on my car to the car dealership. Now that I am retired and have more time I am starting to dabble in some car servicing. Today I did an oil change on my 2010 Prius. I have been planning this for some time, figuring out my options for which oil,
oil filter (Toyota part# 04152-YZZA6)
, and crush washer to use.
From online research, I determined the need to get a special oil cap wrench
Oil filter wrench
which you can attach your socket wrench to, either directly into a 1/2 wrench square opening or use a 27mm socket.
Like many automotive or motorcycle servicing tasks, getting access to the part you want to work on can be as much of or a greater problem than the part that needs attention. That shouldn’t be an issue for a Prius oil change, but not having a car lift, I am working on my back under the car lifted by drive-on ramps.
The other access issue is you need to remove three plastic clips to open a “door” on the bottom plastic engine cover. That part was previously damaged when I ran over a fence’s metal latch plate. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars to replace that piece of plastic, I “repaired” it, and the result made it more difficult to open the access door.
The biggest problem I had was removing the oil filter. It was stuck. Even with a tremendous amount of force using a long 1/2 inch torque wrench, it wouldn’t budge. I did some online research on how to open a stuck oil filter. I decided to spray the edges with WD40 and wait 10 minutes. It still took a great deal of force, but I was then able to remove the filter. Others resolved this dilemma using a 24″ breaker bar. I have an electric impact wrench, put the filter is positioned in a way that the impact wrench couldn’t be used.
When you are lying on your back looking up to the right, it isn’t easy to judge exactly where the center of the opening of the oil collection pan is. When the oil gushed in it missed it at first, but I quickly moved the pan to catch it.
So I finished replacing and torquing the oil drain bolt and oil filter, poured in 4.4 quarts of new oil, verified the amount with the dipstick and watched a bit of TV.
I then went to an appointment at the imaging center for an MRI. I had pulled my left hamstring twice in the past month. As I was about to exit the car I rubbed my hair (I guess to straighten it) and my hand was covered with oil and sand. Somehow the motor oil had gotten into my hair. I tried to wipe it off with a towel I had in the car, but I really couldn’t get it out, and my appointment was right then. I combed my hair in an attempt to make it semi-presentable but just managed to oil up my comb. After the MRI I looked at the Chux pad they had placed on the pillow. The MRI technician could probably change the oil in her car too with the amount of oil that got sucked into that pad. I explained to her what happened, but it was still embarrassing. When I got home, I had to wash my hair four times before it felt normal.
Torque Specifications:
- Oil drain bolt = 28 foot-lb
- Oil filter = 18 foot-lb
Plastic clips (part numbers) that hold the access door closed (both 7mm diameter, but different head size and length). Chinese knockoffs on eBay are about 30X cheaper than the OEM versions:
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