First oil change on my 2021 TRD Sport...

I'm sure it's just me, but I had a friend that went to one of those places. Left with a loose drain plug. He caught it the next morning in his driveway. Secured it and that was the end of it.

Up until then I used to always use the valvoline places.


And yes sir! My daughter will need to be able to change oil and tires before she is allowed to drive the car. So we have some time

 

I put on the TRD skid and as other have said oil changes are pretty easy and quick. I also found if I use a glass bottle (beer/soda) the plastic oil filter drain piece fits perfect and it is also rigid that the piece clicks right into the housing without leaking oil down your arm.

 

I did my oil change around 5000 miles too. I actually did send a sample to blackstone labs. They said the oil was all good but had high metals in it and that this was normal for a new engine. Nothing to worry about as long it's changed regularly.

Some tools I got just for the job were the motiveX cap wrench from Amazon and a 27mm socket to turn it with. I did get a cheap screw in plastic drain hose for the filter drain but that proved pretty much worthless. I'd use the plastic tool that comes with the new filter and a piece of hose from Lowes on that or an empty 20 ounce soda bottle next time.

As for the filter well it's not as bad as some say. Just be careful about getting the o-ring in the correct place and don't over tighen. I did buy the aluminum filter housing but didn't put it on. Just going to keep it on a self until needed.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/steel-skid-plate-options-with-oil-filter-access.508054/

The Toyota one is marked up, you can get an aftermarket cheaper. Though to be fair now that I've looked around quickly, not as much cheaper as I expected to see!

Keep an eye on classified section here.

I have a TRD OR 2020, the stock skid plate is useless as a skid plate, first of all. Second of all, they nascar whipped the bolts and stripped one of the mounting points, and then long term the nut that's welded on the back of it broke off from the cross beam. Went with an aftermarket anyway, so I didn't care, but a pain in the arse.

 

Seizing up, having to go to great lengths to remove it, for the most part.

 

The first oil change should always be sooner than later, so I have always done those on every car, at 5k. After that and because I have always used mobil 1 synthetic oil, I only change the oil every 7500 to 10k on every car. Of course that all depends on the type of use. Synthetic oils do not degrade on normal engine use and I have drained mobil 1 at 10k miles and it did not look much different than when I put it in.

 

I think that happened to my dad once, too. I know it happens. But it has to be a rare occurrence or those places would be out of business now.

And I made sure all my kids knew how to change a flat before I let them drive, too. That's just a good life skill to know.

 

I’ve seen plenty of other complaints about overall ease of use with the aluminum ones. After doing 13 oil changes on my ‘16 with 65k I have had zero issues with the plastic housing.

 

Sounds like you cross threaded it. I don't see any way it would seize if used correctly.

 

Hi everyone I'm a newbie here. I have a 21 TRD sport. My biggest complaint changing the oil is reading the dipstick! Even the service manager at the dealership can't seem to figure it out. Other than that, it's an oil change.

 

I agree, I have been using the aluminum housing since 20K miles and I am at 50K and never had an issue. I just put it on my hand, tighten by hand and then torque to specs (18 ft/lbs).

 

I've tried sandpaper the dipstick, still pretty hard to read, so I decided to try the blue shop towel method, oil doesn't travel fast on the paper towel so after inserting into the tube you carefully fold the paper towel over the dipstick on 2 sides, one side will be always covered in oil, and the other side will have a shorter oil absorption area that corresponds to the oil sump level, measure the oil on paper and compare that length to the dipstick you get the good reading that way

 

Change dealerships. My advice.

 

I've read this a few times. Since I don't have my truck, I haven't done an oil change, but older members of my family always said to fill the oil filter with oil before installing it. That's because after changing oil, a lot of the engine isn't lubricated properly until the oil is pumped through the filter and around. They taught me to turn over the engine as well without actually starting it, so the oil would pump.

So unless technologies change or the old dogs in my family mislead me, having an oil filter on top or at an angle is worse, especially if you have a push start button rather than a key you can manual crank

 

Thought Toyota gives you two years of free service, which includes 2 "inspections" and 2 oil changes. My dealer told me I could use them whenever I wanted within the two years...

 

That's correct. Both of our vehicles will be low mileage....so I had my oil changed in the Highlander at the 12 month mark...along with the tire rotation.

 

I've been changing oil in cars/trucks now for over 50 years and yes always pre-fill the filter....even if it is mounted horizontally. But since I haven't dealt with a cartridge type filter I'm not 100% sure that can be done, but I will give it a try sometime soon when I change the oil in my Highlander. I've got the 2.7L in the Tacoma which uses a spin on filter. Do not play around with trying to spin the engine without starting....it doesn't make any difference...and if you pre-fill the filter then there is no reason to not start it.

 

Post if you can do it. I'll try too if/when I get my truck.

I'm not a mechanic but I think the idea (especially when you can't pre fill the filter) to crank the engine without starting it is that the oil pump is driven off the crank shaft, so theoretically the oil will start to pump

 

Prefilling is a diesel thing. There's absolutely no harm in mounting a dry filter on most gasoline engines.

Why would Toyota mount my 4.0 filter upside down if they were worried about it draining?

 

FWIW, I just changed my oil / filter on my 2021 V6. The vertically mounted canister makes it very easy to pre-fill the filter with fresh oil.

The filter element mounts in the canister (just like a home water filter if you are familiar with those) and you can just pour a bit of oil into the filter at this time.

As an aside, this was my first oil change with this truck. It took me about 45 minutes with the TRD Pro skid plate.

Only hiccup being the realization I need a better oil catch pan as this oil is very thin and splashes out of the cheap Walmart pan I use now.