Oil Changes Are Ridiculous!

I keep trying to talk myself into a 5th gen but the more I read this kind of stuff it makes me want to keep my 4th gen until the tires fall off, repair that, and then do it all over again!

oil change this weekend took me less than 10 minutes :)
 
sinks88 said:
I got rid of the valence
Changed the drain plug to a Lever Valve Style
And changed to the 4 bolt TRD Skid

Now I just have to drop the main skid and open the service area on the trans skid and I'm in business. Since I have owned mine I have done all my own changes due to the process. I don't trust the techs to do everything right every time.

Do it a coupe times, and the only difference is the front skid. (its a pain by yourself-TRD one is heavy)(but youll get fast after a couple of times)
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I'm just going to throw this out there... go to the car wash first. The $2 is worth it.
 
Is it really that big of a deal? I just changed the oil on my TRD (so no front valance). 4 bolts on the skid, oil filter housing, two bolts on the drain plug cover, and then the drain plug. Everything came off and went back on easily. I'd prefer the canister style filter that my Jeep has, but the oil change was easy enough on the 4R. I mostly don't trust other people to touch my vehicles so I just suck it up and do it myself.
 
I don't find it that terrible. Like Sinks88, I installed a fumoto valve which saves having to swap the washer each time (admittedly a small thing). The skids come off easier with practice, and I greased all my skid bolts when I got the truck so they don't rust into the captive nuts. I wasn't a fan of the cartridge filter at first, but I kind of like it now. It's well placed and easy to service and prefill with oil. I struggle more with my 2nd gen. That spin-on filter is in a really crappy spot.

I'm a fan of Amsoil/WIX. That combined with my experience at the dealer (my wife's Sienna came with two years of free maintenance, but we only made it to two changes before going back to me doing them) has me doing them myself. Plus I know the drivetrain is lubed, get to check brake lines, frame, suspension, etc for any issues.

And my garage floor is a very peaceful area of my life... ;)
 
chester4Run said:
I'm a fan of Amsoil/WIX.
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Almost the same here (Mobil 1 AFE and Amsoil filter every 10,000 miles)... once a Fumoto Valve is added, it's easy to take oil samples and to get a very clean/no mess oil change.

I don't have my aluminum skids yet, but when I do get them it will be even easier.

I prefer to spend a little "bonding" time with my T4R TE and to make sure the oil change was done properly.
 
I do most of the work on two of my classics and my mountain bikes. I'm tapped out on doing shit myself. I'll gladly pay someone at the dealer to do this crap for me. Saving $20 is not worth the hassle. :lol:

Fumoto valves are nice. I have one on my Scout.
 
CS223 said:
$35 for 7qts Mobile 1 & filter & piece of mind. Dealer lost bolts and the air damn push pin on the last oil change. Same dealer tossed the drain plug cover and bolts entirely on my buddies FJ and left a bolt out of the skid plate. Same dealer did a warranty repair on the drivers seat on our 2014 and ruined the plastic trim. Wife made it a mile down the road and the trim fell off. Had to order new trim and fasteners.
It's a pain compared to other vehicles but I don't mind it. Especially now that my FJ buddy has a lift and we get together and service both vehicles at the same time.
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Bought my T4R used so it had 40k miles on it so it had already had a few oil changes on it and yep, one bolt was missing from the skid plate and the center plastic push pin was long gone.

Yet another reason why I do all my own servicing.

The "tech" doing that oil change at the dealer or Jiffy Lube was probably in a Chuckie Cheese mouse suit last week.
 
Jetboy said:
I bought all the stuff and did it once. Probably won't do it again. For $70 at a dealer vs around $50 in synthetic oil and filter, it's not worth doing on my own to save $20.
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I told the "Service" writer to specifically have the shop tech do everything. First, I hadn't driven much so it was one-year service, not 5k, which includes oil/filter. I come by to pick up my truck, no oil/filter change. Out goes my new truck to the "quik lube". What do I witness? The 1.5 minute oil/filter change. Did they get 5qts. of old oil out that fast? Maybe. The f'ktard pit monkey use an impact wrench to start the skid bolts...cross threaded, seriously, c'mon. You ponder what else might they screw up. I use to trust them until I actually watched them work.

If I have to take the skid off to keep them from screwing that up, then I might as well flick the Fumoto and let it drain myself. The biggest is PITA is the midnight run to Jiffy Lube to drop of the old oil.

If I intended to drive-sell-buy-new again every couple of years I could care less, I would have them service it.
 
Architect said:
I changed the oil on my 2016 4Runner for the first time yesterday and I have two words for the Toyota Engineer who redesigned things this go round "F@&$ Y$&".

What a royal pain in the a$$ to perform what should be labeled as simple maintenace. An oil change shouldn't require four sockets (10mm, 12mm, 14mm and 24mm), extensions, a screw driver and numerous words that would embarrass a sailor.

I mean really. Remove the lower balance, drop one skip plate, then remove a secret trap door in a second skid plate to get to a canister type filter that I haven't seen since Nash was a car manufacturer.

I traded a 2012 Tacoma in for this and oil changes took 10 minutes on that vehicle. The 4Runner took an hour.



WTF Toyota.....:crazy:
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I agree.. another engineering marvel I hate about my 2010 4 Runner is where the brainiacs put the trailer lights hookup. Instead of being right next to the trailer hitch ( facing the trailer ) my hook up is up underneath the rear bumper. You literally have to lay on your back and reach up there to plug in your trailer lights. Just doesn't make any sense to me.

Roland
 
I've never understood what all of the fuss is about.

When you change oil on any vehicle, you have to go below to drain the engine oil pan. Toyota relocated the filter because of the addition of dual VVT-i up above.

Ok - so you are down below pulling the oil drain plug. Just north of it is the oil filter housing.

The big 15 lb. skid plate as some refer to it is no big deal. Put a bottle jack under it with a small piece of wood between the jack and plate. Once all 4/12mm bolts are out, drop tension on jack and slide out plate.Use jack/wood on reassembly rather than battling with holding it in place with one arm and tightening bolts with the other.

I've been told that a lot of Ferrari's and Maserati's require the engine be removed in order to change oil.

We are lucky.
 
5 Trucks and 5 Bikes and none of them have been worked on by a stealer.......I don't trust them to do the work with the level of care I do. 4Runner is more difficult than most but not bad. Under $35 in material and the satisfaction that it was done right is worth it every 7500 miles.:lookout:
 
oh yay... another whiner whinging about changing their oil. i can't believe these threads are still so fun — and original! — nearly 8 years since the 5th Gen's introduction.

:deadhorse:
 
My FJ had the filter at the top of the engine. Easy peasy oil changes, not sure why they moved it back to the bottom or added the canister. Same engine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
CS223 said:
$35 for 7qts Mobile 1 & filter & piece of mind. Dealer lost bolts and the air damn push pin on the last oil change. Same dealer tossed the drain plug cover and bolts entirely on my buddies FJ and left a bolt out of the skid plate. Same dealer did a warranty repair on the drivers seat on our 2014 and ruined the plastic trim. Wife made it a mile down the road and the trim fell off. Had to order new trim and fasteners.
It's a pain compared to other vehicles but I don't mind it. Especially now that my FJ buddy has a lift and we get together and service both vehicles at the same time.
Click to expand...

Which dealer in Florida are you using if you don't mind me asking?
 
I change the oil myself. About $40.00 for Mobil 1 and a Toyota filter. I don't want to spend the time it takes to go to and from the dealer, not to mention sitting around waiting for someone else to do something I can do during TV commercials and know it's done right.
 
blkwtr said:
...I don't want to spend the time it takes to go to and from the dealer, not to mention sitting around waiting for someone else to do something I can do during TV commercials and know it's done right.
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Exactly this! It doesn't take an hour to change the oil. You can't drive the vehicle when change the oil. But the time you actually work on it isn't more than 10 minutes at most. The rest of it is just chill and wait for it to drain. To me, going to the dealership and wait around is a lot more hassle. And if they say they can change the oil in half of an hour, they are doing it wrong.
 
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