I thought we got away from cartridge oil filters in the 50s' . Got my first taste of a modern style cartridge filter change. My son has a '21 Tacoma and the oil changes provided by Toyota have run out. High Country in Scottsboro had been doing them. I do all mine and said we'd do his, just get a filter and oil. We roll it in the shop and I drain it , drop the front skid plate and surprise, it's a cartridge. Plastic at that. We watch a you tube vid and determine I didn't have a socket. We go to town get one that fits the "ears" on the removable housing. I put it on and it's tight , really , really tight . I lean on it with a 18" 1/2" pull handle and break the "ears" off the housing . Now remember High Country's dummies have been changing it . Best I remember it only torques to bout 25 lbs. it was way more than that ! Son orders a 14 sided socket that fits the bottom "flutes" . I put the 1/2" pull handle on it and still had to lean on it pretty good . It got it off and the rest of the change went off without a hitch. If you're gonna do your own oil changes on on of these , go ahead and get a good tool . Link to EWK tool below.

1. Why in tarnation would Toyota use old technology ? Spin on so much easier.

2. High Country's goobers waaaaay over tightened it.
3. Toyota offers a metal housing replacement that's actually cheaper than the plastic they use from the factory.



If you're gonna change your own , get one of these, don't bother with the cheapo jobs (that catch the "ears") the chain auto parts stores sell.

https://www.amazon.com/EWK-Flutes-C...mp;mcid=9aa35fc062043a3088e80b4ce3ce071e

My wife had a 2011 Camry that used a cartridge oil filter.
The cover on it was a PIA, too.
I also had to resort to YouTube to figure out where the filter was located and how to get it out.

I've had the same problem on my Tacoma. It seems Mr. Universe torqued it at 8,000 pounds.

Same on my 2015 Rav 4. I ordered the tool and replacement housing before I changed the oil the first time. Wanted to be prepared in case I cracked the housing.

Seriously , I wouldn't doubt it was 100lbs + . Luckily I quit before I crack it , which I reckon is common. I don't know why Toyota doesn't use the metal one from the factory.

My Camry has a cartridge. They are tough to get off for sure. You can’t over tighten them tho. They stop at at a point and that’s it. If you don’t tighten it to that point it will leak. At least that’s how mine is. Every time I change the oil it’s tough to loosen it.

Some Toyota executive’s idiot nephew or brother in law probably sells the plastic one.

The tool you mentioned is rated for an impact wrench. That should be what Toyota uses tightening it.

I'll bet some little slant eyed engineer got a good raise for suggesting going back to 1920s cartridge style oil filters .

I thought I was gonna have to put an impact on it to get it off. I'd never use one to install it.

On the flip side, the brakes and rotors are very easy to change. 😎

Yes they are.

For the Tundra, I swapped the plastic oil cap with the ears to an OEM Toyota aluminum one.
I fabbed a removable plate in the skid plate so I don't have to remove the skid plate.

I also use the aluminum Motivx Tools MX2320 wrench, an oil filter drain plug/tube, and the APSG funnel.


God Bless,
David B.

Dangit. I've got a Taco that's just about ready for it's first oil change. I reckon I'll let Toyota do it for as long as I can.

I put a piece of tubing on the little cartridge drain tool. Makes for less of a mess, oil doesn't run down your arm.

get ya something like this and convert it

https://www.baxterperformanceusa.co...tridge-to-spin-on-adapter-universal.html

There are a lot of new cars with cartridge oil filters. The Toyota filters are hard to break loose. Not necessarily over tightened. That "O" ring in the threads (basically) is why they are so hard to remove in my opinion

O rings should be well oiled before each installation.

The oil filter housing is no problem for me, auto repair is how I made my living. My problem is why the hell did make it so you have to remove the skid plate to change the filter. I threw my skid plate away after the second filter change back in 2009.

My 2010 Tundra' 2021 Tundra, Wifes 2014 Lexus Rx350 All have the cartridge oil filter. I thought they were all that way. According to the " Car Care Nut" Master Toyota, Lexus Mechanic with his own shop. Hundreds of YouTube Video's on Toyota repairs the original plastic one is the best one.I have changed all mine to the metal replacement one's before I watched that.