top of page

Prius Maintenance Madness!

My Prius, affectionately named Jarvis, was overdue for an oil change recently so I went to the Urban Workshop to do the maintenance work. I changed the oil, rotated the tires and adjusted the tire pressure. I've written out some instructions below but first, a disclaimer:

I AM NOT A CERTIFIED MECHANIC. THESE ARE NOT CERTIFIED TOYOTA INSTRUCTIONS. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR OWNER'S MANUAL BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY WORK ON YOUR OWN VEHICLE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY OCCUR IF YOU DO ANY WORK ON YOUR CAR AFTER READING THIS POST.

Gettin' under the hood!

Phew, now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business.

How to Change the Oil on a 2013 Prius:

Tools Required:

  1. 4.4 quarts of 0W-20 oil

  2. 14 mm socket

  3. Torque wrench

  4. Oil filter wrench (there is a specialty wrench for the Toyota oil filter cap, but you can also use a strap wrench)

  5. Oil drain pan and newspapers

  6. Funnel

  7. Oil filter (#90915-YZZF2)

  8. Oil drain plug gasket (#90430-12031)

  9. Shop towels

  10. Container for disposing of old oil

  11. Some means of lifting car (jacks, ramps, chocks and/or auto lift)

Instructions:

  1. Car should be warmed up to heat up the oil.

  2. Remove the oil fill cap BEFORE lifting the car (this will allow oil to drain without creating a vacuum in the system).

  3. Lift the car using an auto lift (or whatever lifting system you prefer).

  4. Put the oil drain pan under the car with some newspapers underneath to catch spills. (I use a standing oil pan at Urban Workshop so I lift it up to be as close to the drain plug as possible.)

  5. Remove the plug using the 14 mm wrench. Once it's loose, unscrew it by hand while pushing inwards to prevent oil from spilling out prematurely. I'm still working on doing this without getting any oil on my hands - so far I still get a couple fingers covered in oil...

  6. Pour a little oil into the engine to flush out the system. (You should have 5 quarts of oil so you'll have about 0.5 quarts available to flush the system.)

  7. Clean the drain plug and install the new crush washer/plug gasket.

  8. Hand thread the drain plug back in. Tighten to 28 ft-lbs with torque wrench.

  9. Move the drain pan over to catch oil from the oil filter. Use the oil filter wrench to loosen the oil filter cap and then loosen by hand.

  10. Clean off the oil filter cap and replace the oil filter.

  11. Remove the O-ring from the oil filter cap and replace with a new one. Coat the new O-ring with some clean oil to form a tight seal when replacing the oil filter.

  12. Put the oil filter cap back in place. Tighten to 13 ft-lbs.

  13. Lower the car.

  14. Pour 4.4 quarts of 0W-20 oil into the engine. Use the dipstick to check the level. (Clean the stick off and then reseat in it's chamber before pulling it out to check the levels.)

  15. Check for leaks.


bottom of page