I own a 2024 forerunner off-road premium and just realized how much changing the oil is a pain in the ass. I just got finished with my included dealership oil changes and the rest will be on me. I’ve always done my own oil changes, but this one won’t be one I continue that tradition. Dropping the skid plate is just the beginning part That’s a pain. There are several others steps after that that are frustrating. Anyone else just bring theirs into the dealership? I feel lazy doing it but man it’s not worth it I don’t think.
If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit!
Sigs Owned - A Bunch
October 29, 2026, 02:40 PM
chellim1
quote:
Dropping the skid plate is just the beginning part That’s a pain.
Mine is older than yours (4th gen) ... but I have a small plastic access cover which is easily removed from the skid plate where the drain plug is easily accessed (with a short extension) without removing the skid plate.
Also, the top mounted oil filter is easy access as well. It's the easiest vehicle for oil changes I've ever owned.
The "sealed transmission" fluid changes, on the other hand, are really a pain in the ass.
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor
October 29, 2026, 02:45 PM
P250UA5
DIY wood ramps, Fumoto valve Our Expedition takes a bit longer as there's an undertray to remove, and the filter is a bit of a pain [it's right above a crossmember], but I can do it in about 1/2 hour now.
My Legacy is a breeze. Filter on top, Fumoto on the bottom, could probably get it done in 15-20 if I was in a hurry.
The Enemy's gate is down.
October 29, 2026, 02:45 PM
Fly-Sig
Yeah the suction pumps work quite well, at least in my vehicles, getting all the oil out. I spent about $80 on an electric one. The previous $15 one worked ok for a few years but it was noisy and slow until it just died.
I just don't trust even the dealership these days. There is one independent shop in town that is very good and half the price of the dealer. But you have to leave the vehicle for the day.
Perhaps there's a good reliable independent near you that will do the service while you wait.
October 29, 2026, 03:00 PM
chellim1
This guy says swap out the plastic filter housing as well:
5th Gen Toyota 4Runner Oil Change (2010-2024)
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor
October 29, 2026, 03:15 PM
ScooterX
I usually help my son with his 2022 for a little guy time, but it’s a pain in the ass. Why can’t they use screw on disposable oil filters like the rest of the world?
October 29, 2026, 06:59 PM
MRBTX
"DIY wood ramps, Fumoto valve"
X2
I have a fumoto on my 5.7 Tundra. Works great, don't have to worry about stripping the pan bolt, it doesnt leak. Yeah, the splash guard is a little bit of a pain. But a 3/8 extension will remove the screw that drains the filter and a decent filter housing removal tool aint too expensive. 8 qts of synthetic oil at a quick change place is ridiculous. And I only change it twice a year.
October 29, 2026, 07:22 PM
Black92LX
Yup, suck it out or get a Fumoto valve. Buy RCI skid plates and they’ll have the cutouts.
Have RCI’s on my Tundra and has a door for the filter and a notch for the drain plug but 8 have a valve and hook a tube to it.
Also huge money saving tip! Buy your oil from FCP Euro (Liqui Moly) and when you change your oil just ship the old oil back to them and they will refund you a store credit for what you bought the oil for. It cost me about $20 to ship the oil back using Pirate Ship. $100 bucks of oil for $20 is well worth it. 8 quart full synthetic oil change for $28, cost of the oil filter and return shipping.
Our Navigator has a felt shield that has to be removed which is a bit of a pain.
———————————————— The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad. If we got each other, and that's all we have. I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand. You should know I'll be there for you!
October 29, 2026, 07:37 PM
egregore
This is a 4.0 V6, is it not? What happened to the spin-on filter on top of the engine? I'd fabricate an easily removed access panel to put in that skid plate. Every time it's taken down risks the bolts getting cross-threaded/stripped or broken. And I don't want to hear "be careful." You try starting those bolts while holding the skid plate up over your head and running them in with a hand ratchet. Even better, the OEM Japanese metric bolts are 12mm heads, but hardware or auto parts store American metric bolts are 13mm, so you wind up with a hodgepodge that takes two different sockets.
As for the plastic oil filter housing, no, it doesn't inspire confidence, but you do need a proper socket for it and not overtighten it (which can also happen to spin-ons). My 2009 Corolla with 224,000 miles, most of its services done by me, still has the original.This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,
October 30, 2026, 01:24 AM
Mustang-PaPa
Given the difficulty required to change the oil would just further reinforce the need to do it myself. No way would I feel confident that they would pull everything required and that they would put it back right.
Could you not just cut an opening in the skid plate to allow access and use the mentioned ad on valve.
I have always done everything myself. My wife worked HR for Sam’s Club which is owned by WalMart and was provided a company car. She had three different cars over the years and had her oil changes done atWalMart and they could never seem to get the air box assembled when checking and or replacing the air filters. They completely broke the the air box on the last Toyota she had but in all of them they missed the tabs where you stab then latch the air box closed. Every time!!
I finally just told her to have them put the new air filter in the back seat and I would replace it for her.
I just makes me wonder how many motors they destroy by basically having no air filter on a vehicle.
October 30, 2026, 06:24 AM
vthoky
quote:
Originally posted by egregore: proper socket for it and not overtighten it
Yes!
The MotivX socket and kit is WELL worth the price. 18 ft-lb on the filter housing, 10ft-lb on the filter drain plug.
As for the skid plate: lift it into place with a floor jack (assuming you've got the vehicle on ramps) and don't spend your own energy fighting gravity.
Politicians seem to have forgotten that they work for us, not the other way around. — — — — — — — — — — — — God bless America.
October 30, 2026, 07:29 AM
jed7s9b
The drain valve is t really much help here. The skid has to be removed to even see the oil filter. The skid is thin sheet metal, more of a cover. It’s not heavy or large. I believe it’s held on by four self threading bolts that the shops love to strip with impact guns. Aside from the thin metal skid this is nothing difficult. The messiest thing is the oil filter. It’s a housing with a replaceable element. To minimize the mess it has to be drained by removing a small plug on the bottom and then lifting a check ball using a special drain nipple. Then unscrew the filter housing which is often massively overtightened. The housing is sealed by an o-ring on its diameter, not the tightness against a seal. It’s just needs to be snug on installation.
“That’s what.” - She
October 30, 2026, 07:29 AM
mrvmax
I do not find it to be much trouble on my 19 and 23. I replaced my skid plate with a TRD model so I could use the Baxter Performance filter adapter. It’s expensive, but I plan on keeping my 4Runner until it dies and I like a spin on filter. https://www.baxterperformanceu...n-oil-filter-adapter
I also installed the Valvomax plug adapter and drain my oil directly into the jug. https://www.valvomax.com/
October 30, 2026, 08:08 AM
chellim1
quote:
This is a 4.0 V6, is it not? What happened to the spin-on filter on top of the engine?
This.
quote:
I replaced my skid plate with a TRD model so I could use the Baxter Performance filter adapter. It’s expensive, but I plan on keeping my 4Runner until it dies and I like a spin on filter.
mrvmax: That's impressive. BUT it's a lot of trouble to go back to spin on filters. It's basically the same engine as the 4th gen. 4Runner but they made it a lot more difficult.
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor
October 30, 2026, 09:00 AM
PghPI
I have always done my own oil and filter changes on my vehicles, but moving finally into a smaller place with on-street parking and no garage kind of made the decision easier for me. I have a 2016 SR5 4Runner, and after learning the process after purchase, it has been nothing but dealer service for my oil and filter changes. There has always been some sort of coupon for the two different dealers I use to the extent that they honor each other's coupon for me when scheduling the dealership with the active coupon does not align with my availability.
Be aware though, that Toyota service monkeys are not in my mind, as good as the reliable hardware tehy are servicing. I was about two years into my history with the dealership I had purchased from exclusively, when I had an oil, filter and rotation done at the second place for the first time. As has been mentioned, the fine threads on the skid plate are a potential issue. There are 10 bolts that secure both of the hinged plates that need removed. So the service manager comes out and tells me that my skid plate is only being held in with 4 bolts, and that the remaining 4 were lightly cross threaded. I had a fit, since I have only serviced the vehicle at Toyota since purchase. They of course took NO responsibility for the issue, and I got into a shouting match with the service manager at the original dealership over this, when he quoted me "between 400 and 700 dollars to fix, depending on how much rethreading needed to be done". I took my trip, after further determining that the skid plate would not disengage even with only 4 bolts securing it. After the trip I had them repair it, and he eventually got the charge down to under 300. but I was incredibly pissed as their mechanics were the only ones to touch my vehicle since I owned it.
Now, with 358,000 miles on it, for my last state inspection, I let my regular mechanic do the oil change and rotation along with the inspection. He literally took a video of how overtightened the oil filter housing was on the truck, because he was worried it was that way because the ToyotaMonkeys did not bother to check/replace any gaskets or seals or the housing if it actually needed it instead of just almost fusing it to the engine block.
I would go the Fumoto valve route and try to maintain it my self if I had to do it over or had a place to do it myself. The one thing is, with the dealership coupons, it was actually cheaper than most of the quick lube places, especially with the extra oil capacity the vehicle has over the "standard" 5 quarts. I had to remind my mechanic of the capacity at least twice when he filled the crankcase.
October 31, 2026, 11:36 AM
mrvmax
quote:
Originally posted by PghPI: I have always done my own oil and filter changes on my vehicles, but moving finally into a smaller place with on-street parking and no garage kind of made the decision easier for me. I have a 2016 SR5 4Runner, and after learning the process after purchase, it has been nothing but dealer service for my oil and filter changes. There has always been some sort of coupon for the two different dealers I use to the extent that they honor each other's coupon for me when scheduling the dealership with the active coupon does not align with my availability.
Be aware though, that Toyota service monkeys are not in my mind, as good as the reliable hardware tehy are servicing. I was about two years into my history with the dealership I had purchased from exclusively, when I had an oil, filter and rotation done at the second place for the first time. As has been mentioned, the fine threads on the skid plate are a potential issue. There are 10 bolts that secure both of the hinged plates that need removed. So the service manager comes out and tells me that my skid plate is only being held in with 4 bolts, and that the remaining 4 were lightly cross threaded. I had a fit, since I have only serviced the vehicle at Toyota since purchase. They of course took NO responsibility for the issue, and I got into a shouting match with the service manager at the original dealership over this, when he quoted me "between 400 and 700 dollars to fix, depending on how much rethreading needed to be done". I took my trip, after further determining that the skid plate would not disengage even with only 4 bolts securing it. After the trip I had them repair it, and he eventually got the charge down to under 300. but I was incredibly pissed as their mechanics were the only ones to touch my vehicle since I owned it.
Now, with 358,000 miles on it, for my last state inspection, I let my regular mechanic do the oil change and rotation along with the inspection. He literally took a video of how overtightened the oil filter housing was on the truck, because he was worried it was that way because the ToyotaMonkeys did not bother to check/replace any gaskets or seals or the housing if it actually needed it instead of just almost fusing it to the engine block.
I would go the Fumoto valve route and try to maintain it my self if I had to do it over or had a place to do it myself. The one thing is, with the dealership coupons, it was actually cheaper than most of the quick lube places, especially with the extra oil capacity the vehicle has over the "standard" 5 quarts. I had to remind my mechanic of the capacity at least twice when he filled the crankcase.
Pretty much why I do my own, the lube techs usually do oil changes, not mechanics. They left out a bolt on my skid plate at the dealership. I just found out today that the dealer never centered my lug nuts and it started to wallow out the rim from them being on wrong. I know it was them because they are the only ones who touched the tires since it was new.
October 31, 2026, 07:13 PM
wrightd
If you vacuum out your oil, that will work, but the sludge at the bottom of the oil pan will accumulate over time. That is bad. The tube extraction isn't supposed to be used all the time.
I would NOT take it to your Dealer for an oil change. They will put their new guy fresh out of automotive school, and he has about a 99% chance of screwing up any one or more of about ten rules of changing oil correctly, and oil changes are the one maintenance operation you don't want to screw up.
I would take it to a reputable shop with professional mechanics who don't have any newbies changing oil or tires. And don't get me started on tire changing idiocy.
Lover of the US Constitution Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster
October 31, 2026, 07:56 PM
Chowser
My daughter's Subaru is easy. Oil filter is on top. I can do topside extraction out of the dipstick.
I hated that my BMWs didn't have a dipstick. it was a pita to change the oil. or so i thought...
I'm in an Alfa now and I miss working on the bmw. To change the oil, I have to remove 30 something fasteners (two different sizes) to drop the cover just to access the oil filter and drain plug. Also no dipstick. After this last oil change, I just left the cover off. I'll put it back on next month when I do an oil change just so it's covered for winter.
I'm going back to BMW. lol
Not minority enough!
November 01, 2026, 01:30 AM
sourdough44
Removing skid plates for a change is a pain. I’d get one with a cutout or maybe leave it off, street driving.
I'd fabricate an easily removed access panel to put in that skid plate. Every time it's taken down risks the bolts getting cross-threaded/stripped or broken. And I don't want to hear "be careful." You try starting those bolts while holding the skid plate up over your head and running them in with a hand ratchet. Even better, the OEM Japanese metric bolts are 12mm heads, but hardware or auto parts store American metric bolts are 13mm, so you wind up with a hodgepodge that takes two different sockets.