Damaged Oil Filter Housing On Toyota and Lexus 

Unfortunately, we all probably saw this video because we searched for this information after a catastrophic over tightening by the dealership which caused us to break the plastic cover just trying to get the POS off!! Thank you so much for this video!

Toyota dealer technicians have bad habits and tighten that drain valve plug along with the housing causing that drain plug to be frozen on the housing. Never will take my truck back to the dealer. Do your own oil changes.

This is far the best video demonstrating the issue with overtightening the Toyota oil filter housing. This video needs to be mandatory training for every Toyota tech (or any tech for that matter) performing engine oil changes. What I found extremely useful and quite surprising is how little force is required for 18-ft lbs (25 K-m) of torque. I won't go into details for my oil change on by 3rd Gen Prius (2012), but it was 108F in the garage and I could barely apply force on the breaker bar while working on back with the very low clearance Prius. Let's just say that my assumed 30 minute oil change ruined my Saturday morning. Bravo and well done.

Most thorough and acurate video I've seen so far.

who ever serviced my Sienna over torqued the filter. Awesome video. Very informative.

Firestone Mokena, Illinois. Had to use a 1/2” drive impact gun to remove oil drain plug. Same thing with the filter housing. DIY is the only answer, but the common owner of today’s super sophisticated push button self driving, self parking motor vehicles would freak out if they had to turn a key to start. And analog gauges OMG! the cruelty. This was the very best easy to hear video from a concerned tech to show the correct what one should do. Thanks.

On my 2011 Toyota Camry I replaced the plastic one with a cast aluminum one and only hand tightened it when doing an oil change , never had an issue .

Great video! I have an 08' Lexus ES 350 and a 10' Lexus RX 350. Both have the aluminunm oil filter housing. Neither one of them have ever seen a torque wrench for tightening. Always hand tight and that's it. Never had a problem. And yes because of the many heat cycles it goes through, it basically tightens itself over time and I do need the wrench and socket to remove it. Otherwise hand tight is plenty!

AAA shop in Greenville, SC did this to my Sienna.--Also installed with the O-ring diagonal across the threads. As it was a plastic housing, I ended up taking it out with a chisel and hacksaw. --Replaced with the metal housing and torqued to spec. Changing my own oil now.

I would just put the aluminum housing not plastic. Car cost 20-30 thousand, might as well get your money worth

Make sure that the metal housing comes from Toyota, not aftermarket, or else it will void your warranty possibly if oil related damage...use oem black composite housing, commonly referred to as plastic

Took 2014 Toyota Tundra to Dealership to change oil, filter housing over tighten by Toyota Dealership technician. Never again taking to Dealership, missed screews and bolts. Thank you!

Just ran into this problem tonight. Went out and bought the metal one. Threading was perfect.

My 2008 Tundra uses a similar design, also of plastic. Years ago, I learned the hard way to always use a torque wrench (and I do mean always). I never thought of cracking a plastic housing, but am halfway thru an oil change and will probably set my wrench on 17 ftlbs!

I changed my oil for the first time yesterday on my camry and when I was tightening the filter I kept hearing some clicks wasn’t sure when it bottoms out. How can I tell when it bottoms out . Thanks

Funny how some models have plastic housing and others are aluminum. Thankfully my 2016 Highlander came with an aluminum one. Another reason to never let anyone change your oil - do it yourself! Thanks for posting.

Doing a oil change on my new to me es300h and have a over tightened housing. I stopped before I broke it because it was just way to tight. I’ve had three Toyotas with filters like this and new something was wrong. I ordered a new housing and the proper wrench so I’m prepared when it breaks. Thanks for you video

This guy is 100% correct. I used an impact gun to remove the filter housing, it leaked oil. Most Lexus technicians know what they are doing. It is the lazy 0.01% who don't want to take the extra minute to use a torque wrench.

Yeah I definitely over tightened it..I ordered a new housing already because it started to leak after doing the oil change.. Oh well, now I know. Thanks!

So the torq is 9 ft lbs for the drain and 18 ft lbs for the canister. I find that 3/8 torque wrenches start at 20, do you have something special there? Please pass on the brand. Thank you.

On my 2011 Toyota Camry , I replaced the plastic oil filter housing with a cast aluminum one . And only tightened it by hand until it wouldn't turn , anymore .

great info! we are all Tighter is better, torque monsters. So, I will beware. maybe mark my Housing and Drain so I don't forget.

My daughter has a 2013 Toyota Scion, and whoever did the last oil change used an impact wrench and cracked the plastic. WalMart Techs saw it and wouldn't touch it. They told us what happened. I found this video, and, for 30.00 plus the cost of a filter, I think I can fix it and save her car. THANK YOU for this video. If I knew where you were/are, I would come down and have a cup of coffee. Thank you for the nice explanation for a non-mechanic. I really think I can do this, and I have very little confidence in my mechanical abilities.

Thank you for this video, which explains the problem very well. I left town in November to take care of family business and ended up being gone five months. I returned last night to find my RAV4 sitting in a lake of oil. I don't remember who changed my oil before I left town, but they must have cracked the filter housing. The good thing that has come out of this is that I found a fabulous mechanic who diagnosed the issue right away and is replacing the housing with a metal one. He says he sees a lot of cracked housings on RAV4s and thinks Toyota should issue a TSB and replace them all. BTW, the reason I needed to find a new mechanic is that this is the first problem I've had with this car in four years of ownership.

The one and only time I took my '18 4RNR to the TOYOTA dealer for an oil change (weather was too miserable to do at home like usual).... the grossly over-tightened EVERYTHING. Never again.

Stealership over torqued mine, they threw in some oil changes when we bought the car. It started to crack when I was trying to get it off. I went in and demanded they do my oil change since they over tightened. They acted like they didn't know what I was talking about but they did it. Then they replaced the damaged housing saying it looked fine. Never buying from them again.

I work at a lube center in the pit (below the car) have had many of these things break even if at torque spec it’s a crap design best thing to do is replace the stock plastic one to a metal one they are way stronger so should it weld it’s self you can get it back off. Without having to chisel the remains out and risk more damage.

Tell me about it. I had to use a breaker bar to get the filter off after our RX350 had work done in a shop. Meanwhile would somebody tell Toyota that cartridge filters went out 40 years ago... for a reason.

When it bottoms out tight with the wrench cap, just get it snug tight and your good. The heat will get the oil filter tighter. Its like using the old cannister filter where tou just hand tight snug tight it and your good.

Thank you for the outstanding video! I appreciate it you candid, easy to understand delivery. I had to work very hard at removing the filter housing...slow, but steady pressure (lots of it!) helped me get the housing off. As difficult to remove as it was, I can't imagine the previous mechanic using a torque wrench to secure the housing back in place. Guess I'll find out during my next oil change. Based on your comments about the possibility of "micro cracks" in the housing, I may just go ahead and replace it next time as well. Thanks again for the GREAT video. rb

Why I do my own oil changes. Don't need some quicky lube monkey tightening my drain plug or oil filter with a impact gun.

I always stop tightening once the housing makes contact. The O ring seals the housing. I never had one leak.

Excellent video. I’ve viewed other similar videos, but none as simple and straight forward as this one. Every DIY’r needs to see this. Well done.

Just had this happen to me. On a DIY oil change, noticed the teeth on the cap was broken. Tried to remove and it was so tighten that it cracked on barely touching the opposite teeth end and oil went everywhere. Had to replace with a metal one. Took me just about all day. I’m a bit happy that I did the work myself because if they’d use an impact wrench again it would have been cracked and leaking at some point.

When I bought my Tundra, the oil filter had been changed only twice by a dealer since it was brand new. The metal disk wouldn’t come off without unscrewing the filter body, so I removed the whole thing. I had to use a vice and breaker bar to separate the metal cap from the plastic filter body. Needless to say, I replaced the housing. Since I do my own oil changes, I don’t expect issues after this. Probably won’t let a dealer near it.

The “tech” at my Toyota dealer thinks 18 ft/lbs = 30 seconds with a 3/4” air hammer at full whack. Then he does a final check with a 3’ breaker bar and a strong grunt.

Very good video and explained professionally. Thank you.

Nicely done. Bravo.

Every single person that canges the oil should watch this i just bought a corolla and most of the teeth are broken on the filter just one left and i cant get it off i have the proper tool trying to figure out how in the world i can get this off ! Why the heck did the person put that old filter back on

Would've been good to know earlier. Now I'm gonna miss a day of work to find a new housing.

For the 2011 Corolla, there is an inexpensive workaround. I bought a quality brand 1/4 in torque wrench. It generally "clicks when it's supposed to but I was so paranoid after cracking my first filter housing I arrived at a simple workaround that gives me the desired torque, without overtightening. I also do not require a torque wrench. First ... when removing the housing, as gently as possible, unscrew the housing. Do not yank, grab, jerk or wrestle the housing off. Gently, gently unscrew the cap until finger loose. Remove normally after that. When tightening, gently tighten the cap towards the housing (base) surface. Just before you've tightened it fully, ensure you can insert a 0.15mm feeler gauge between the cap and the base. If you have a snug (not tight) fit. You're good to go. But I repeat, gently, gently tighten the housing down to that gap. More and you risk cracking the housing a few months later when you change your filter. Generally that is when the caps crack. This has worked without issue for two full oil changes without leaking and the housing was easy to twist off without an initial jerk or tug to loosen. It just immediately began to twist out as soon as I put the faintest pressure on it. That's it. Guaranteed "decent" accuracy of torque without overtightening and without a torque wrench. Best of days to all.

Thanks for a great video. I changed my 2012 Camry oil for the time (one owner) and had always had the dealer do it except for the last oil change at an other shop when they were doing other work to it. I bought the right oil wrench tool and actually bend my extention piece on my rachet removing the oil filter! I heard it creak when it started to get loose. Once I changed the oil and put everything back together I now have a tiny leak at the top of the oil filter housing. I just changed my 2007 oil for the first time as well last week and noticed it had a metal housing. Why did Toyota go cheap with plastic? Also, why do shops way over tighten them?

When you mention “bottom out” the housing, do you mean turning until it absolutely stops, even if it has passed the 18ft/lbs on a torque wrench? It just seems like it doesn’t take much turning to reach 18ft/lb.

Great Video. Who ever did the oil change on my brother car previously must have cranked it to 200 ft. lbs. Had to use a breaker bar which broke the tool and then everntually broke the housing.

Excellent video and helpful info Thank you

The mechanic over tightened the housing during an oil change on a 2018 Lexus. On the next oil change, the housing cracked. I now have an aluminum OEM replacement. Be careful.

toyota should have use spin on filters rather than this crap, guess what they are using the old style spin on filters. sucks for me i got 4 toyotas with this crap

Imagine taking your Toyota with these plastic oil filter housing to Jiffy Lube or Walmart for an oil change.

I have 2016 Toyota Corolla. I have just replaced a housing with a new aftermarket (Dorman I believe from and put a new O-ring from a new filter in. However I still see red O-ring exposed after tightening the housing by hand pretty tight. Is it bad that I still see red/orange O-ring exposed? Or it is not tight enough or I did something (put in an O-RING wrong)?

love it😁

We need all mechanics to be like you and not to rip us off.

I'm glad my 2016 Avalon came with a metal housing.

You make it look so easy. Changing oil on my 2015 Camry XSE V6 this weekend.

You would think Toyota, especially Lexus ,wouldn’t use that plastic piece of crap for the filter but they still do on a 2019 nx300. All they had to do was add an extra $15 to the price of the car so people wouldn’t have to bitch about the oil change.

Thanks for the tutorial. Our 2014, Gen 3 Prius filter housing is embossed with "25NM" on it. Anyway for what THAT it's worth... We are the original owners.

I recently changed the oil in my 2014 Camry and had to use a 2 ft long cheater to remove the filter housing. I replaced it with the aluminum one from my auto parts store sincee I no longer trusted the plasstic one. The previous oil change was done by a local "professional " who had also broken off 2 of the ears on the housing. The plastic one had lasted through 234,000 miles of my oil changes before the professional "fixed" it. 7:36 7:36

Outstanding video! I just had to buy a 17mm socket and 1/2 impact adapter for my impact driver to remove a housing on a 2012 Toyota Sienna van I bought used. It turns out this one had an aluminum housing so you are right that these can be overtightened as well. That's why I insist on doing all of my own oil changes. Great advice here, I will probably purchase a torque wrench for future changes.

great video! What is the part number on the replacement oil filter cartridge housing? Video shows a metal replacement part- Part Number/where/how to order please and thank you kindly!

Why not just use an aluminum one?

They say they made this instead of spin on filter for the environment, fine but that should not come at cost of inferior product. Never had issues with my honda and its spin on filter.

Great video, and why did you not decide to install the aluminum filter housing and went ahead with the plastic one with all the issues being posted on the internet on these plastic housing?

I stripped the threads on my oil filter on my 2021 tundra using a torque wrench at 216 ft lb. I recommend if you are not professional to not mess with your car. It cost me thousands of dollars to fix.

What make and model is that torque wrench?

Thanks

This just happened to me - Jiffy Lube overtightened, I paid for their mistake at my new oil change place. Jiffy Lube's $100 oil change was getting a bit extreme, and they usually has some kind of issue.....

If only Toyota and Lexus dealers did a seminar on this for all of the oil change folks… Every single time over torqued…

How critical is the presence of that perforated metal tube in the housing? I bought a Lexus back in May and noticed that it didn’t have the perforated tube in the filter housing. I’ve since done another oil change and have learned that this tube should be in all Toyota oil filter housings. I’m going to replace the entire filter housing but my concern is how urgent and imperative is it that I get a new one in there ?

Good to know... the last tech who changed my oil might as well welded the damn thing on

This is why on my Toyota I change the oil myself. I don't like going to the dealership due to price. I don't like going to instant oil change places due to the risk of the young JOCK in the pit cranking the oil cap down to tight and not taking the time or knowledge to use a torque wrench. (We change your oil in 9 minutes or less....and risk your $15,000.00 engine)

Awesome video!

Two questions: 1) Why doesn’t Toyota make the metal cartridge the OEM factory part instead of the plastic? 2) In this video the ambient noise is pretty light, but if you’re in a noisy environment, how are you supposed to hear the spec click of the torque wrench?

Very educational. I'd service there, have some coffee.

Sadly, I think 90% of working mechanics use their own "I just know" magic-arm torque specs. I doubt if many are within even 20% of what the real numbers should be. BUT for the home mechanic, always use the correct torque specs for things. It becomes a simple habit.

I just wish Toyota would just end it... go back to the old school oil filters!!

Glad he isn't my mechanic, can't believe what I am seeing. He used dirty oil full of grit to lubricate the NEW O ring. The rubber O ring and plastic threads on the canister will hate you!

Thank you for not using the torque wrench to loosen that oil filter housing in your example. I have seen so many RU-vid people using tools improperly, I am sure they mean well. So nice to see things correctly demonstrated. : )

I don't think there's a Toyota dealership in the United States that even knows what a torque wrench is. Time is money ...hire some teenager to do oil changes and give him an impact wrench set to 350 foot pounds.... call it a day. Stay away from dealers!

Just did a relative's '17 Tundra. Very hard to remove. After install, checked for leaks and there was a tiny crack in the webbing of the notch/ear. Replaced with metal housing from Autozone $32.

Only time..... I've had risky and lengthy removal of my T4R housing is after a dealer oil change. Never when I do it. And I always do it now. Also Motive makes a housing tool that looks similar to his but it engages with the hex only on the housing and not those moronic flutes.

🎉Thank you for uploading this! Lol it's 1am in ohio, and I was wondering why I destroyed my housing. It was installed wayyyyy too tight. But now I have to go get a new one in the morning. BTW, thanks for the metal housing tip, I'll look into it.

That's the happened to mine they over tightened it then took it back they snapped tits off it and didn't even change the filter at that point and left it🤦 they are a nightmare to get off welI mine was because they also rounded the flat edge's as well so I had to drill a hole threw it and slide a pry bar into it and break it loose. You always get these ppl that think oh it's going to leak it's going to leak and they just reef on it and mess everything up

Great video

Thank you very helpful. Interesting to know why they made it that way !!

I had that problem a lot who pays for the new housing? I usually stop and talk to the customer about the issue. And not do the job if I feel like there is a chance I will crack it.

Just had a shop say a broken finger, the side with 1 finger, caused all my oil to drain out in ~180 miles. Is that actually possible with the other fingers on the other side still intact? We moved to the metal housing now but worried about engine damage from running near dry conditions.

The plastic housing is a terrible application. They are going back to the traditional metal spin on canister filters.

What is the part # on the aluminum housing? I know the plastic one is 15620-36020, but I am not sure about aluminum one?

Okay, But how do you take it off if it brakes, and there's no where for the factory socket tool to grab onto?

I tightened my spin-on filter as tight as possible by hand. Could someone over-tighten a spin-on oil filter by hand?

Every stealership and car shop has the lowest end slack jawed yokel perform oil changes. I had our ordinary car with a spin on oil filter get an oil change at my wifes dealer-employer years ago. I was working a lot of OT and had no time. Next oil change, I used a screwdriver through the side of the filter to gain enough leverage to remove it. The drain plug was ran down with an airtool, cross threaded. The car had a hardened nut in the pan, with a softer metal plug. I was able to replace the plug. Today's cars are aluminum pans with hard metal fine thread plugs. These plastic cartridge housings are the result of the EPA wanting to limit spin on can filter waste. In the end destroy a engine and not save the environment. It's poor engineering with foolish propaganda. Overcomplicated to screw up the diy'ers.

My filter was tight af on my tundra when I first changed it. I’ve changed it probably 4 times since then. All good now. The housing seal is not on the flat part that meets the engine. It’s up inside the hole where the o ring is so it doesn’t need to be super tight. Just tight enough that it won’t come off

Same thing with the drain plugs people weigh over torque them

I can not understand the benefit of these canister housings. The filter media cost just as much as the metal canister filters, these are a PIA to deal with as they are messy, have two rubber gaskets that have to be replaced, and must have special oil filter removal tool to get them off. Dealership mechanics definetly over tighten everything. Surprised to see a torque wrench that nice in a dealership. And if you take it to your local Jiffy Express Lube, they'll crossfred the strews everytime. Lordy!

THANK YOU 🙏🏽

2023 tacoma with 15k miles bought it at 9k. called stealership to confirm that they were the ones that had done two oil changes before i bought. the housing unit was absolutely impossible to take out with a ratchet even applied a tube to it to get better force to twist and nothing. broke a 3/8 METAL extension from how hard we were trying to get it off. first time doing an oil change on this so i 1000% made sure i wasn't tightening it. tried for hours and just gave up because even a impact gun couldn't take it out.... called the stealership the next day and they assured me they did not over tightened it. i will be taking it to them so they can deal with it but after that i will never get it serviced with them again

I had two of these plastic things go. I even did it to spec properly after the first one went thinking wow maybe I over tightened it..... After the second went I was like WTF. The second went like mabe 5000 to 6000km's after... I eventually got in a metal version, no issues since but now I have had a rear main seal go. This is on a 2GR-FKS Highlander/Kluger. So I am wondering if these engines have a high oil pressure issue. Very odd.

I think someone did this to my Porsche housing and now it’s leaking…gonna have to get a new one

2:17, bad idea. Just use a breaker bar

Good video; my question is why do idiot mechanics performing oil changes overtighten these housings. If they are professional, they should be following the manufacturer's spec. I've changed the oil in my wife's Camry and her daughter's Camry- both housings were overtightned to the point they couldn't be removed. I had to spend more money to get oil changes completed on both cars by a mechanic that I know; frustrating...

2013 Prius: The service shop over tightened the cap and it shattered next time. They dug out the plastic remnants from the aluminum base with a screwdriver and chipped and scratched the inside of the filter housing. Oil leaks now around the large O ring. Do you have a video for replacing the aluminum base?