Spark Plug Replacement: Toyota / Lexus 3.0L V6 

I just did it last night! Honestly the 1MZ-FE V6 plug change difficulty is over-rated. You just need patience, smallish hands and a few socket extensions.

Great video, I appreciate that you take the time to explain each step in detail. You went step by step instead of skipping the important (hard) details that most people would have no idea of what to do. Keep up the good work. Thanks

I can tell you take good car of your car. I have a 1999 V6 Camry Solara also. Those engines from the V6 1999 period are pretty much bullet proof.

1999 Avalon 3.0 L V6. For the rear middle and driver-side plugs, the following combination of extensions etc. made it really easy. Tape 5/8 plug wrench to 6-inch extension. Connect that 6-inch extension to a universal joint. Connect the other end of the universal joint to another 6-inch extension. Connect that 6-inch extension to your socket wrench (ratchet). This allows you to route everything around the back side of the intake manifold, so you are cranking on your ratchet above the intake manifold (with lots of room) instead of underneath the intake manifold (one click at a time). MUCH easier.

This video is exactly what I needed, thanks for making this. It's so hard to find videos for the 3.0L V6 engine--even when searching for that specifically, people act like that engine doesn't exist. The last video I watched made me sit through the entire thing just to say at the end, "watch my other video for replacing the intake manifold to see how to replace the rear plugs, b/c it's a major operation and it's too hard to do without removing a lot of engine components". Clearly you know what you're doing, where others do not.

One of the best videos I've watched to replace my sparks plugs on my toyota camry 1999 v6. Why pay over $200 when you can do it yourself and gain some car knowledge.

Just wanted to say thank you so much for this awesome video. I changed all 6 plugs on a 2000 camry in 30 minutes. Everyone else said I would have to remove the upper intake. I used my own combination of extensions and swivels for the back middle plug. Thanks again it's guys like you that make the do it you self persons life a lot easier.

Thank you for taking the time to film and explain. I just successfully changed my spark plugs on a 1997 Toyota Camry V6. Tip! Make your life easier: use multiple 'universal swivel joints' and 3" + 6" extensions. Easier to remove, torque, and saves your hands. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge!

Seriously, thank you for the video. Worked perfectly for my 1998 Toyota Avalon. The center rear spark plug was the roughest one for me. I finally got it despite only having a standard socket wrench with extender (no flexible joint). Videos like this are what make youtube so invaluable. Keep it up!

Great video! Doing my spark plugs today as my first time on my own and couldn’t feel any more confident after this video!

Clear steps in your video. Your relaxed demeanor put my son and I in the right frame of mind as we changed the plugs and coils on his '98 Avalon (no rush, takes as long as it takes). Which ended up being about 2 hrs. I used multiple 3 inch extensions - 1 wobble, 2 fixed, and 1 universal joint were enough. Well done.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to make this video for guys like me who are used to changing plugs on older models that have all plugs easily accessible. I couldn't even figure out where the damn back plugs were located.

Much appreciated bro! Just bought an ES 300 for $1500 (australian). 1 previous owner, FSH, only 150,000 klms but been sat in a shed for 5 years un touched. I couldn't even locate the rear plugs without this video! The first were generic easy to do, but I'm not looking forward to the rear harder ones. I have quite big hands and don't think I have enough room to get in there. But you have given me the confidence to have a crack! Much appreciated for your thorough walk thru for us. Many thanks!

If I remember correctly it was 5/8" spark plug + 3" extension + universal joint + 1" extension then ratchet, because that was what I had at the time.

Thanks. The back middle one is a real pain. I don't have large hands, but getting them out bruised the back of my left hand. But I did it....I actually started with the back middle one because I knew it was the hardest one.

my friend you are a MASTER!. clear, precise, showing every step of process . no like other people talking a lot, dont show how to do it, just say do this one and that. and later say give me a like. I will like them see this video and learn to really get likes.

Wow you read my mind! I'm ordering struts this week... they definitely need to be changed soon. I'm glad my video helped.

Thank you buddy for taking your time on filming editing and giving step by step directions! You make it possible for anyone to do there own maintenance!

Really appreciate your effort making and uploading this video. I've got a '94 V6 Camry and this is quite a drag to get to the rear spark plugs. Watched my mechanic do it last time and it took him more than 2 hours to do the rear partly due to the fact that one metal hose snapped off due to aging! With this video as a guide, I'll try getting to my rear spark plugs again with, of course, my fingers crossed.

Thanks for this video, it removed any apprehension I felt about replacing the spark plugs on my 2001 Avalon. Apart from the metal connector being left behind on one of the rear plugs, which I removed with long nose pliers, it was all smooth sailing, thanks and God bless.

Great Video: Recently changed out my valve cover gasket. I was careful with my ignition/spark plug wires but one failed anyway. I was getting a misfire. I decided to change out the whole set. I was not looking forward to almost doing the job again but I saw your video and was surprised that I could get my hand under the plenum from the back. Your procedure saved me a lot of time. Car runs fine now. Again thanks for the video. P.S. Keep the great videos coming.

Much appreciated. I followed your youtube to complete my Avalon 98 spark plugs replacement. Excellent video and instruction.You saved me quite a money. Thanks again.

Great video. For the rear driver's side plug, I had to use two extensions (6" + 3") so I could get the ratchet into a movable position. For the rear middle plug, I had to force the extension slightly to get past the intake manifold. Also I used a magnetic spark plug socket, so no tape required. Thanks very much! All in all, it took 2 hours start to finish.

Wow, I thought you had to take off the whole intake manifold to get to it. Because of that, I held of doing it for years. Nice, really nice!

After 7 years....best video on this and Thank You!

Dude you rock!! Your videos are so clear and easy to follow. I changed all 6 on my 99 Avalon with the same engine. All in all took about an hour... First time I ever did it.

Yours are the best video's I have seen. I teach car mechanical design in Italy and I ask the permission to use in my lessons. Your English pronunciation is perfect. Thanks

Great video man, this was very helpful while changing my plugs on a 2000 Toyota Avalon with the 3.0 V6. I had a little less room then you have on your car, but I still made it work most annoying part was unplugging the wire from the coil!

Very helpful, thanks! I could not see how to change with the breather line still on. Swivels and extensions help very well also! Changed the two closest to the right side from the right side with a 3" extension attached to the spark plug socket and then a swivel and then an eight inch extension. Used the same configuration on the left plug and connected the long extension down through the top in the opening on the plenum. This allowed me to have my ratchet on the top side for all three plugs which made it much easier. Great detail and instruction! Thank you!

Just changed my spark plugs and wires today since my engine started misfiring, cylinder 5 to be precise. Hadn't done the spark plugs in a few years and I used your method, very useful and I'm grateful this video was here. Thanks for the upload, keep up the good work.

Saves this video cuz i know it will help me in the future when my solara hits 100k. Thanks a lot brotha

This video rocks! I went out to tune my 2000 Toyota Camry plugs and thought I would have to remove the intake. This vid made it easy!

thank you for this video, i succesfully replaced all six plugs and the wires. the car stopped shaking , i was gonna take it to the mechanic but decided to give it a go myself because he wanted good chunck of change to repair it. saved me a couples days worth of salary.

Thanks A Lot for the video. It really helped me. My 98 Avalon had started runnig bad, sputtering and stalling. I was able to change the plugs in about an hour. I was quoted from $170 to $300 by 3 different mechanics. I took the money I saved and change the Oil, Air filter and bought a new fuel filter. I plan to change the fuel filter next weekend. The car runs great now. I used a 6" extension, with universal joint. Went as smooth as your video. I had a cheap spark plug socket so I had to glue the little rubber piece that grabs the plug into the socket to keep it from slipping out with the plug.

Great video. I just replaced all 6 spark plugs. However, a friendly reminder, for those who doesn't service the car much/bought a second hand car, the PCV hose is kinda stuck and may need some hose picks to remove the hose from pcv valve. Thanks for the walkthrough and great details!

Very helpful indeed! I will replace mine in the next several days and been looking for a clip like this....thanks, man.

I knew it today I realized that you could possibly change the plugs without removing the plenum 💪🏻

Thanks for your response. The good thing is that my intake plenum is similar to yours. The difference is that my front and back spark plugs are the same. I guess I can do the same way as you. I have learned a lot from your video. Hopefully, you will have a video about shock absorber replacement in the future. Thank you so much

This relieved me from a headache I didn't want to go through.

Awesome job man. Thanks for this video, really gave me a heads up of what I was in for!

It's admirable that you replaced the back spark plugs without removing the air plenum. I've seen other mechanics here that do that and it's a PITA. Notable is a Toyota dealership didn't tighten one of the spark plugs on my V6 Solara and after 60K miles, it started working loose. Vibrated and the electrode fractured and fell in to the combustion chamber. Catastrophic engine damage unfortunately. I sent the plug to NGK and they estimated it was only torqued to 10 Ft-Lbs. They did a failure analysis on it and found the washer on the plug wasn't compressed enough, leaving the tell tale sign. So sad because I had over 280,000 miles on the engine and until then, it performed flawlessly. All destroyed by a negligent Toyota mechanic that didn't torque the plug sufficiently.

Tape the wrench parts so one doesn't fall into the spark plug hole is a brilliant idea.

Great video. Nice job getting video of shots in hard-to-reach areas.

Thank you very much for this video, just done my MCV20 last week. It's cramped and is PITA to get your hands in there, but I can confirm this is completely do-able by DIYers. My next task is to do both upstream O2 sensors

Thanks a bunch! Had check engine light coming on with multiple misfires. Replaced all the plugs and cleaned out throttle body. Ran it hard and so far no light.

This video game me confidence to tackle the rear plugs, the hardest part was extracting the old plugs I got them out with a piece of old rubber hose.

I'm glad I watched before tearing into mine. The shredded rubber glove says it all. For this job I will gladly leave it to the pros.

Thanks for the Video it made replacing spark plugs on my 1999 camry much easier. man the drivers side rear plug was not easy but watching this video helped big time.

The best vid on RU-vid. Thanks

Thanks for the video. You described the process clearly and it was well shown in the video. I followed it precisely. Fortunately I had different lengths of extension bars which is a necessity I think.

Thanks for the positive feedback. I think the 94 has coils on top of the plugs at the back instead of just wires, like the Lexus ES300. Other than that the procedure is the same.

Great job! You've just saved me a lot of time on my upcoming job. Thanks

Fine work all around sir. The camera work was great. Thanks for a great video. I can accomplish this project with more confidence now.

Yesterday I was give up three spark plugs at the rear ,it was impossible to replace them ...but now I know ...thanks !

great job. really saved me from some headaches !

Thanks! My Avalon needs a tune up as well. Gonna do it before the winter comes.

Great video, your camera work was great and the detail you provided was helpful. One of the best mechanic vids I have seen.

Thanks for the feedback! The procedure is the same for the Sienna, however you may have to remove the wiper arm assembly to get clearance behind the throttle body. I didn't cus in the video, but that doesn't mean I didn't get enraged when my arm was scarred by reaching behind the plenum. See my Lexus ES330 spark plug replacement video for a shot of that! Timing belts are usually changed around 90K miles or 140K km.

God Bless you! You make it look so easy!

Without a doubt, the best video on how to do this procedure! Especially like the tip of taping the plug socket to the extension. Looking forward to changing those plugs! Thanks Speedcar99 Hope you have other videos on working on this car.

Thanks for your video. It gave me the courage and knowledge to do replace the spark plugs myself on my Avalon. I had no idea how easy the rear spark replacement would be. I did, however, use two long 3/8 socket extensions, plus a universal joint connection to remove and replace the plugs, plus my extendable magnet to get the socket and spark plugs out of the wells, individually, since the deep socket didn't have a rubber spark grabber inside. Thanks again.

Hey just wanted to say thanks to this video I finally gathered myself and got this done over the weekend. Mine is a 1998 so I had to remove the "diagnose" box bolted on the exhaust manifold as well. Not a lot of room and It took longer than expected but it's doable. Driver side plug can be accessed from the top. One suggestion is to have 3" extension and U-joint for easy plug removal when loose. Great video!

Well done, my brother in law has the same engine in his Camry. You saved me a lot of time and trouble, thanks.

Very nice video. I'm teaching my 18 year old how to perform his own tune ups and this video helps alot...

Great video with clear instructions. Most helpful. I used a magnetic flexible cable to extract and install the plugs ( in case you do not have a spark plug socket with rubber boot). Thank you. Please post video on replacing rear struts/shocks on 1998 V6 Camry.

I just finished changing them on my daughter's 2002 Camry V6. Not only was it a PITA, it was also a pain on my hands, wrists and forearms. Even after reading Yu Shao's comments below on his 2002, I still had great difficulty with the middle and driver side plugs on the rear. Like him, I was unable to get the torque needed to unscrew those 2 plugs from below the intake manifold, even using his "spark plug socket + u-joint + 12 inch extension + ratchet". I couldn't get the angle I needed. What did work for me on both the middle and driver plugs was a spark plug socket + 3 inch extension + u-joint + ratchet. That put the u-joint at the top of the spark plug tube. For the middle plug, I used an 18 inch long 1/2 inch rachet wrench with a reducer to 3/8 and a 24 inch 3/8 extension into the u-joint. I went in from the passenger side under the intake manifold. That gave me enough room and torque to break loose the plug. I then used a stubby 3/8 ratchet wrench to finish removing the plug. For the driver side plug, I went between the intake manifold and the throttle body with a 12 inch extension into the u-joint at the top of the spark plug tube. Once I broke it loose, I kept using the ratchet wrench until the plug was easy to turn, then I reached around and behind the throttle body to loosen it the rest of the way and remove the bolt. For these 2 plugs only, I added a small amount of anti-sieze. Those plugs were somewhat seized and almost impossible to get at. The other 4 plugs came out easily with a regular size 3/8 ratchet wrench. A word of caution on those back coils. The rubber washer that sits on the top of the spark plug tube and under the "head" of the coil did NOT come out with the coil. Make sure you FEEL FOR them as you're pulling the coil out of the spark plug tube! Being out of sight, they're VERY easy to lose! On the passenger and middle coils, 2 of them fell behind the motor. Happily one fell to the ground. The other was lodged somewhere on the back side of the engine. Luckily, it was easy to find by jacking up the car and looking from below. On the driver side coil, it stayed at the top of the plug tube and I only noticed it when I was trying to get the old plug out. At first, I thought I had pulled out the spark plug tube seal!! Scary. I compared it to one of the front coils and realized it was part of the coil! Whew!! One other note. I have thin forearms and small to medium size hands. If you have big hands or forearms, I would only try this if you can use Eric The Car Guy's method of rolling the car forward with your automatic transmission in Park and setting the hand brake when the car is all the way forward. (I couldn't do that, as the emergency brakes wouldn't hold the car in place! Guess what my next project is!) Even an extra half inch would have saved me a lot of skin! I did the passenger and middle plugs from the passenger side of the car. I do NOT think big forearms would fit under the intake manifold. If you can get an extra inch or so behind the engine, you might be able to replace the middle plug from the driver side of the car by going behind the intake manifold.

Great video and much easier method than others, thanks.

Thanks! I was dreading doing this on my 01 Solara. Thought I'd be removing a lot more parts than a PVC hose.

Well done vid. Love the cut-off hockey stick. That's what I use, too.

Changing a V6 plug is really pain in the butt!! I love having a 4 cyl.So easy to work on the engine

great vid. a lot better then most video!!

Great video and easy to follow. I thought I was gonna have to remove everything. Thanks!

Thank you for not making me so guilty in buying a V6 car. lol. Great video. Peace!

Just did this job for my v6 camry 1996 and I got to say this video was really helpful...I know this job at a mechanic will be well over $250 dollars so I decided to do this myself. I was nervous at first but then I just said 'fuck it'. Followed step by step instructions to the 'T'. When I finished I started the car and it sounded better than before. No misfires or anything like that. Only spent $100 dollars for the spark plugs. Saved myself some money. Thank you once again!

Watched your video, very helpful. I change the plugs on my 2000 Avalon; little more intense but procedure the same. Need to becareful of the plug coil tube. It has a rubber seal gasket and at the end of the coil tube is a detachable plug cap that can come off and fall below. Actually I spent 30 minutes looking for a gasket and plug cap. FYI, I like the best practice of taping the plug socket to the extension. Great idea....... Thanks for sharing.....

Great job and very detailed buddy. I'm sure with your instructions I won't have any problems changing them out. Thanks again!

Thanks so much for the video u did a great job and saved me $240! Couple quick notes i have a 2002 Camry v6 se and it has the ignition coils on the back 3 plugs too. Little more of a pain but u can get it. I also found that a 4 inch extension with a universal worked best for the back plugs. I had to get a 3 inch extension and rig a 1 inch extension. I took all of mine out from the passenger side. For the one closest to the driver side I put the ratchet in from the left and hooked it fast from the right. Again thx so much for the video I really appreciate it. Very well done!!!

Nice video. Very easy to follow and understand, great job!

Thanks for this video, helped me a lot to change the spark plugs in my 1995 toyota avalon xls

Great video. Very easy to follow what you are doing. Thanks dude

I have a 2002 toyota camry v6, and this tutorial is very nice, and it is my base for DIY on spark plugs replacement. I want to add some notes here for 2002 or later Camry v6 owner: 1. it is doable without taking off the throttle intake body, but the space is very tight, seems to be tighter than the camry in the video. 2. get the spark plug socket on amazon, it is definitely worth the money, much better than a standard spark plug socket. search on amazon "GearWrench 80546 5/8-Inch x 6-Inch Swivel Spark Plug Socket" 3. the spark plug on the rear right hand side is most difficult one to replace. I used a spark plug socket + u-joint + 6 inch extension + ratchet, so the ratchet is extended to the top where I have plenty of room to torque, that was the only way I got that spark plug unscrewed. there was no room on the back when I try to use socket + ratchet directly. 4. I did much research on 2002 camry v6. all the camry later than 2002 have iridium spark plug and they last a long time, manual say replace every 120K, and some people had said they drove longer than 200k and spark plug did not die on them. I replaced mine at 120k. spark plugs were really in decent shape where it can still work for a while. 5. spark plugs makers actually against applying antifreeze, if you choose to apply some, do not over apply it. Hope these comment helps other Camry v6 owners. And thanks for speedcar99 for posting this video. saved me some money, more importantly, enjoyed learning a new skill.

great job, great camera work thanks

Awesome video!

"Hey Junior!! Get over here!! Give me that hockey stick!! Know go find something else to do!!" LOL I love it!!!!

You are my hero. Doing God’s work thank you

Was your 2002 a Solara or Camry? The newer generation Camry introduced for 2002 with the 1MZ-FE 3.0L V6 engine used a plastic intake plenum that was much harder to work around and is necessary to remove to change the rear spark plugs.

Thanks for techniques to teach us step by step. Vice nice.

Thanks. Great video

Beginners beware! Nice video, Speedkar99! Just a note for beginners, these engines are aluminum, so be very careful removing spark plugs not to break them. You can spray penetrating oil or WD-40 in to make it easier. Also when tightening, there is a torque or twisting power spec. Do not overtighten. I still remember when I was a kid of 16 and I had a Cushman motor scooter and had to grind the valves. Had never heard of a torque wrench, and I stripped a few threads in the cylinder head bolt holes. No fun.

wow. what a procedure. good vid.

Thank you for sharing for this great video...your instructions are very clear, this is my next project for my 2000 V6 camry.

Thank you I thought I was going to have to take so much more apart to do the rear spark plugs

Very good video. My mechanic said he has to remove the exhaust manifold. Thought I had better check it out. Pretty easy. Will get the camera and monitor out.

thank you helped me greatly your video is perfect

thx man great video !

Thanks for the video. After seeing how hard it is to get into certain regions, I have opted to get mine done by Toyota as I might loose a few trying to get them out and in. Toyota say my spark plugs last 120 miles ( 193 Kilometers) although I have 140 on the clock and I can already sense light slight observations in idle and acceleration has gotten weaker. Also the car is 14 years old so might be worth getting them done before they reach there end life.

Thank you. Nice video.

Great Video

YOU ARE A VERY GOOD TEACHER I AM WOMAN AND WITH YOU JUST DID I THINK I SHOULD BE ABLE TO REPLACE MY PLUGS.

For the middle rear spark plug in Cylinder 3, you can use a 10 inch extension + universal joint + spark plug socket to take it out. The extension will reach all the way pass the intake at the top next to the engine firewall. It would be easier to loosen/tighten it from that point than from underneath the intake. That’s how I took mine out without breaking my knuckles.