Thursday, July 29, 2010

Lexus IS 250/350: How to Perform an Oil Change

HOW-TO VIDEO NOW AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE (1/27/21):

When I first bought my IS250, I took it into the dealer for the first several oil changes. It seemed somewhat reasonable: $45 would get me the oil change, a car wash, and a loaner vehicle. However, I soon learned that they were actually putting in regular oil and not synthetic. Quality is huge for me, especially when it comes to Lexi. I always put in 91 octane gasoline (I read that 91+ is preferred for an engine with a 12:1 compression ratio and can lead to better performance and mileage). Likewise, I want synthetic oil in my car to reduce the number of required oil changes and increase the longevity of my car's engine. :) When it comes to keeping my baby in good shape, I don't mind spending a couple more bucks, but even I have my limits.

To upgrade to a synthetic oil change at the dealer, it would cost me $120-$130, which seemed like way too much for an oil change. I then took it to a third-party, where I was charged $85 for the change. Fyi, my car requires 7 quarts of oil and most places will only give you 5 as part of the standard, so you have to pay for the extra quarts when you go over 5. Ugh.

I then talked to my friend Wayne who performs his own oil changes. I researched how to perform an oil change on my car and then we gave it a shot. After seeing how easy it was to do on my own, I bought my own equipment and now do my own oil changes. :D It's very rewarding and I know that it gets done right!

How-To Guide: Performing an Oil Change on a Lexus IS250/350
Note: My car is the 2006 IS250 Manual Transmission model, not sure if newer models are different.
DISCLAIMER: If you follow my guide to perform your own oil change, you do so at your own risk. I am not liable for any resulting damage, injury, or expense. I am not a professional mechanic in any sense and this guide is solely for informational purposes. 

EQUIPMENT:

One-Time Purchase:
-Set of Car Jack and Stands ($80 at Sears)
-Oil Drain Pan (shown here is the 15 quarts version, $10 at Checker/O'Reilly)
-Funnel ($1, get it anywhere)
-Oil Filter Wrench: TOYOTA 640 / 09228-06501 - 64mm ($15 at amazon.com)
Note: They have plastic oil filter sockets at Walmart for like $5, but I couldn't get the housing off with the plastic kind. The metal one works like a champ!

Used Each Change:
-Two 5-quart bottles of 5W-30 SAE Fully Synthetic Motor Oil (~$23 for 5-quarts at Walmart)
Note: I usually go with Mobil, but have also used Castrol and would consider Valvoline as well. Only 7 quarts of the 10 are used, so there will be some re-use of unfinished bottles.
-Oil Filter Kit: 04152-YZZA3 ($5 at irontoad.com plus shipping...I buy in bulk)
-Oil Drain Plug Gasket: 90430-12031 ($1 at irontoad.com)
-Latex Gloves (cheap, get anywhere)
-Paper Towels and Old Cardboard Boxes ('cause it can get messy)


EXECUTING THE OIL CHANGE:

***Wait at least 1 hour after driving before changing the oil!  Otherwise it may still be hot when it comes out of the vehicle.***

STEP 1:
Use the car jack and stands to properly jack up the vehicle.


On this car, you really only need to raise it about half-a-foot to comfortably access the drain plug and oil filter housing, which are located near the front of the car under the hood.


STEP 2:Place your cut-up cardboard box under the car around the vicinity of the drain plug and oil filter housing to help catch loose/spilled oil. No matter how many times you do this, it'll always be a little messy.
Locate the drain plug, which looks like this:

Place the oil drain pan under the plug and use a socket wrench to untighten the drain plug.


After the drain plug has been untightened, the messy part begins. Once the drain plug has been fully unscrewed, be ready to catch the oil in the drain pain. It's comes out quick!


STEP 3:
The oil will take a while to drain, so in the meantime you can change the oil filter. Locate the oil filter hatch, which looks like this:

This is where you absolutely need the Special Service Tool (a.k.a. Oil Filter Wrench). Use the wrench/socket to unscrew the oil filter housing. You may want to place the oil drain pan underneath (or a second one if the oil is still draining from the plug) 'cause there will be some excess oil in there.


Toss the dirty filter and old O-ring.


I like to clean the housing a little before putting in the new filter and O-ring.

Reattach the housing with the new filter inside and make sure it is tightened securely and then place the hatch back on. Also screw in the drain plug (use a new oil drain plug gasket if you like) once it is done draining.

STEP 4:
Open the oil lid and using a funnel, slowly pour the new motor oil into the engine. This car requires 7 quarts (6.7 to be exact, but I just do 7 to keep things simple).

After the oil has been poured in, close the lid and check for leaks underneath the car where the drain plug and oil filter are. Congratulations! You've just successfully completed an oil change on this Lexus! But wait, there's still one thing left to do...
STEP 5:
The car's computer is programmed by default to turn on the "Oil Maintenance Required" service light every 5,000 miles since last resetting it. 5,000 miles is how often I change my oil and I hear you can go several more if you are using synthetic, but seeing how dark and dirty that oil gets after 5k, I just decide to change it then.
To reset the service light, set the odometer to ODO (not Trip A nor Trip B). Turn off the engine. Holding the trip reset button down, turn on just the electrical components (the method that doesn't actually start the engine but the rest of the car) and keep holding the button down. When done correctly, you will see a bunch of dashes where the odometer mileage is usually displayed, the dashes will disappear one at a time and after about 5 seconds the service light will be reset.
And finally the car is as good as new!!!
So in conclusion, you can see that by doing my own synthetic oil changes, I had a one-time purchase of equipment that cost me about $105. Every change after that costs me approximately $38. I have yet to find a third-party mechanic that will do a synthetic oil change on my car for less than $85 (they usually charge a bit to get that non-standard oil-filter too). If you know of one, please, let me know. So after two changes I've already made up what it would've cost me to take it in somewhere! And thanks a bunch to Wayne who helped me through the first time I tried this!

MORE LEXUS IS250/350 GUIDES BY ANDY:
Lexus IS 250/350: How to Replace the Cruise Control Lever