First oil change on my 2021 TRD Sport...

Never changed the oil on a cartridge style filter before, and this was my first oil change on my brand new 2021 Tacoma TRD Sport 3.5l...

Some notes, yes, I know the service manual specs 10,000 miles, but 5,000 seems more prudent, particularly given that the Nissan dealer suggests 5,000 miles for my wife's 2020 Pathfinder even though the service manual suggests 7,500 miles as they consider my locale (Albuquerque, NM) "severe duty".

I said more 4 letter words than I can remember as I tried to remove the skid plate. This was after nearly rounding off one of the 4 bolts which had apparently been torqued to 200 ft/lbs (sarcasm). I thought I was going to need vise grips to remove it. A 6 point socket vice 12 point saved the day.

Replacing the filter went smoothly in spite of my lack of familiarity with the system. I found some instructions on the web and the filter even had a sheet in the box discussing the procedure.

At 4,870 miles, the oil looked dark enough (read: black) that I was happy I made the decision to replace it. I know, not very scientific, and no, I'm not sending a sample to Blackstone, and no, I don't care... The brand of oil and filter manufacturer will not be mentioned here, but suffice it to say, the oil was a high quality synthetic 0W-20 and the filter was from a reputable manufacturer.

All in all, a learning process for me. I can see why some folks use the spin-on filter adapter and I am now confident in my ability to change my own oil, but they made it much more of an ordeal with the Tacoma, and I found out why I had been dreading it, and for good reason!

 

I have mine changed every 5k. I trust my local Toyota dealer so I just have them do it lol

 

I have the dealer service my Tacoma as well as my wife's vehicle (Nissan), but in this case I was more curious than anything... I'm glad I did it, as at least I have some experience with it now. And for the record, per the manual, it did take 6.2 quarts of oil...

 

I've done oil changes 3 times now on mine.

I'd say you should upgrade to TRD Pro skid plate, it's a PITA to put it on, but changing oil much easier down the road, just 5mm hex to opening up the panel to access the filter, and drain bolt is exposed and I can fit my hand through it. The entire time the skid plate stayed on.

I have some mystery minor oil leak with the cartridge system, probably I didn't wipe down thoroughly. That's why I'm going to use spin-on adapter next time so I can clean the spin-on filter properly after the oil change.

 

i contemplated removing my skid when i did my oil change last week. this was the second time i changed the oil, the first time with the trd skid equipped. i decided to leave it on; oddly enough it wasnt as hindering as i thought it was gonna be. i could access everything pretty easily. i did buy the motivx oil change essentials with the fumoto valve, so maybe thats why it was "easier", but tbh it was more qol than anything. gratz though on getting that oil change under your belt. always good to learn about the different systems. one thing i liked about the 2nd gens 1gr vs our 2gr was the oil change procedure was wham bam thank you maam compared to the 3rd gens.

 

I've been looking at the TRD Pro skid plate, a little pricey but probably pays dividends in blood, sweat, and tears. For the record, I did use the MotivX kit when changing my oil and was happy I purchased it...

 

I only have a little over 10,000 miles on my Tacoma. I have mine changed @ 5,000 miles. The dealership did both changes. At 5,000 miles I paid and they were cheaper than the in-and-out oil change garages.

 

Good deal, getting your hands dirty while learning about your new truck, no dealership BS involved, win win.

 

If Toyota would have put the cartridge housing on top of the engine; like everyone else, then worrying about moving the skid plate wouldn't be an issue.

 

There's definitely easier vehicles out there for changing oil, but the Tacoma isn't really that bad. After my first, now it only takes about 30 minutes or less.
I had ordered an aluminum filter housing but cancelled the order after reading of quite a few negative issues on it.

I would recommend changing oil at 5,000 miles as opposed to 10,000. I have changed every 5000 miles in my '96 2.7 4x4 and it's now has 414,000 trouble-free miles on it without ever having an engine cover removed.

 

Wow! What a pain. I like Subaru's set-up better with the oil filter easily accessible just by popping the hood.

I think it'll be worth it to pay Jiffy Lube $50 to do oil changes rather than go through what I just saw on a couple of YouTube videos.

 

same here, did my first oil change at 5K, I plan to take the time to do it myself even though the dealer offers free maintenance for 2 years.

 

That's what I had on my GTI. You'd have thunk that was one of the purposes of changing to the cartridge versus the spin on lol.

 

...and another one. Just change your oil dude. Don't care if you change it every 100 miles or every 50K miles. You do you and I do what Toyota engineers tell me to do.

 

Nope, never ever use those types of places your asking for problems. Besides, it's time I teach my 4 year old daughter how to change the oil.

 

Put a little anti-seize on the skid plate bolts, that'll keep the threads happy over multiple times removing/installing

I dont use anti-seize on everything, but its good for things that will be removed over and over throughout the life of the vehicle like lugnuts, skids, etc. Be gentle and don't over cook the bolts, snug is fine..

Congrats on the new truck

 

Maybe I've just been lucky. But after 35 years or so of using drive-thru oil change places, I've never had a problem.

But I do think it's cool that you're teaching your daughter some auto maintenance skills. Good job, dad!

 

Such as??

 

Red?