Does anyone know where the oil filter is located? Thanks in advance.

 

It is located under the car, passenger side in front of the oil drain pan (towards the radiator) and is in vertical position. It is the same place my previous 2005 Camry had it and all 2.4L I4 have it. I know that because I do my own oil changes.

 

Agnosto

I know it has been discussed before but I would like your view of how you do your oil changes. I used to do those 5 years ago when I had a Subaru which had a good ground clearance but after I got an Accord I have not done it. I have never placed the car on jack stands or ramps.

1. Does this car need jack stands? Where do you place them - in the notches on the frame behind the front wheels?
2. How do you jack the car if you need to put it on jack stands?
3. What did you use to take the original filter off? I heard that the typical oil filter wrench will not do. If so what did you use and where did you get them?
4. For filter and the oil – which is the best place to get them?
5. Any other tips?

Thanks a lot in advance

 

I didn't jack up my TCH. You do need end cap filter wrench with at least 4 inch extension and 14cm wrench for oil plug, btw swivel or plier type wrench will not work. Make sure you get new gasket which goes under the drain screw, when buying the filter. I had very hard time to unscrew the filter and oil plug, since my previous, first oil change was done at the dealer, but now that I have done it myself, it won't be so tight in the future and should take about 20-30 min including coffe break. Honda Accord was easier to change oil filter since you could reach it from right front wheel well, in Toyota you need to do all the work from underneath the car, but once you know where things are I could reach everything without lifting the car at all.

 

Pretty much Pete4 covered it all... and yes I have never ever used any lifting of my cars when changing the engine oil, except when I perform tire rotation...

I have an adjustable metal oil filter wrench in order to remove the oil filter.

***IMPORTANT NOTICE***:
Use a torque wrench when screwing the engine oil drain plug.

When changing the engine oil run the engine at least a couple of minutes so the engine is warm enough not too hot and this helps to remove/unscrew the oil drain plug and also the oil filter.

I am providing/sharing the below info so others know and do not mess up the torque setting(s) for their beauty 2007 TCH:

Torque setting for 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid:
1. wheel nut 76 ft-lbs (tire size is P215/60R16)
2. oil drain bolt/plug 18 ft-lbs
3. use 0W-20 or 5W-20 (will use 0W-20 Mobil 1 100% fully synthetic $5.92/qt before tax at Wal-Mart)
4. It takes 4.5 US qts with oil filter changed
5. air presure is 32psi when tires are cold


Also, as an FYI, I never replace the oil washer for the drain plug but I make sure it is exceptional clean so I monitor the next day or so if there is any leak. Believe it or not I used to have a 1993 Camry and have never had an issue, and back then I did not even use a torque wrench but I was careful when tightening the oil drain plug back. Hondas, on the other hand, have a silver oil washer that compresses and needs to be replaced.

I hope this info helps...

 

Everything Peter said is right on. You don't need to jack the car up to get access to the drain plug or filter. However, you will most likely have to do all the work with one hand only and you won't be able to actually see the filter, just to feel it. If you are comfortable with this, it is much easier than to put the car on jack stands. If you choose to raise it though, you will need a floorjack and jack stands. Jack stands can be placed almost anywhere on the side and traverse frame. On the sides be careful with the plastic covers and wires, make sure the car will rest on the metal frame only. There are two convenient locations for the floorjack (front and back in the middle of the traverse frame, the owner manual indicates those). You will need the smallest end-cap filter wrench that walmart has in stock (I think they only have two sizes and one with multiple sizes, only the smallest works; while in store check the wrench on a filter for the 4-cylinder Camry 2006-2007). I use Mobil 1 0-20 synthetic and toyota oil filter. Do the oil change at operating temperature and let it drain for a full hour if possible. Put in first only 4 quarts of oil, start the engine, stop it, let it drain into the crank case for a couple of minutes, check the level then add more oil and adjust it to full. As a reference, the distance between add and full levels equals about one US quart. You may only need about 4.3 quarts instead of 4.5 as specified in the manual because the polymers in the oil expand at operating temperature.

 

I have doen my own oil changes for the last 11 cars and over 15 years. The TCH is actually farily easy and I have not had many cars i needed to jack up. This filter is straight up and down, but you need one of those end cap wrenchs that fits over the end of the filter that you snap onto a socket wrench extension. I always do my cars cold. With the filter straight up and down there is virtually no oil that spills out of the filter. You will need a low profile oil pan and that is it. This is one of the easier car sI have done oil on. the best were my old 2L Camry that had it front and center on top of block, you could almost do that oil in formal wear and not get dirty!

 

I plan to install a fumoto oil drain valve on my first oil change. I used it on my Acura TL and it made oil changes quick and easy. http://www.fumotovalve.com I highly recommend it to do-it-yourselfers

I emailed the company and they recommended:

"Our part#F103(size 12mm-1.25) is a suitable application for2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid"

 

Chris,

Thanks for the link. I don't change my own oil, but if I did that device looks like a keeper. When I used to do it I'd hate giving it a few rotations and having the oil run down the drain plug.

 

I like that Fumotovalve a lot.

Anyone ever used one of these setups?

www.webs4racers.com/bmw/oil

Thoughts?