Mazda, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, many cars have used a plastic oil filter housing for years and years now.
Speaking of Chevrolet, do you feel the same way about the workhorse 2.2 Ecotec that has been the 4 cylinder of choice for many GM cars since about 2000? It uses a plastic oil filter housing that requires a specific tool, remember?
I remember the days when cars didnât have oil filters. My 1947 Pontiac didnât have an oil filter, nor did my .1955 Pontiac. On the 1955 Pontiac, an oil filter was an option which my 1955 Pontiac didnât have. I added one from a wrecked car in a salvage yard. Also, there were full flow oil filters where all the oil flowed through the filter and partial flow filters where most of the oil bypassed the filter. Itâs too bad the Pall Mall tobacco company didnât go into the motor oil business. Pall Mall cigarettes did not have filter tips. Pall Mallâs informed people that âFine tobacco is its own best filterâ. They could have developed a motor oil where âFine motor oil is its own best filterâ.
The canisters were always a mess during âdrivewayâ oil changes. I am nostalgic for many things. They will never be one of them.
Could it be that in recent years automotive engineers have competed to develop the most DIY averse automobiles @asemaster? The Ecotecâs filter stepped up the game but Toyota, ever so minimally out did them with the location and need for a special tool. Whatâs next?
Oil filters in general have always been messy for driveway oil changes. The Toyota canister is not messy if done properly. It has a drain plug at the bottom, you remove it first, insert the drain tube and when the oil in the filter has drained, then you remove the canister housing.
If you are not doing it this way, then you are clearly the type that does not read the directions.
Frankly though, the Subaru oil filter is far easier and faster, but it can get a little messy.
BTW, the special tool to remove the Toyota filter housing is not needed IF the filter was installed correctly and torqued to spec with a torque wrench. Again, read the directions, they come with the filter element. The cap wrench that fit the older spin on filters will do. You need the special tool when the housing gets over-torqued.
There are over 420 million oil filters replaced every year in the US. Only 88 million are recycled. That means 332 million end up in land fills. Thatâs a lot of metal just scrapped.
And oil with the filters. Our county dump has a place for recycling oil. There is a 55-gal drum under a funnel. The funnel has a perforated plate inside the rim for you to put your filters on upside down to drain it. Just leave it and the employees will take car of it. You can also pour your oil in the funnel and take your spent oil jug home for next time.
I was responding to Bing helping his Father change oil in a 1958 Chevrolet with the old canister oil filter. Why would I read the instructions for changing a modern Toyota canister oil filter? I have never owned a Toyota. I have never changed a modern canister oil filter. I have no plans to ever change one.
When the filter was replaced by a Toyota dealership it was impossible for me to remove using the correct hex cap filter wrench and even when I replaced the filter correctly removing it at the next change was difficult. But I have found that the aluminum after market housing is much easier to install and replace than the OE plastic and I may buy a second aluminum housing and toss the plastic one.
Geez, you sound like an old mechanic!!! Ha Ha.
No, I donât think itâs anything as sinister as that. Just progress. I think the splash pans that now make up most of a carâs smooth underside are more of a pain than the filter type.
Very old @asemaster. I worked on a few Studebakers and Ramblers and they werenât considered antiques or classics.And I seem to recall that long ago it was NIASE Master Mechanic. But there were fewer tests.
Iâve âworkedâ on a Studebaker. When I was about 10 the neighbor had a 53 Commander that he was trying to restore. Iâd hang around outside when he got home at 4:30 and watch and learn and putter as he worked on it. I donât think he ever got the overdrive to work and the paint never got past the primer stage before he sold it.
ASE has more and more tests, I wonder if that means the certification means more and more or less and less.
ASE Master Technician, shop manager, former shop owner, whatever. When someone asks me what I do, I say Iâm an auto mechanic.
A buddyâs Studie caught fire on us back in the late '60s as we were pulled over to the curb trying to make the acquaintance of two young ladies. We just popped the hood, smothered the fire, and started the engine again. The young ladies walked off. 
I owned two Studebakers and they were bought as family cars, would have bought more if they hadnât quit making them. My first repair was a head gasket on our 47 Fraser. Would have bought a Hudson or Nash but they quit making them too. Only bought one DeSoto, it seems like every car I like they discontinue. I usually bought and liked Chrysler products but when Mercedes took over they made them heavier and less reparable and when the went to Fiat, they imposed their famous reliability.
I am currently driving a 2012 Camry, it has great reliability and gas mileage but I donât like the seating, I want to get the seat all the way up and back but the seat track drops rapidly as it moves back and I canât get my hips far enough away from the pedals. The electric power steering is too nervous and lacks enough on center feel and yes I have had it aligned, The heater outlets when moved to the floor position put the heat on my shins rather than keeping my feet warm and toasty like every other car I owned.
My Godfather had Studies back in the mid 50âs. A car and a truck for his plumbing business. Seemed to be fine and sturdy vehicles and comfortable as I remember. A high school teacher was a studie nut. We kinda laughed then but now when I see him we exchange memories of the museum in South Bend. A good place to spend a half day if you ever get the chance.
I completely agree having 3 Camryâs with this filter. And as far as needing a special wrench, big deal. You can find them as low as like $5.
Itâs a shame that Toyota is the next to go out of business because you bought one of their cars. Who knew? 
Yep, kiss of doom! Seriously wouldnât be surprised to see Fiat-Chrysler drop cars in North America because they donât have a single mass market car now. They would then just have Jeep and Ram which they stupidly dropped the Dodge name from.
They might drop Dodge and Chrysler cars, but I think they will keep Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars. Theyâve barely started sell Fiat, and Alfa is even newer.
Hmmm. Keep the Fiat brand with a terrible reputation and drop Dodge along with the forgotten Plymouth brand? Kinda like pushing the failed Kmart and Kenmore brands instead of Whirlpool and Maytag? I guess just because executives are paid a lot of money doesnât mean they are very smart or know anything about their potential customers. Take the Jeep name and put a Fiat name plate on it and see how well it sells.