i have just done my 1st oil change on 07 TCH
1. oil filter is located in front of the engine, on the passenger side. it is right in front of the oil pan, towards the pass side tire well. it is not easily seen from underneath, as it is covered by plastic underpan. look for semicircular cutout in the underpan.
2. i had no problems reaching filter with just my hand. oil was already changed on this car, so i had little trouble undoing the filter. it was nothing like a very long filter described in the initial post. just regular shorty.
3. vehicle is so low that i did not dare driving onto the ramps. i used my 2 ton hydraulic. designated "bump" on the front crossmember is totally not visible from the front and underneath the vehicle, as it is above the lowermost part of plastic underpan. better way to position jack plate dead around it is to, actually, drive jack under the crossmember, then look from the top down. there's another recess in the underpan, around that bump, and it is easier to guide jack plate where it's supposed to be. of course, vehicle went onto jack stands and hydraulic was removed.
4. here's the funniest thing ever. i always flush my cars with flush oil. i drain, refill with cheap(walmart supertech) oil in same weight, then run engine for about 10 minutes, revving now and then, to get junk out of tight places. daah. it's a hybrid. engine cuts off and won't idle, he-he. so, i had to sit inside and tease throttle with my foot, to keep engine running. 5 minutes doing so cost me 0.1 mpg, dropped from 39.6 to 39.5.
i use only Amsoil synthetic oil and k&n filter. i did 0w20, as recommended. it's about 10 bucks per quart. yes. i do not go cheap on oils and filters. this oil runs easy 15 000 miles between changes.
reason i use k&n is simple. the best oil filter in the country is mobil1. i tracked down the guy who did research on oil filters and asked him about k&n. he bought one, gutted it, and replied that it is as good as mobil1, except that it has 2 more things: large nut welded on the top for ease of removal, 1'' socket, and a blow by valve built inside the nut. for cases when oil pressure exceeds specs. which will never happen to my car, but...
so, let me see: 5 x 10=50 for oil; 12 for oil filter; 11 for 5 qrt can of supertech flush oil(used to be 4 bucks!) equals around 73 bucks oil change with flush. you know what? i am very happy with it. have yrs long perfect experience with this approach. considering 15 000 miles between oil changes, it is more cost efficient than anything else.
my wife's Rx300 does 12 000 on Amsoil before oil even starts darkening. and it is clear mid-darkness honey color when i change it. about 13-14 mths.
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