mjdart

I always have and I'm looking for opinions or advice on what filters fit the IS 300 and which are the best. I live in South Florida and plan on using 5W-30, what are you using and is it synthetic or petroleum based? Also what's the best way to get at the filter, from the top side or bottom. I like to pre-fill my filters with oil before spinning 'em on. With the slight angle of the mounted filter it looks like I can partially fill it.

aust182

Why would you change your oil when it is covered by warranty for the first year? It's not like you will do a better job, or the oil you choose will make the car go faster or look better. They have monkeys for that at Lexus. Let them do it and have a beer!

dpatterson069

"They have monkeys for that at Lexus. Let them do it and have a beer! "

i read this and just coulndt stop laughing....

haha...monkeys....
good one..

eortiz

Is this 1yr. oil change for all IS300 and it does not matter who the dealer is? Hmmm. Sounds good, I did not know that. Is this in the waranty manual or somewhere documented? Thanks guys.

mjdart

What are the specifics on this oil change deal. I like changing my oil but free is free! I've never had anyone change my car's oil in 28 years so this will be a first. Usually I never even go to a dealer once I drive off the lot. This Lexus experience may be different though. I like the digs at the local dealer (JM Lexus), things like reading rooms with big leather chairs, and a computer room with internet access and all the soft drinks and bagels I can eat. :eek:

If you look closely at the pic in the middle bottom you can see the filter!

RACER-X

Hi guys;

For those of you IS300 owners who change your oil. After all of the oil has been drained. How do you keep the oil from drooling out, whilst unscrewing the oil filter? Is there a trick to this?. Im assuming oil filter position is upright on the IS300's, havent really checked yet.
Thanx

s0yb0mb

Yes, the filter is almost-upright, kinda tilted. I've read alot about the filter being a pain in the buttocks to remove w/ out spilling due to lack of space. I head of a technique that includes wedging a 2x4 between the engine and the side of the compartment and using the 2x4 to move the engine slightly sothe filter drops out easily.

Also, I'm using sythetic oil, and when the dealer changes the oil for you they do not allow ample time for all the old oil to drain... syn. doesn't drain as well as regular oil (which is a good thing). This is one major negative when using the dealer for service

vlad_a

As far as I know, only 1 oil change is free - @ 5K inspection. The rest you have to pay for.
I prefer to change my own oil. I can wait for most of it to drain out. I'm, also, using synthetic (Mobil1 5W30) oil which drains slowly. I use Mobil1 filter too.

The correct way to take the filter out would be from the bottom. I've never done that, but read posts on it.
I take mine out from the top, although, there is not (barely) enough space for the filter to fit through. I got used to it by now.

"They have monkeys for that at Lexus" - a perfect reason to do it yourself.

mjdart

I got my car up on jacks to look it over. To properly remove the filter you need to remove a half dozen screws which hold the plastic aero panel in place. Then you can bend it forward to access the filter from below.
It looks like the dealership just unscrewed the filter from above and let the oil they spilled run down and drain out the bottom. Its left a mess on the bottom of the car. I've got most cleaned now, so I will be handling oil changes from now on every 3K - not 5K.

rseifer

You have to pull only two of the screws on the bottom
fairing, and then bend it down to get access to the filter.
It's really a three-hands job, but it is done from under
the car.

I read on is300.net that somebody said you could get it out from topside, but my mechanic and I were both not
able to do that. You can get a filter wrench on it from up above, but you can't get the tin can out of the engine bay without doing it from below.

As to pre-filling the filter, I did that when I changed to Mobil 1 at 2800 miles. However, I only poured in enough oil to wet most of the filter, but not to fill it,
but if you can manage to fill it and screw it onto the block, I wouldn't argue against that.

My car just rolled over 5000 and I just made an appt
to take it to Westminster Lexus next week. I'm
anxious to see how they handle the oil change.

All subsequent oil changes, though, will be done at
my buddy's Arco station here in town.

mjdart

Yeah I figured it would be real close trying to get it (filter) out from above. I also figure to be only able to half fill the filter with oil before screwing it in place. But even that will help quite abit on start-up after change. I found out the dealership has been using Castol GTX Oil on my previous changes. I think I might continue with that oil but I haven't decided if I want to stay with the Toyota Filter. Anybody have any insight on the quality of that filter.

dogofthegods

all my checkups are free for the first 50k miles. no one else had the dealer throw this in the deal?

aust182

That is what I referenced earlier. I know two people who got their for the first year or 15000 free. They used the BMW as a bargaining chip (3 years free maintenance) and got the dealer to throw this in at purchase time. Now that the 2002 deliveries are eminent, I am sure you could push for this at the dealership.