I'm going to try to do my first oil change coming up on my 10k. My question is, when I put the oil filter back on, do I first tight with my hand and then slightly more with a oil filter wrench? And, how tight do I tight the oil drain plug? I don't have the torque wrench. Thanks in advance.....

 

Oil filter wrench is only used to remove never tighten. If you are talking about a 2IS the filter is a cartridge style non metallic, you just replace it the way the old filter is attached then screw on the cover. It shows you in the owners manual. STP makes a filter & Auto Zone stocks them but its about the same price as the Lexus dealer

 

Haha, if you ever made the mistake of tightening the filter housing with the wrench, you would NEVER, EVER get it off. Even hand-tightening, sometimes it's difficult to remove. You'll notice that there's a point where the filter housing will just stop turning. STOP RIGHT THERE. That's as tight as it needs to be.

Javier

 

Thanks guys, so I just tight the oil filter with my hand only?

 

yes hand tight only. The same as with the old school canister filter, hand tight only.

 

This must be why Lexus says:Sorry, but despite the advice you've seen here, it is supposed to be tightened with the tool. But don't take my word for it, I've only done it 9 times so far and never had an issue getting it loosened. Quality tools help a lot.

 

Don't go nuts (bad pun) with the drain plug either. I nearly stripped it on my last car.