Where is that oil filter?
 

Can someone point me in the right direction as to where the oil filter is on my 94 LS400?
Is it hidden underneath those splash pans? What side is it on? How hard is it to get to?

Also, how many quarts of Synthetic oil does the LS take? Is it 5 or 6 quarts with filter?
Thanks
katz

Open the hood and look in from the drivers side, just more than halfway down on the side of the engine. You can take out a few of the bolts on the rubber protector underneath and bend it down to get access or you can go in from the top to take it out. Coming in from the top, just be careful, it is hard to avoid all those hot parts if the engine is warm. Rated capacity is 5.5 quarts, I believe, check the owner's manual to be sure.

Hope that helps,

GA400

Yes to GA400 comments. I just changed the oil in my 95 LS400 and found that the "underside" method worked best for me. I removed a few of the screws holding the underpan and was able to access the filter. Next time, I will remove more or all to provide better access. The filter is mounted at an angle of 1:00 to 2:00 o'clock, so you should be able to remove without a huge mess. I still had oil down my hand and arm, but not a big deal. You will also find a hose that impedes the access to the filter a bit. Wish that thing was out of the way, but you'll just have to deal with. I removed the old filter with a "wrap around" type wrench. Next time I will use my "end cap" type oil filter wrench. Filled with 5.5 qts of Mobil 1. In all, an easy project. Good luck

Why don't you just let the dealer do it. Mine charges $29 for the oil/filter change which includes topping off all fluids. Definitely worth it to me to not scrape up my hands, get all dirty, & waste a good 30 min of my time.

$29... wow! My lex dealer charges at least $89 (and that doesn't include topping off fluids) and they don't even use sythentic. They use Castrol 10/30 and claim they are servicing lexi that were bought new and now have over 300K on them.

Seems like all lexus dealerships would have a standard to follow on maintance, guess not.

That probably includes tire rotation. There are plenty of Lexus dealers in my area, and they all charge $40-50 for oil change and another $40-50 for tire rotation. So minor scheduled service works out to $90-100 for the oil change, tire rotation, brake check, and topping off of fluids.

$29 is an incredibly low amount for an oil change at a Lexus dealer, and is quite reasonable.

90915-20004 filter + Mobil 1 synthetic = ~$32 if you change it yourself. It's the best way to go if you're willing to get a little dirty.

Doesn't include tire rotation. That is an extra $59.99. I know because I always tell them to NOT do that because I can rotate the tires myself. But they do make a brake inspection.

And that is one thing that ticks me off. To do a brake inspection it would appear you would have to take off the tires. And since they do that anyway how hard can it be to roll a couple of tires from front to back.

$90 for an oil change and $60 for a tire rotation? Your dealer is a rip-off.
A tire rotation isn't something you need to pay a premium for at a Lexus dealer. Bring it to any place (some do it for free), and as long as you can watch them as they're doing it and can get them to hand-torque the lug nuts to 76 ft-lb, you're getting a better tire rotation than at a Lexus dealer in which you can' t see your car being worked on. In fact, I've had friends who pay the $40-50 for the tire rotation, and their Lexus dealers didn't even do the rotation! They only knew because they marked the tires before bringing it in.

At the Honda dealer my friend goes to, he just rolls the tires front to back himself when they're off for the brake inspection. :p Takes 15 seconds, and the mechanic he always asks for just pretends he isn't watching.