I generally get my Oil changed at any independent shop whose oil change coupon i can find in the flyer.
I provide my own Mobil1 synthetic oil and make sure that i watch them change the oil as well as the filter. I always ask them to make sure that they have tightened the oil drain bolt as well as the filter properly.

Is it okay to let them use whatever Oil filter they use? Or does an oil filter quality/type really makes a lot of difference?

Thanks to all the helpful people on this forum.

 

Hey, you get what you pay for and the shop makes most money by buying the cheapest filters. If you don't go much past 3000-4000 miles, then you should be fine, but since you've already committed to using Mobil1, why not spend the extra $2 more and get a Toyota filter over some junky filter.

 

I have pretty strong opinions about this, but I feel it makes a LOT of difference what filter you use. I have read of quite a few engines taking the big dirt nap because of cheap filters that come apart and clogging oil passages and wiping the engine out. Toyota filters may be made in Thailand, but they are made to Toyota's standards and are an excellent filter. I have cut them apart to examine them and can tell you that 1st hand. I wouldn't use ANY FILTER that a quick oil change place supplied, and the independent shop you go to may not be that way at all, but I would still supply my own filter. I buy them from the local Toyota dealer for about $3.50-$4.00 each with a coupon- can't beat that. Buy about 4 at a time.

 

i would have to agree with code58 to an extent, ive heard horror stories from the really low end filters, like fram used to use some type of glue or adhesive inside the filter that melted after the oil got hot and that cycled through the engine and in severe circumstances clogging would occur and oil cycling became poor, fram has since fixed that because of potential (if not actual) lawsuits but nonetheless, if youre religious aqbout changing your oil at a low interval and use at least a halfway decent filter, id say your ok, i personally go overboard and use the K&N hp-2009 over-size filter (thanks lexmex ) with pennzoil plat full synth and change @ 3k-4k, but yea the toyota OEM filters are really good, i hear great things about them even for the IS 300, hope this info helps

 

code,you dont have the part # for the toyota filter do you?

 

Thanks to everyone for the useful information.
I am planning to buy Toyota filter and provide it to the oil change shop.

Thanks again.

 

Higher quality oil filters work more effectively with full synthetic oils. I use castrol full synthetic 5w30 which is also very good like the mobil 1 full synethic. I upgraded from using toyota filters (which are good in their own right) for K&N oil filters which run about 13 to 14 dollars. I dont feel comfortable using the toyota filters since the dealerships use them with their synthetic blend oils. Before I did my most current oil change I bought a Fram toughguard oil filter b/c of a special deal a auto parts store was having. When I got home i looked up reviews on this oil filter and it got really bad reviews. I went back to the auto parts store returned it and bought the K&N filter hehe. You should be fine sticking with the toyota filter, if you want something better get a mobil 1 oil filter or K&N. They are larger and have more filtering surface area.