I would love to get ahold of the commie bastard that put the oil filter there and let me cut my wrist on that plastic guard while going around that damn gutter that gets oil all over hell and half of Georgia.. I can change my Z-71 oil in about ten minutes compared to this debacle..at least put it vertical instead of horizontal so it doesn't douse you with oil. That engineering degree didn't teach you crap apparently. Ok I'm done now.. ,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Whew..
Put a rag on that little gutter to catch the oil. Sit next to the passenger side tire and reach around the skid plate to access the filter. Makes it much simpler. The hole in the skid plate is just to allow oil to drip out. It's not meant for you to put your hand through.
If it makes you feel any better I had to have a MRI on my hand after trying to change my oil the first time due to the filter access. Reaching in there crooked and twisting as hard as I could I thought I re-tore a ligament in my thumb! And I still didn't get it off lol. Moral of the story is get an oil filter wrench, I like mine it's the one that goes over the end that a ratchet goes into. Took me 10 minutes total the second go 'round.
What drives me crazy is how a crapload if oil dumps out all over the swaybar and skid plate as soon as you pull the filter away from the threads no matter how long you let it sit there to drain.
Although as bad as this is, the filter on my miata is WAY worse.
You'll get the hang-of-it. I remove 1 bolt and loosen other on access plate and turn it out of way - look through hole, reach aroung skid plate on passenger side with above mentioned cap style filter socket on a 3/8 ratchet - built in drain channel works ok. Yes - it seems all factory filters are put on dry and over tight, because every new car I've owned has been same PITA.
I can't believe people here are still complaining about the oil changes, lol. As others have said, it's very simple. Just reach around the side of the skid plate. I use a cut soda bottle on top of the drain slide to extend it a little so no oil goes in the skid. Simple and takes no longer than any other vehicle
soda bottle is a damn fine idea. if im ever not a dealer tech, i may have to try that out.
actually...no i probably wont.. because working at a dealer i know that i can get my oil changed in a v6 frontier, for cheaper than what it would cost me to do it myself. and it gives me free right to ***** if its left dirty at the end
i long for the days i get to be a cranky customer.
I just punch a hole in the filter and let the oil drain into the catch pan, before I even get to the oil pan drain bolt.
... oil change hell is, when you discover that after you drained the oil. The new oil you just baught, is actually used. Where some sneaky guy, put his old oil back in the new bottles and retuned it. Thats when a second vehicle comes in handy.
Just did my first oil change on the Frontier yesterday. I knew that most factory filters are on pretty tight so I bought a vice grip style filter wrench from Harbor Freight for about $7. I took out the 10mm bolts at the rear of the belly pan that screw into the cross member and it was able to drop down a few inches. That gave me plenty of room to get the wrench in from the pass. side. Got the filter off with a lot less hassle than I expected.
The wrench I used http://www.harborfreight.com/locking-oil-filter-wrench-66568.html
made sure to grip it near the end of the filter to keep the filter from collapsing.
Oil change is not that bad at all in my opinion. Alot easier then having to reach in the fenderwell of my old 1st gen 4 cylinder. I can usually put a death grip on the filter with my hand and spin the filter off without needing a wench (advantage of small hand I guess, heh). The excess oil is a pain to clean off everything, but I normally keep a cheap can of brake clean around to spray off the skids, no problem.
Oil changes were a PITA on my mom's old 01' Highlander... There was no way of getting to the filter from underneath without taking out ~20 bolts. I had to reach down the hood and watch so the e-fan blades didn't cut me, and the rad hoses were always a bit warm, since I would run the engine for a few minutes before draining..
buy a K and N filter. its a bit pricey but great quality AND theres a 1inch nut on the front for easy removal.....I spend the extra money just so I can pop a socket/extension on the thing and be done w it.
change the oil on a 2009 honda civic si sedan it is a pita for sure, i know i change mine every 2500 miles. the frontier isnt bad at all, the tacoma is probably the easiest ive ever done due to the location of the filter.
My friend hadn't changed the oil in his used g35 since he bought it two years ago! He called me and asked why his car was making these weird noises, and why his oil light came on every time he turned right.. It took a good hour to remove all the wind dams just to see the oil filter, then had to remove some more wind dams and part of the wheel well liner only to find that there was no way to fit a strap wrench in there. He had been body building so I let him give the filter a try but he couldn't get it undone, so I had to go in there and take care of business I think he was just afraid of skinning his knuckles when the filter broke free. Only 1 quart of sludge came out!
I use the reach around. I don't mind a little oil on the skid - I see it as cheap rust preventative. I just wipe any excess away. Some people around here squirt their used oil into the chassis to prevent rust. Of course, if I had concrete driveway, this would not be an option. I don't want to be the guy who leaves an oily rainbow every time it rains, so I don't go to this extreme.
I have to drop the skid on my calmini db lift so the oil changes are fifteen min from start to finish, when both my 06 and my 10 were stock I just removed the skid to do the change instead of fighting it