I'm going to change the oil in the MMH for the first time on Saturday and was wondering if anyone has any advice? How does the filter work with the O-rings? Just remove the housing and replace the filter part?

Anything else I should be concerned about? Any FAQs with pictures you've come accross?

 

I will be doing my 1st oil change also in app30-45 days so I found this post interesting too. Lucky I got my 1st oil change at 5K that was free by dealer.

 

Torque the filter to factory spec or it will leak.

 

If you change the oil when it is hot (a good practice) it will shoot out of the drain plug like water. The first time I changed mine, it ended up overshooting the pan and going all over the garage floor.

Also, there is not much use is taking out the drain screw from the end of the filter, first. Just tip the filter case and drain out the oil once it is unscrewed. Lastly, get the right filter socket in advance.

 

If you change the oil when the engine is nice and warm, the oil filter canister can be removed by hand as long as your hands aren't already oily.

Oil up the new big o-ring and it will make reinstallation of the canister much easier.

Throw away the new small o-ring unless you take out the plug for the sole purpose of changing the o-ring.

Add some oil to the new filter inside the canister before reinstallation. Always a good idea to pre-soak a new oil filter in any car.

Don't worry about torque on the canister. Just turn it until the flange meets the block. It is a solid stop.

Buy your oil filters somewhere besides the dealership. They will screw you royally. You can get the Ford part with both o-rings for $5-6 at the zone. Ditto the oil - dealer will have his way with you on the too.

The oil change in this car is a piece of cake. You can do it in your nice clothes and hardly get your hands dirty.

 

That was one of the EASIEST oil changes I've ever done! The car is high enough that I didn't need to use ramps and everything is really easy to get at. After draining from the main plug, I opened up the filter drain and let it drain for about 30 minutes. There was still a little in the filter when I took it off, but it wasn't bad. I hardly got any oil on myself and I didn't spill a single drop on the garage floor.

Afterwards, I changed the oil in the HCH and swore at the plastic fairing on the bottom of the car and the oil I spilled dealing with it. The MMH was much easier than the Civic (and I think the Civic is easier than many cars I've worked on).

 

I'm sure the original poster has completed the job. However, I would recommend making sure you have a 6 point socket of the right size (13 mm on all the hybrids, I think). The plug is very soft (to avoid damage to the oil pan) and the factory tends to overtighten the plug. I damaged mine with a 12 point box end wrench the first time I removed it and had to replace the plug. I've been changing oil for over 40 years and this was the first time this happened to me.

 

The hex key ( filter drain hole ) is made of SOFT aluminum.
This hex hole become round in my car after 3 changes.
I have left it in for more than 40,000 miles now.
No leaks, and it's really not any help to remove it in the first place.

 

I'm about to do my first DIY change, because Mobil1 was on sale for $5/qt at the local auto parts store.

So the filter drain plug can be left in place? The filter housing will be full of oil when removed then, and the filter will have to be drained outside of the housing?

Is the refill capacity the 4.5qt stated in the manual, or is it 5qt with filter change?

 

It's 4.5 quarts with filter. (There is no consideration for an oil change without a filter change.) You'll have a half quart left for the next oil change. My filter drain plug comes out easily (as contrasted to the pan drain plug) and should be OK if it's not overtightened. My guess is gpsman1 had a plug overtightened at the factory. Once you get a little wear in a soft plug, it's only a matter of time. I guess you are lucky or not.

Removing the housing is easy enough without draining first. You just need to be a little careful not to slop oil everywhere when you lower it off the engine.

Although it has been suggested that you can change the filter housing without a wrench, I would suggest getting the correct cap type wrench since the housing is plastic (I think). Make sure the number of sides matches. There are several similar sizes but Ford uses the same design as Mazda.