Toyota Oil Filter Buyer's Guide

The oil filter may be a simple and disposable part. Yet, it plays a major role in extending your engine’s lifespan. Oil filters should be replaced at every oil change. That’s why, as a Toyota owner, you should know everything there is to know about oil filters. That includes what oil filters are, how they work, how to replace one, and more.

If you’re looking for all the information you need about oil filters in one place, this guide is just what you need.

Oil Filters: Explained In Simple Terms

Oil filter oem

As the motor oil runs through the engine, it slowly breaks down. As it breaks down, it leaves contaminants in the oil. It also picks up tiny metal particles as the engine wears. The more contaminants the oil accumulates, the muckier it gets. That can seriously damage the engine. That’s why Toyota designed your car to have an oil filter between the engine and the oil pan.

An oil filter is a cylinder-shaped part with a pleated filter inside. Its sole purpose is to filter the contaminants out of the oil to keep the oil clean until the next oil change.

To read more about oil filters and how they work, this article has all the information you need: What is an Oil Filter and Why is it Important?

How An Oil Filter Works

The spin-on oil filter is the most common type of oil filter. A spin-on oil filter contains several important components:

A metal housing
A cylinder-shaped centrifugal pleated filter
A bypass valve

The oil filter filters the oil that comes from the oil pan to the engine. As the oil enters the filter on one side, the centrifugal pleated filter spins as it filters the impurities out of the oil. The clean oil then exits the filter on the other side.

If the oil filter is too clogged up, the dirty oil will pass through the bypass valve without being filtered.

Want to learn more about how an oil filter works? This article provides an in-depth explanation: All You Ever Wanted To Know About Oil And Fuel Filters

OEM Vs. Aftermarket Oil Filters

Are you on the fence between OEM and aftermarket oil filters? This guide has all the information you need to reach an educated decision: Are OEM Toyota Oil Filters Better Than Aftermarket?

In a nutshell, OEM oil filters are a much safer bet in terms of:

Filter housing quality and construction
Pleated filter quality
Specs

We compared a few different OEM oil filters against aftermarket filters:

Each analysis concluded that OEM oil filters deliver so much more value than aftermarket oil filters. The Tundra oil filter comparison offers an in-depth analysis of why OEM oil filters are better quality than aftermarket ones.

If you’re worried about cost, we offer genuine OEM oil filters at wholesale pricing.

Replacing Your Oil Filter

It’s common (and highly recommended) to replace the oil filter every time you change the oil in your car. Luckily, changing the oil and filter is quite an easy job anybody can do at home. Basically, you have to:

Drain the old oil out of the vehicle
Remove the oil filter
Wipe down the area
Screw in the new oil filter
Refill the oil

Easy peasy. If you’re looking for a step-by-step tutorial, here’s a good one: How to Replace a Toyota Oil Filter. We also have a couple model-specific tutorials: