The Avalon is Toyota’s top of-the-line sedan that has been in production since 1995. The Avalon comes standard with many items that are optional on other cars, such as air conditioning, power windows and rain-sensing windshield wipers. Some maintenance procedures on the Avalon differ from other vehicles, also. Most vehicles use a spin-on oil filter assembly, where the Avalon uses a cartridge-type oil filter. The oil filter housing must be drained before the filter cartridge can be removed and replaced with a new filter.
Purchase a replacement oil filter for your Avalon at an auto parts store or at your Toyota dealer. Be aware that the filter should come with two new O-rings and a plastic hose adapter to aid in draining oil from the filter housing.
Drive your Avalon onto a set of car ramps. Place the car in park and set the parking brake. Allow the engine to cool if the car has been driven more than a few miles in the last hour. Place a drain pan under the oil filter housing located near the front of the oil pan. Remove the filter housing lid with a 3/8-inch socket wrench in a counterclockwise direction and set it aside.
Push a 12-inch section of an old garden hose onto the long end of the plastic hose adapter that came with your new oil filter. Push the other end of the adapter onto the fitting exposed after the filter housing lid was removed. Make sure the fitting snaps into place. Place the other end of the garden hose into the drain pan and allow the oil in the filter housing to drain completely. Remove the adapter by twisting it out of the filter housing fitting.
Remove the filter housing with a filter wrench attached to a 3/8-inch socket wrench turned in a counterclockwise direction. Lower the filter housing. Pull the old paper filter element out of the housing.
Clean the filter housing with a rag and insert the new filter element into the housing until it seats into position. Remove the O-ring seals on the filter housing with your fingers and place the new O-rings that came with your filter back into their place.
Insert the filter housing back into the cavity at the front of the engine oil pan and tighten it with a filter wrench in a clockwise direction. Replace the filter housing lid by tightening it into place with a 3/8-inch socket wrench turned in a clockwise direction.
Open the hood and remove the oil filler cap. Add the type of oil recommended in your owner’s manual until the full mark is reached on the engine oil dipstick. Close the hood. Start the engine and back the car off of the car ramps.
