For generations, changing your truck’s oil pretty much required just three things: a drain pan, a wrench, and accepting that at least some oil was going to end up on your hands. But expectations on basic maintenance steps have officially changed, as we learn from a mechanic who recently discovered that an oil change on a Toyota Tundra Hybrid now also involves a QR code, a hidden electronic air dam, and a trip to YouTube before you can even reach the oil filter.
The viral clip from creator @joybarrett1961 starts with the 2024 Tundra up on blocks for a parking lot oil change. Once underneath, the narrator scans the camera across the access points involved. And that’s where the degree of difficulty and time on job start to ratchet upwards.
“At first, it seems like a normal oil change,” he said on the clip that’s been viewed more than 905,000 times. While not exactly convoluted and complicated at a Rube Goldberg level, one quickly gets the sense that Toyota engineered the truck in a way that made an oil change up on a lift almost a necessity.
Oil Change Gets Complicated Quickly
The problems start once he discovers that the oil filter sits behind a protective cover held in place by four bolts. Two are easy to access, but the other two are tucked behind what appears to be an electronically controlled air dam mounted underneath the front of the truck.
