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Why can't they make it easier to change oil? I would like for it to be as easy as filling the car with gas... so that you don't need to take off a stupid brush guard (or need a wrench at all) and reeeaaach for the oil filter. It's an impractical layout and a messy job.

So, I suppose what I'm asking is, why not put a hose or something in the oil reservoir so that you can change the oil without lifting the car or getting on the ground or paying someone else to do it?

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    What do you consider hard about it? I can leisurely change the oil in either one of my vehicles in under 15 minutes ... in fact, I find it kind of therapeutic in a way. Throw on a pair of nitrile gloves, grab a shop rag, a few odds-n-ends, pop the plug, unscrew the filter ... nothing hard or irritating about any of it. I'm not really sure what your rant is about? I'm sorry, but due to this I'm going to put a close vote on it because this really is opinion based.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Aug 13 '16 at 2:09
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    Some vehicles you have to remove the splash guard under the engine compartment, and yes it is a PITA.
    – Moab
    Aug 13 '16 at 2:12
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    Oil extractors address your complaint quite adequately.
    – Zaid
    Aug 13 '16 at 2:14
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    I suppose the answer has to do with market demand – I suspect that even those of us who do our own oil changes don't make buying decisions based on the ease of changing the oil, or any other service task. No doubt it could be much easier, for example adding a drain valve and hose on those pesky VW diesels.
    – dlu
    Aug 13 '16 at 2:25
  • @Zaid what about the filter, you still have to remove the guard on some vehicles to change it.
    – Moab
    Aug 13 '16 at 3:00
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So, I suppose what I'm asking is, why not put a hose or something in the oil reservoir so that you can change the oil without lifting the car or getting on the ground or paying someone else to do it?

That's what oil extractors are for. Insert the hose through the oil dipstick and draw up the oil via vacuum.

They're especially handy if your oil pan is cheese-grade aluminium and you stand a good chance of stripping the internal plug threads.

manual oil extractor

compressed air

As for the oil filter, there's no shortcut for replacing it. Good thing they usually don't need replacing every oil change.

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  • I like the pump I guess, but what I really want is to pop a latch (just like you do for gas), and viola, there's the filter and a nozzle that you pull out; you just squeeze a trigger and pour the oil into a jug. Replace the filter right there on the side of the car and pour oil in, maybe where you take off the filter (for simplicity).
    – Ben Welborn
    Aug 13 '16 at 22:19

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