One Toyota driver swears, ‘been doing this for years.’ But others warn it could backfire in a costly way.
Audio By Carbonatix
The @AutomotiveADHD channel offers “Iffy mechanical advice free of charge,” often testing various maintenance hacks out on his own Tacoma. He recently discovered something interesting about wide-mouth Mobil 1 oil quart bottles. “The threads on the top of this bottle have the same thread pitch as my factory oil cap.”
Does that mean you can just open a bottle of Mobil 1, thread it into your oil fill hole, and let it drain itself? Not quite. If you were to screw it in place, the air would have no way to escape. The oil would pour out extremely slowly, if at all. You could punch a hole in the bottom of the bottle after you thread it in place, but that sounds messy. @AutomotiveADHD has another suggestion.
If you cut the bottom off an empty oil quart, you can build a DIY funnel. Not only that, but it’s one of the most secure oil fill funnels around. That’s because you can thread it in place to prevent it from falling out mid-pour. You can see the original video embedded below, or keep scrolling to find out whether it’s worth the trouble.
Is the oil change hack worth the trouble?
The TikToker’s oil change hack definitely looks impressive. But is it worth the trouble of cutting a bottle in half when you can just buy a funnel for under $3 at any auto parts store? Heck, most stores have a stack of disposable paper funnels on the counter.
Corolla_Joe commented, “I know it works on Toyotas, been doing this for years.” But Nhia Ly had a counterpoint: “Last thing I want is a pc of plastic shard in my engine.” You certainly want to make sure to cut a bottle in half cleanly if you’re going to try this hack.
I’ll add that most DIY mechanics rely on a funnel because they are pouring motor oil the wrong way. Quart oil bottles are designed to flow smoothly when the bottle’s neck is positioned higher. You can see that second hack demonstrated in the video embedded below:
