First oil change 2024 RAV4 at 1416 miles

I just did the first oil change (the first of many to come) in my 2024 RAV4 XLE. I read from different sources, including Car Care Nut's YouTube channel, that early oil change helps. My car only has 1416 miles, but I believe it is good for the longevity of the engine. 

 

I got these super awesome ramps. I don't need to worry about jacking up the car. Just drove it up the ramps and it gives me plenty of space underneath to work on the oil drain plug and replace oil filter. 

And don't forget the wheel chocks for safety. 

When I do my own oil changes, I always just hand-tighten the oil filter. It is easier to remove for the next oil change. But since this is the first change in this new car and I had experience tackling filters that were super difficult to remove in the past, so I am taking no chances. Did some research and bought this oil filter remover. It seems hands down provide the best grip to remove any filter. Might be a bit overkill but I believe being over-prepared is always better than being under-prepared. 

This oil filter remover helped took out the original filter quickly

This is the Oil filter from the factory. It's part number was Denso 90915-10009 (Made in Japan). The filter I bought from local Toyota dealer has the part number 90915-YZZN1 (Made in Thailand).

      

                                      

New Oil Filter: 

I tighten the oil drain plug to 30 ft-lbs of torque spec. **NOTE: I torqued the nut to this spec from random google search results. I don't have any official document to back this up. Would appreciate if you could share your source.  

I also got these disposable oil funnels. It makes the pouring really easy. It is always clean and no need to worry about contamination. 

Glad I did it. I was surprised to see how dark the oil is compared to new oil. Remember my car only has 1416 miles. Happy I didn't wait until the recommended maintenance schedule. 

I know just a visual inspection of oil color doesn't mean much. They need to get properly analyzed at places like Blackstone Laboratories (mentioned in ChrisFix's Youtube channel). This color difference is FYI only.

Also, I am not going to do the maintenance reset. I will let the dealer do it when I take the car in for its first scheduled oil change. 

Extra notes: The part numbers for the oil pant cover, or oil pan splash guard, or underbody splash guard, is 51447-0R040

key fob covers for my 2024 Toyota RAV4 key

My RAV4 remote key fob sits in my pocket all day long. It comes in contact with my keys and other stuff in the pocket. I already see some minor scratches on it so I want to find a simple way to protect the key fob. It occurred to me there are plenty of protective cases for a smartphone, so there must be something similar for the key fobs. A quick search appears I was right. There are plenty of options. I tried out two different styles and both do their job. It is nice to know my key fob is well protected in either cover. 

The first one I tried is this Carbon Fiber looking key fob cover. You all know there is a lever that you need to slide to release the mechanical key from Toyota key fobs (Page 118 of the User Manual). This cover, however, does block access to that latch. This is not too big of a deal since it is kind of easy to take this cover apart. 

Plus, this carbon fiber pattern cover looks really cool.  

The second one I tried is this Navy blue colored leather cover. This cover has an “open” end so it is not too difficult to access the mechanical key. 

It was easy to slip the key fob into this cover, and it was also quite easy to take the key fob out of this cover. Plus the Navy blue leather color and yellow stitches look great. There is a leather conditioner came with this key fob cover, which is a nice touch. Haven’t had the need to use that yet, but looking forward to it. 

Which key fob cover do you think looks better?