Your oil change could be pricier than normal
Lauren Bly
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — As the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz continues, gas prices aren’t the only thing going up. The American Automobile Association said motor oil prices are rising too, which means your oil change could be a bit pricier.
AAA said it’s still important you get an oil change if you need it ahead of Memorial Day Weekend.
Mike Melendez says customers at Rudolph Chevrolet have not yet felt the impact of rising motor oil prices, despite a slight increase tied to a nationwide shortage.
Melendez, the service manager at Rudolph Chevrolet, said the dealership is absorbing the added costs by purchasing oil in bulk to avoid passing price increases on to customers.
“We’re absorbing the difference to be able to take care of our customers,” Melendez said. “We are just buying in bulk.”
The U.S. is currently facing a shortage of Group III base oil, a key ingredient that makes up at least 75% of the motor oil used in most modern vehicles.
According to Caitlin Jacobs, a spokesperson for the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association, or ILMA, independent lubricant manufacturers produce about 25% of the engine oils sold in North America.
“They make about 25% of the engine oils that are sold here in North America,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs said roughly 44% of Group III oil comes from the Middle East, where shipping disruptions and damage to production facilities have slowed supply.
“There’s a lot of shipping issues. Product can’t get out,” Jacobs said. “On top of that, there’s been damage to some of the base oil production facilities there.”
Because of those issues, Jacobs said consumers could continue seeing higher oil prices for at least another year.
“This is definitely a long-term problem,” she said.
Despite the rising costs, both Jacobs and Melendez stressed that drivers should not delay routine oil changes.
“The worst-case scenario, the engine gets ruined, the transmission gets ruined,” Melendez said. “If those get avoided long enough, the vehicle actually just starts breaking down, and it causes bigger and bigger expenses.”
ABC-7 reached out to local mechanics and AAA to learn what drivers can expect to pay now. Watch the full report ABC-7’s evening newscasts.