With the summer driving season just around the corner, gas prices may not be the only challenge facing road-trippers. It appears we’re also staring down a potential shortage of certain motor oils. While there’s no evidence of an immediate threat to retail motor oil availability, current-generation Toyota hybrid owners (of which there are millions) should take note that their next oil change might not be typical.
Toyota reportedly sent a bulletin to its service departments late last month warning them of an impending shortage of certain oil weights. According to the memo, ExxonMobil expects ongoing shortages of 0W-8 and 0W-16 due to the situation in the petrochemical market, and it instructs dealers to substitute heavier oils in order to cover any shortfalls in supply.
Toyota calls these memos “PANT” (Parts & Accessories News Today) bulletins, and Costa Kapothanasis (@CostaKapo on X), owner of a large chain of oil change outfits, shared the first page of the April 30 edition, which lays the whole thing out pretty plainly.
Based on other PANT Bulletin examples we’ve located online, the memo appears to be genuine. We reached out to a Toyota spokesperson to verify its authenticity and confirm the accuracy of its guidelines. As of publication time, Toyota has not yet gotten back to us regarding either.
In case the link breaks or the image is too difficult to read, here’s what the relevant section says in full:
Toyota and our supplier ExxonMobil may experience challenges in fulfilling demand for Genuine Toyota Motor Oil (GTMO) 0W-8 and 0W-16 oils due to production and logistics constraints within the global petrochemical supply chain. While Toyota and ExxonMobil continue to work diligently to maintain supply, the following substitution guidelines are recommended for dealers to help manage the demand for the affected products. These measures may allow ExxonMobil to maintain a consistent service-level fill for dealers and help provide continued support for our guests.
TMNA recommends dealers follow these substitution guidelines one day per week for 0W-8 and one day every other week for 0W-16 or use the substitution percentages set forth below until further written notice. This approach is intended to temporarily reduce demand for both oil weights and support continued national supply.
The memo also laid out guidelines for substitutions and noted that they are not intended to be relied on long-term; each is allowed for just one service interval, it said.
But is this OK for your car? Bottom line, the answer is yes.
Toyota already has provisions in place for substitutions should a particular motor oil weight become unavailable. This memo is intended to help service departments manage their inventories through the shortage.
Generally speaking, a higher weight oil increases drag between components, which reduces efficiency and converts more of the engine’s work into pure heat. Lighter-weight oils do the opposite, but they won’t adequately lubricate an engine if its tolerances are too loose.
Neither is optimal, but in some cases, a different oil weight can fall within a manufacturer’s specifications for basic engine protection but miss for other reasons, such as fuel efficiency (too heavy) or oil consumption (too light). Every engine has its Goldilocks range, but “adequate” will do in a pinch.
And obviously, service shops are starting to feel the pinch. If you’re due for an oil change, you might want to knock it out sooner rather than later. If reports on the ground are accurate, this is not just a problem for dealers. Certain weights are already scarce at the retail level. Kapothanasis says it’s only going to get worse:
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