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underpants

(197,468 posts)
Sat May 16, 2026, 12:05 PM May 16

We're running low on lube. 😳



AutoZone’s alleged memo on motor oil supply is ugly, and your next oil change could prove it

from MS Now

Over the past week, reports about looming motor oil shortages have started popping up from multiple directions. The most pointed of them surfaced today, when a person posted what looks like an internal memo to the Southeast region of AutoZone stores.

In the memo, the writer says, “Realistic, middle-of-the-road estimates are for our average available supply in this product category [lubricating fluids] to drop by 40%.” That figure continues to pop up, and it basically means one thing. Oil changes, transmission fluid changes, really anything that lubricates your car is about to get more expensive. We reached out to AutoZone for comment, but haven’t received a reply at the time of writing.

Shops on the ground are already bracing for it. Speaking to a local repair store here in Little Rock, Arkansas, a general manager tells Carscoops that “They are being very secretive about all that. They say the price is for sure gonna go up, but they don’t know how the mainline volume will be affected yet.”

Another shop owner in DC said on Monday that Mobil and Shell informed Costco and Walmart that they’re out of product to ship. Later that same day, he posted what appears to be a bulletin focused on managing supply chain issues. Guidance included partially substituting 0W-8 oil with 0W-16 and then doing the same for 0W-16 with 0W-20. These are just the most recent and easily accessible examples of the current concern.

34 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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We're running low on lube. 😳 (Original Post) underpants May 16 OP
That would seem to be a true statement about life in the USA in general. Ocelot II May 16 #1
Yeah, I thought the OP was going in a different direction entirely. RandomNumbers May 16 #2
What?....me??? underpants May 16 #5
Works on 2 levels lame54 May 16 #7
This is what MAGAts voted for. Never let them forget. RockRaven May 16 #3
Non-voters need to know that a non-vote is indeed a vote. Beartracks May 16 #18
Wait... what? I thought that was all made in Pennsylvania. hunter May 16 #4
It might be angrychair May 16 #8
So should regular folks put motor oil aside for their vehicles? efhmc May 16 #15
Might not be a bad idea. Uncle_Remus May 16 #20
Thank for the info. efhmc May 17 #34
I haven't felt like angrychair May 16 #6
Very funny!!! I used to have a colleague in the toxic mileau that is American corporate culture, and PatrickforB May 16 #16
Oh no! Here comes that screamin' sound again! JoseBalow May 16 #9
Uh oh BaronChocula May 16 #10
Spit on it. twodogsbarking May 16 #11
What's that epigram Nasruddin May 16 #12
"The dildo of consequences seldom arrives with lube." Ocelot II May 16 #30
This message was self-deleted by its author Ocelot II May 16 #31
With that, and the price of gas It's gotta be tough for those pickup truck owners with the Trump flags. Fil1957 May 16 #13
Yes, especially those poor, gentle souls rolling coal who like to belch out black exhaust near No Kings PatrickforB May 16 #19
I heard a radio segment on that NJCher May 16 #23
I dislike big pickup trucks, however I understand some people need them for work and hauling horses. I'm sorry those Fil1957 May 16 #29
Khrushchev's plan is coming to fruition thanks to Krasnov LiberalArkie May 16 #14
Too many dildos of consequences GenThePerservering May 16 #17
I expected a very different kind of thread when I clicked on this IronLionZion May 16 #21
🤪 underpants May 16 #28
Full synthetic is the most vulnerable. Uncle_Remus May 16 #22
Kick dalton99a May 16 #24
Gorka! Kid Berwyn May 16 #25
Such a good place for some artwork. Not the idiot trying to find his trump quarters. erronis May 16 #32
Did someone say, "Budacoin"? Kid Berwyn May 16 #33
No mention of KY. Sneederbunk May 16 #26
I found a tube of that Kentucky Jelly beside my hospital bed EYESORE 9001 May 16 #27

Beartracks

(14,683 posts)
18. Non-voters need to know that a non-vote is indeed a vote.
Sat May 16, 2026, 02:56 PM
May 16

A "null" in the tally is just as impactful as any ballot. A "non-vote" is really just a "non-ballot vote." There is no real "I didn't vote" in the sense of meaning "I didn't choose any of the options." Voting isn't retail; you can't opt out without receiving one of the choices. So not casting a ballot is simply letting everybody else choose for you. It's still a vote, but one made with apathy instead of a ballot.

People who don't cast a ballot like to say "voting doesn't make a difference;" and yet their so-called "non-voting" can sway elections. Simply put: both can't be true. If not casting a ballot makes a difference, then casting a ballot makes a difference. HOW YOU VOTE makes a difference.

=================

angrychair

(12,545 posts)
8. It might be
Sat May 16, 2026, 01:47 PM
May 16

But remember it's a internationally traded commodity so as the availability decreases, it's availability in the market drops as bigger players buy more to hedge for worsening conditions and as the supplies become ever tighter, the price increases so only the largest of players in the market are willing to pay those prices or even have it available to buy at all

Uncle_Remus

(39 posts)
20. Might not be a bad idea.
Sat May 16, 2026, 02:59 PM
May 16

My understanding is that full synthetics are most at risk. I actually bought 7 oils changes worth for my car. Costco has/had the best price. I paid a little over $100 for all the oil.

PatrickforB

(15,549 posts)
16. Very funny!!! I used to have a colleague in the toxic mileau that is American corporate culture, and
Sat May 16, 2026, 02:49 PM
May 16

when something adverse came down the pike from management, she would sigh and say, "Yet another BOHICA moment!"

One day, mystified, I asked her what BOHICA meant. She replied, "It means bend over, here it comes again!"

A good laugh, but oh so true!

Response to Nasruddin (Reply #12)

Fil1957

(932 posts)
13. With that, and the price of gas It's gotta be tough for those pickup truck owners with the Trump flags.
Sat May 16, 2026, 02:26 PM
May 16

My heart bleeds, but somehow I think I'll manage.

PatrickforB

(15,549 posts)
19. Yes, especially those poor, gentle souls rolling coal who like to belch out black exhaust near No Kings
Sat May 16, 2026, 02:57 PM
May 16

demonstrations.

Those playful scamps, fueled as they are by the desire to 'drink librul tears,' are going to experience much worse fuel economy. According to AAA, as of May 12, the average per-gallon price of diesel was $5.64. This has gone down a bit with the infusion of more of US strategic stockpiles by the incompetent Trump administration.

Dang!

Thing is, I really don't want to drink these MAGA tears. I'd rather their tears wash the scales from their eyes so they become aware we are all being scammed big-time by these kleptocrats.

What was it George Carlin said about the wealthy elites? "It's a big club and you ain't in it!"

NJCher

(43,663 posts)
23. I heard a radio segment on that
Sat May 16, 2026, 03:05 PM
May 16

Oddly enough, it was about women with big pickup trucks. New ones. They interviewed one who said it cost her $200 per fill. Think of that next time you see one of those behemoths coming down the road.

It's even more expensive if you're hauling horses around, like these women were.

And let's not forget, they earn less than men, so it's even harder for them to fuel these vehicles.

The woman they interviewed highly identified with the gigantic pickup truck. She plans to continue paying to run it.

Fil1957

(932 posts)
29. I dislike big pickup trucks, however I understand some people need them for work and hauling horses. I'm sorry those
Sat May 16, 2026, 04:50 PM
May 16

folks have to suffer from this B.S. war.

Uncle_Remus

(39 posts)
22. Full synthetic is the most vulnerable.
Sat May 16, 2026, 03:05 PM
May 16

I've been researching this for a while. Conventional oil should be fine from what I've read. So more places may be offering blends instead of full synthetic.

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