Jobber Nation reached out to Jay Buckley, director of technical training, Fram Filters for insights.

In this era of extended oil changes, are people still making choices about oil filters that don’t won’t go the distance?

Yes they are. Many consumers still go for the lowest cost filter without concern whether it has the capacity for extended drain intervals. That is the driving reason that we upgraded our lowest cost filter to exceed OE drain intervals

What sort of recommendations should a counterperson be giving to the consumer as well as the professional technician?

Honestly, it is easy to explain different grades of filters to consumers and recommend the right filter for the oil used and drain interval.

I can only comment on the USA professional tech market. They are razor focused on using the cheapest, lowest-cost filters that do not leak. Many are still mistakenly using oil change specials to draw folks into the shop so the car can be inspected and sold more work.

The reality is that no car made in the last ten years requires any maintenance every 3k miles (5,000 km). Automakers themselves are pushing change in the oil change industry by requiring car owners to keep track of what oil and filter is used during the engine warranty period.

This is forcing shops to use oil and filters that meet or exceed OES specifications or face liability if they do not. Advice? Always use a filter that meets or exceeds OES specifications and you must use oil that meets the engine makers specifications.