A Walmart service tech just made a bold claim about the company’s auto care centers: They allegedly use recycled oil, not fresh oil, during customer oil changes.
Trish (@pyt21_) didn’t explicitly say how she knows this, though she implied she used to work there. In a now-viral TikTok, she accused Walmart Auto Care Centers of what could amount to negligent car care.
“A PSA to drivers who get their oil changed at Walmart,” she begins, before adding that the workers there “are reusing old oil.”
“Any oil that I take out of people’s cars—that’s what you’re getting at Walmart,” Trish says.
As of Monday, her video has racked up over 468,000 views. In a follow-up, Trish tries to back up her claims with receipts.
According to Trish, even though Walmart might filter the used oil, that process doesn’t remove everything. “At the end of the day, they can’t filter it out all the way,” she says. “And you’re still reusing someone’s old oil.”
That, she warns, could impact your car in the long run. Conventional oil is designed to last up to 7,500 miles—but with reused oil, she says, that number may drop closer to 1,500.
So while Walmart might save you a few bucks, Trish argues it could cost you much more in engine damage.
“If you want to save $20 to [expletive] up your engine in the long run, that’s on y’all,” she says. “How you treat your car is how your car is going to treat you.”
In a second video, Trish points to online search results that show Walmart does accept used motor oil for recycling. She cites a website explaining that used oil can be re-refined into new oil, used as industrial fuel, or turned into raw materials for other products.
“Recycled used motor oil can be refined into new motor oil, used as a fuel source for certain furnaces or boilers, or used as raw materials in the petroleum industry,” she reads.
Trish acknowledges that oil can be recycled, but remains skeptical that Walmart’s recycled product is equal to fresh oil.
Not necessarily. Re-refined oil isn’t just filtered—it’s completely processed to remove contaminants and restore it to the same quality as new oil.
Re-refined oils meet the same industry standards and can be used interchangeably with fresh motor oil. In fact, reusing oil is often better for the environment and conserves resources.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control reports, “Used oil can be re-refined over and over again, it never wears out–it just gets dirty.”
Walmart doesn’t specify on its website whether its oil is new or re-refined. Its site says it offers a variety of oils, including synthetic, high-mileage, and conventional.
Some drivers, nevertheless, are going to steer clear of Walmart.
In a popular subreddit thread, one commenter wrote, “I wouldn’t [expletive] in a Walmart, let alone let their employees touch my fucking cars.”
“I don’t even go there for groceries,” another added.
“I would DIY before bringing it there,” a third chimed in.
Others shared horror stories from personal experience—or from cars that came into their shops after a Walmart oil change. Their claims have more to do with the purported quality of the work than the oil itself.
“I work at a different shop, and we get cars coming in from Walmart and Jiffy Lube all the time,” one person said. “The number that were underfilled, have loose drain bolts, stripped drain bolts, or missing oil caps is asinine.”
“One time, Walmart left a pair of pliers attached to the underside of my car, and they found themselves embedded in the brakes,” another recalled.
Still, not everyone is convinced Walmart deserves the backlash. Some argue that oil changes are simple enough to trust even a discount chain.
“Changing the oil is one of the easiest things anyone can do on 99% of the cars on the road,” one Reddit user wrote. “You will be fine.”
A Walmart employee in the complaints department told Motor1 in a phone call Friday afternoon that the company doesn’t have a media department or a corporate phone number for press. They also said that there is no manager of the company’s Auto Care Centers who can speak on behalf of all Walmart locations and said that they would need the specific location where this allegedly occurred to provide additional information or comment.
Walmart also didn’t respond to an inquiry sent via the contact form on its website Monday morning.
Motor1 has reached out to Trish via a TikTok comment. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.