7 Oil Filter Brands to Avoid – Worst Oil Filter Brands on the Market Today

These days, the media have a way of stretching the truth and can talk up a bad product and even falsify ratings. The best way to buy a quality oil filter (or anything for that matter) is by knowing exactly what you should be looking for before ever making a purchase.

In this article, we discuss the features of the perfect oil filter and give you a list of filters we feel fall short.

How to Tell the Difference Between Good and Bad Oil Filters

Before we give you our list of the seven worst oil filters on the market today, we wanted to take a few minutes to discuss what we find to be the most important features of an oil filter and how we separated the good from the bad.

See, the difference between good and bad oil filters isn’t all in the price; you can buy quality filters at budget-friendly prices and then, on the other hand, spend a pretty penny on a pricey filter only to replace it 3000 miles in.

Here is a list of features that matter the most when it comes to choosing an oil filter.

Filter Material

First and foremost, one of the best ways to determine a good oil filter compared to a low-quality one is the filter material or medium. This part is what actually cleans the oil, removing harmful debris.

A high-performing filter is going to have twice the amount of filter as a bad one. You can tell when a filter has more material by the number of folds circling the inside of the can.

The more folds, the more material, and the more space there is for catching and trapping dangerous dirt particles and metal scrapings.

Filter Quality

A poorly made oil filter will have a thinner metal shell. It feels lighter, and in turn, crushes easier. You will know when you are holding a good quality filter because there will be more weight to it as it has a more durable and strong metal shell.

The gaskets on the filter will be more pronounced and smooth, and the holes will look even to provide a great oil flow system.

Oil Capacity and Heat Tolerance

The capacity of oil your filter can hold plays an important role in its performance. It is a good idea to find a quality oil filter that holds a large amount of lubricant.

You also want a filter that can withstand a higher temperature; while all filters can handle high engine heat, you also have to factor in long drives and outside temperatures and how they play a role in increasing oil heat.

Life of the Filter

A good quality oil filter should be able to outlast the oil life. Although it is recommended that many vehicles change their filter every time they change their oil, often this doesn’t need to be the case, and you can wait for every other oil change, as long as you are using a quality oil filter with long service life.

Anti-Drain Back Valve

The anti-drain back valve is extremely important in an oil filter and will be present on all top-quality products.

This feature is what keeps some oil sitting in your motor while the vehicle is off. This protects the engine from a dry start which can start to wear away the metal.

Top 7 Oil Filter Brands to Stay Away From

Product preferences will highly differ depending on who you ask. As long as you choose from high-quality, well-made brands, most oil filters do their job and do it right.

However, unfortunately, there are other options out there where the brand doesn’t hold up to the competition, and the quality of the filters is not only crumby but can also be dangerous to use on your car.

Here are seven oil filter brands that don’t meet all of our expectations, and you should reconsider if you ever find yourself picking one up.

1. Fram Oil Filters

The Fram company originated in 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1945, the company received the Army-Navy “E” Award. It became the exclusive manufacturer for filter development, eventually opening the largest filtration engineering and research operation in the industry.

Sady, it doesn’t seem like they kept up the momentum as the years went by, and the quality of the products seems to have diminished.

Fram oil filter products are just poorly made, which is why you will see them at the top of any “Do not buy this filter” list. This brand is well-known for providing low-quality and, at times, faulty products with low-grade materials and filters so thin they hardly work at all.

The end caps of a Fram filter are cardboard (need we say more?), and the seams on the can have been known to split open and cause oil leaks and a mess easily.

2. Frantz Oil Filters

John Frantz founded the Franz oil company in 1953. The company was created as lubrication specialists and are the creators of the Hot Shots’ secret products. Hopefully, those are a little better built than the original products.

You will hear the same complaint from many angry customers who feel the filter material is way too thin to be of any use. When researching online, numerous reviews compared the filter to toilet paper, and not even the two-ply brand types.

These oil filters seem to have a weak filtration system, and the oil at times can bypass the filter altogether; this is problematic seeing that is the point of having a filter in the first place.

3. ServiceChamp

ServiceChamp oil filters are manufactured by Champion labs, the same company known for the same poor-quality Supertech oil filters.

You can easily see just by looking at the filters that they are made from low-quality materials and took little effort to give the appearance of a well-crafted product. The filter is visibly smaller than the competition, and the filter media is noticeably thin.

Many reports claim the filter couldn’t even hold up past 3500 miles, meaning you will be changing out your filter more often than the oil.

4. Supertech

Supertech oil filters are a product of three separate companies combining their manufacturing process, Champion lab, Walmart, and Wix. These filters are manufactured in about three different states, which may be why some are faulty while others aren’t so bad.

Supertech oil filters tend to rust, creating more trouble than they are worth. Although there are mixed reviews regarding this filter brand, we have seen more frustration and negativity than anything else.

The life cycle of the filters seems to be pretty low, and there have been a lot of complaints of clogged filters and terrible protection.

5. Motorcraft

Motorcraft is an oil filter brand designed and sold by the Ford Motors company. Although Ford itself is a highly respected name, the oil filters with the Motorcraft name aren’t.

This may have something to do with the fact that Ford has many of its Motorcraft products outsourced to third-party companies.

There have been lots of complaints regarding the flow rates of the Motorcraft oil filter brand. They seem to be poorly constructed and even difficult to properly use.

This is a case of hit or miss when it comes to the oil filters provided by this brand, as some customers love them, and others say they would use anything else.

6. Purolator

The original Purolator company was founded way back in 1923 located in New York, NY. The American oil filter manufacturer currently resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is a subsidiary of Mann+Hummel.

While this company may be well known for selling the very first commercial oil filters back in the 1920s, their products aren’t so highly regarded today.

Many Purolator oil filters are created with a poorly constructed medium that is known to collapse, causing low oil pressure and poor circulating oil with the absence of any real filtration system.

There is also cause for concern as the filter becomes brittle with limited use.

7. Pentius

Pentis oil filters are created by Pentius Automotive parts, a company based in the USA near Los Angeles, California. This company prides itself on its competitively priced filter products; however, we aren’t seeing it.

While Pentis oil filters may be suitable for older model cars, they do not provide the necessary construction needed for modern-day vehicles. The rubber gaskets can’t seem to hold up in the heat and tend to melt and eventually come apart.

Another defect often reported relates to the springs falling apart and the filter simply not doing its job properly.

What Is The Purpose of an Oil Filter?

Before we get into the quality of the oil filter brands that have wronged us over the years, we want to take the time to discuss what the purpose of an oil filter is and how it is very important to the maintenance of your car.

Your vehicle’s engine relies on motor oil to lubricate the inner workings of the engine and all of the moving metal parts that would otherwise grind together. This oil is used to lubricate the exhaust valves and the tiny space between the crankshaft and the bearings.

Because the space is so small, you have to have a quality oil that is smooth and free from debris to prevent anything from becoming damaged.

Without clean and fresh oil, you will start to notice a lot of issues that can cause serious damage and even destroy your car.

Dirty engine oil can, at the very least, cause a dramatic decrease in your car’s performance, and it can also create a sludge that will clog your engine and force it to work much harder than normal, eventually causing it to lock up.

Poor quality engine oil can also lead to the overheating of an engine and cause your engine block to crack, and you can either replace it or start looking for a new car.

Now that we have established why your car needs clean oil, let us discuss what exactly it is an oil filter does.

An oil filter is the part of your car that makes sure the oil running through your engine is always clean and free from debris.

This filter keeps impurities and particles from flowing through the engine with the oil, preventing the gritty dirt from damaging the metal parts.

How do they do this? The oil travels through the engine in a very systematic process. When the oil gets to the filter, it enters through the small hole surrounding a larger hole of the tapping plate, aka, gasket.

Inside the metal, the shell is the actual filtering system, made up of a folded material made of microscopic cellulose and synthetic fibers. As the oil flows in through the smaller holes of the gasket, it is forced through the filter and exits the gasket debris free from the inner larger hole.

If any part of this system is a fault or made from cheap materials, the oil can either back up or not filter properly, which will damage the entire engine.

Choosing the Right Oil Filter for your Car

When looking to purchase the right oil filter for your vehicle, you should always consult the owner’s manual to buy a product that will provide maximum engine performance and won’t ruin your car.

Each engine requires a filter that can handle the same length of maintenance life as the oil itself. If your filter starts to fill up with sludge and damaging particles, it isn’t going to continue protecting your engine.

Signs You Are Using a Bad Oil Filter

You don’t have to rely on reviews, ratings, or even opening a filter yourself to determine if your oil filter is bad. Your car will always let you know if there is something wrong; you just have to be willing to listen.

Five major signs indicate that it is time to look for a new motor oil filter, and all five are listed below.

1. Poor Vehicle Performance

A very noticeable issue that is associated with poor quality oil filters is weak engine performance. If your oil filter isn’t doing its job correctly, then your engine won’t be able to either.

Sludge build-up will reduce oil flow and can eventually create a clog. You will notice this in your vehicle’s performance when you hit the gas pedal, and the acceleration is much slower than usual.

2. Dark, Smelly Exhaust Fumes

Bad oil filters are usually bad because of the poor craftsmanship as well as the low-quality materials used to make them. Because of this, these filters can break open at the seams, or clogged filters will build up and eventually flow over.

This oil leaking will start to burn and create dirty exhaust fumes creating a gross puff of smoke trailing behind you everywhere you go.

3. Obnoxious Clanking Noises

When your oil filter isn’t doing its job, the oil won’t be clean enough to protect the metal parts in the engine from grinding together and causing friction. This creates a loud metal-on-metal clanking noise that you will be able to hear from inside your car.

4. Dropping Oil Pressure

You will notice a drop in your oil pressure if you are using a poor-quality oil filter. The oil pressure will start dropping if you have a clogged-up filter or the filter has started to leak. When the engine doesn’t have enough oil to create power, the oil pressure will drop.

An oil pressure gauge is an easy way to tell if this is a problem in your vehicle.

5. Overheating

One of the worst things that can happen to an engine is overheating. As we mentioned above, without the right amount of oil flowing through the engine, the metal-on-metal will create enough friction to produce a high temperature, leading to serious problems.

When your oil filter is faulty, the oil running through your engine isn’t going to be clean, and the lubrication will be weak at best.

All five of these issues can result in expensive repairs and end up destroying your engine.

Summing Things Up

While it all comes down to personal preference and vehicle manufacturers’ recommendations, the seven engine oils listed above are some of the products we feel you should use with caution. While many of them are on the more affordable side and will probably cost you less than the more reputable brands, they will cost you more in the end.

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