VLS sends engine oil case to Trading Standards

Published: 12 January, 2021

The Verification of Lubricant Specifications (VLS) has sent a case relating to a Longlife 5w30 oil to Trading Standards, following an investigation.

VLS received a complaint regarding Mannol Longlife 5w30 504/507 Engine Oil in September 2020. The complaint alleged that no current additive pack existed in the marketplace that could meet all of the OEM claims made on the product which included claims against VW 507 00, VW 505 01, among other.

During the investigation, VLS found the product did receive an official approval from VW. In line with procedure, VLS asked the Named Party to provide the Candidate Data Pack and a letter of support from their additive company supporting all of the claims made on the product, including VW 505 01. These documents were not provided and no evidence was submitted to confirm that the product met any of the stated claims made apart from VW 504/507.

Although the local UK distributor of the product confirmed that they had recalled all stock and relabelled it to the original claims made on the product, VLS escalated the case to Trading Standards due to the lack of available evidence that the product could meet any claim apart from VW 504/507.

Andrew Goddard, Chairman of VLS said: “We continue to see complaints against 5w30 engine oil that makeup such a large part of the lubricants market for motor oils. To keep SKU counts down, manufacturers are keen to make products that meet as many OEM specifications as possible. However, they must ensure that they have evidence available that the product really can meet all of the claims being made so that technicians and motorists can have confidence that products are genuinely fit for purpose.”

For more details on this case and other cases under investigation please visit www.ukla-vls.org.uk

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