VLS Newsletter – January 2025
Case Summary
Overall the number of cases stands at 123, with 7 products under investigation, 6 not compliant following investigation, 5 case escalated to Trading Standards following investigation, 1 compliant following investigation and 104 archived.
Case 010223 – Under investigation. Concerns the claims against Scania approvals for a 5W-30 and 5W-20 HDDO. The Lubricant Marketer has responded to the allegation which is being considered by the Technical Review Panel (TRP).
Case 010122 – Ravenol HLS 5W-30. Product Compliant Following Investigation. The complaint concerned a claim against Stellantis FPW9.55535/03 which has been withdrawn by the Lubricant Marketer.
Case 010221 – Under investigation. Concerns the compliance of the product against an OEM specification performance claim for both TBN and Sulphated Ash.
Case 010220 – Compliant. An advisory notice has been issued concerning the product’s compliance with HTHS for an ACEA C3 PCEO. A letter has been sent to the Lubricant Marketer on the 22nd August and they have responded stating they have changed supplier and taken on board the advisory notice issued by VLS. The case has been archived.
Case 010219 – Compliant. An advisory notice has been issued concerning the product’s compliance with HTHS for an ACEA C3 PCEO. A letter has been sent to the Lubricant Marketer on the 22nd August and they have responded stating they have changed supplier and taken on board the advisory notice issued by VLS. The case has been archived.
Case 010218 – Compliant. An advisory notice has been issued concerning the product’s compliance with HTHS for an ACEA C3 PCEO. A letter has been sent to the Lubricant Marketer on the 22nd August and they have responded stating they have changed supplier and taken on board the advisory notice issued by VLS. The case has been archived.
Case 010217 – Compliant. An advisory notice has been issued concerning the product’s compliance for Sulphated Ash, HTHS and Noack Volatility which are within test precision limits, for an ACEA C3 and ACEA C4 claim. A letter has been sent to the Lubricant Marketer on the 1st August with a follow up on the 21st November. The Lubricant Marketer has responded on the 6th December 2024, and the case has been archived on 20th December 2024.
Case 010216 – Under investigation. Concerns the product’s compliance for MRV Yield Stress and an advisory for HTHS against performance claims for ACEA C2 and ACEA C3. A sample of the product has been sourced and sent for testing on the 21st November. The test results have been issued on the 30th December and are with the TRP for consideration.
Case 010215 – The case was archived on 30th September.
Case 010214 – Rock Oil Synthesis F 5W-30 ACEA A5/B5. The website publication notice has been issued in November at the end of the investigation. A six-month review of the case will be undertaken in May 2025.
Case 010213 – Compliant. A bulletin has been issued and the case has been archived on 21st December 2024.
Case 010212 – Under investigation. Concerns the product’s compliance of TBN and Sulphated Ash against a VW 502.00/505.00 performance claim, and an advisory regarding the product’s HTHS and Noack Volatility on a 5W-30 ACEA C3 PCEO. A sample of the product has been sourced and tested. The Technical Review Panel has determined that the product is not complaint against the OEM performance claim based on its TBN and Sulphated Ash test result. VLS have written to the Lubricant Marketer on the 1st October concerning the issue and have not received a reply. VLS escalated the case to the European OEM CEO on the 19th November and have yet to receive a reply.
Case 010211 – Under investigation. Concerns the product’s compliance for HTHS on a 5W-30 ACEA E9/E7 automotive engine diesel oil. A sample of the product has been sourced and tested. The Technical Review Panel has determined that the product is not compliant with the ACEA claims made on the basis of its High Temp/High Shear test result. The Lubricant Marketer has been contacted, however their supplier’s analysis of the retained sample gave a passing result. They also advised that the product is no longer available on the market.
Case 010210 – Compliant. The case has been archived on the 8th December 2024.
Case 010209 – Compliant. The case has been archived on the 8th December 2024.
Case 010208 – Compliant. The case has been archived on the 4th December 2024.
Case 010207 – Kerax Hyperdrive 5W-30. A website publication notice has been issued and the case is subject to a six-month review in May 2025.
Case 010206 – Under investigation. Concerns the product’s compliance for Phosphorous and HTHS against an ACEA C3-16 claim, HTHS against a VW 504 00/507 00 and Porsche C30 claim, and Noack Volatility against a MB 299.51 claim on a 5W-30 PCEO. A sample of the product has been sourced, tested, and found to be non-compliant by the Technical Review Panel. VLS has written to the Lubricant Marketer setting out the non-compliance issues, who responded, details of which are being considered by the TRP.
Case 010205 – Aztec Oils Hydratec HVI 46. Not Compliant. A website publication notice has been issued and a six-month review of the case will be carried out in April 2025.
Case 010204 – Optimoil HLP 32. Not compliant. The case concerns the non-compliance with industry specifications of an ISO 32 hydraulic oil. The case was accepted by VLS on the 17th June 2024. A sample of the product has been sourced and tested. The test results demonstrate that the product is not compliant as determined by the Technical Review Panel. VLS has written to the Lubricant Marketer who has informed their supplier. They have changed supplier since the affected batch was identified and also identified the location of the affected product. The Lubricant Marketer has also confirmed that no remaining stock is left in the marketplace. A website publication notice has been issued in November and a six-month review will be undertaken in May 2025.
Case 010203 – Anonymous. VLS has concluded its investigation concerning the PCEO claim against VW 504 00/507 00, ACEA C3, BMW LL-04 and MB 229.51 with an alleged non-compliant HTHS test result of 2.9 mPa.s versus the specifications minimum of 3.5 mPa.s. The product has been sourced, sampled and tested. The HTHS value determined, did not meet the requirements for the specifications claimed VLS has written to the Lubricant Marketer on the 22nd April and they have replied, providing their quality certificates showing the two most recent batches meet HTHS limits, but not for the tested batch as the samples are retained for a one year period only and the batch date precedes this. On the 28th May, VLS shared the batch code from the Complainant’s tested sample, which was less than a year old with the Lubricant Marketer and asked that they test their retained sample and provide details of the test results. The test results have been provided and are with the TRP for consideration. A notification has been sent to the OEM whose approval is carried by the product advising them of the non-compliance. The product is due for a further accredited HTHS test during January 2025, the results of which will be considered by the TRP.
Case 010202 – Exol Ultramax 32. The case results have been published to the website on 26th May. The case is currently undergoing a six-month review. A new sample of the product has been sourced and and tested on the 24th December 2024, the results are with the TRP for consideration.
Case 010201 – The case is archived.
Case 010200 – SCT Vertriebs GmbH Mannol Brake Fluid DOT-4 (3002). Product not proven to be compliant following investigation and has been escalated to Trading Standards. The case is currently subject to a six-month review. VLS has been unable to find stock available on sale in the open market which was manufactured after the date of the complaint.
Case 010198 – The case has been archived.
Case 010195 – Silverhook Supreme Plus 5W-30 API SP, ACEA C2 C3. The six- month review was completed on 3rd May, a bulletin has been issued and the case has been escalated to Trading Standards due to non-compliance and the non-cooperation of the Lubricant Marketer. Bucks & Surrey Trading Standards have referred the matter to the home authority of the Lubricant Marketer. The Lubricant Marketer is now registered with SAIL to be able to make ACEA claims.
Case 010192 – Maxiflow 5W-30 Fully Synthetic. Not compliant. The case concerns PCEO 5W-30 Fully Synthetic and marketing claims against ACEA C2, C3, API SN and VW 502 00/505 00. The six-month review has been completed. VLS were earlier advised that the Lubricant Marketer was to remove the VW 502.00/505.00 claim as this is incompatible with the mid SAPS claims detailed on the Technical Data Sheet. The claim against VW 505.00 had been removed and a new claim against VW 505.01 is being made. The Lubricant Marketer was advised that the claim against VW 502.00 was to be removed and was still being made at the six-month review stage. Additionally, the way ACEA was referenced in relation to claims made was technically incorrect and the Lubricant Marketer was advised to correct this and also to register with SAIL to make claims against the ACEA engine oil sequences. The details of the case would be escalated to VLS’s Primary Authority partner Bucks & Surrey Trading Standards on a non-compliant basis. A bulletin has been issued and a six-month case publication notice published to the website.
Case 010190 – SCT Vertriebs GmbH Mannol Central Hydraulic Fluid. Product not compliant and case not resolved. The complaint concerns the OEM specifications claimed on a Central Hydraulic Fluid. The case has undergone a six-month review. A new sample of the product has been procured and has been tested. The test results are not meeting the specifications claimed, the case has been escalated to Bucks & Surrey Trading Standards on a non-compliant basis.
Case 010184 – SCT Vertriebs GmbH Fanfaro MAX 6 75W-90 GL-5 gear oil. Product not proven to be compliant following Investigation – Escalated to Trading Standards.
Case 010183 – Westway Lubricants 75W-90 Synthetic gear oil. Product not proven to be compliant. The case concerns 75W-90 gear oil. The case was subject to a six-month review in January, the product was found to be non-compliant and has been escalated to Trading Standards.
Case 010182 – The case is archived.
To view the case outcomes, visit http://ukla-vls.org.uk/case-outcomes/
The Board has agreed to allow each VLS member one desktop review in the current year at no cost, if a complaint involves product testing then this would be an additional cost. To raise a complaint with VLS, visit https://ukla-vls.org.uk/case-handling-process/
VLS can only investigate complaints made against products available on open sale in the UK. For case submission guidance visit https://ukla-vls.org.uk/publications/
VLS marketing claims guidance can be found at https://ukla-vls.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/UKLA-VLS-Specifications-and-Marketing-Claims-Guidance-4.3.24-v2.0.pdf
UK Industry News
Department for Transport. An open consultation has been launched on the 24th December on the phasing out sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and supporting the ZEV transition.
Department for Transport. Consultation outcome: Increasing the weight limit for fuel tankers.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Electric van demand static in 2024 despite biggest overall market in three years.
Independent Garages Association. IGA reiterates Its call for an urgent review of the MOT fee cap.
National Franchise Dealers Association. 2024 ends with three months of consecutive contraction in the new car market, BEVs finish with 19.6% market share. 06 Jan 2025.
International Industry News
ACEA: EU car and van makers urge action on CO2 rules before end of 2024 to avoid damage to competitiveness and jobs.
EU Commission DG Comp: Commission approves €4.06 billion German State aid measure to support the operation of four Floating LNG Terminals.
EU Commission Mobility and Transport: Investments in climate adaptation should be an integral part of the trans-European transport network, study shows.
Euractiv: In Norway, nearly all new cars sold in 2024 were fully electric. Fully electric cars account for more than 28% of all cars driven in the Nordic country as of December, according to Public Road Administration data.
Reuters: Europe shares rev up as auto sector jumps on report of softer U.S. tariffs.
The Hill: Americans more likely to embrace driverless cars, but still sceptical: Survey.
Media Editorial
Professional Motor Factor Online, December 2024. VLS Chairman Harald Oosting answers PMF’s questions.
Professional Motor Mechanic, December 2024. VLS wins award for its work on supporting a level playing field for lubricants.
Aftermarket Online, December 2024. VLS urges ‘vigilance’ amid rise in lubricant standard cases.
Commercial Vehicle Workshop, December 2024. VLS Chairman Harald Oosting provides a guide to heavy-duty engine oils
Professional Motor Factor, December 2024 page 8. VLS welcomes the publication of the ACEA 2024 heavy duty engine oil sequences.
Autoresource, December 2024. Lubricants under pressure from shorter journeys warns VLS.
CAT, Engine oils: what is VLS? December 2024.
Lube magazine, December 2024. VLS Case 010181 bulletin Aztec Torotec page 49, VLS case 010182 Varol Varpress bulletin Page 50, VLS case 010208 bulletin page 50, and VLS case 010209 bulletin page 50.
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Media Advertising
Lube magazine, December 2024, half page VLS advert page 51.
Events
UNITI Mineralol-technologie Forum. 8-9 April 2025, Stuttgart.
Automechanika Birmingham, June 3-5, 2025.
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Harald Oosting
Chairman
