VLS Newsletter – July 2025
Case Summary
Overall the number of cases stands at 133, with 6 products under investigation, 2 not compliant following investigation, 7 case escalated to Trading Standards following investigation, 6 compliant during investigation, 1 compliant following investigation, 5 compliant following six-month review and 106 archived.
Not Compliant, Escalated to Trading Standards
Case 010203 – SCT Vertriebs. Lubriage Ltd trading as Mannol UK & Ireland. 5W-30 Longlife 504/507. Complaint. Not compliant. VLS undertook a six-month review of the above case in line with its stated process. As part of our investigation into the above product and following our earlier correspondence, we procured and tested a new sample of the product (dated May 2024). The sample was tested at a laboratory which has full ISO 17025 accreditation and also is accredited for the test method. The tested sample gave a reading of 3.18mPa.s which is consistent with our earlier test result of 3.13mPa.s, and the complainant’s sample test result of 2.9mPa.s. In response Lubriage Ltd trading as Mannol UK & Ireland arranged testing of their own samples in Europe with SGS and committed to sending the results of the testing to VLS. The results were not received prior to publication and therefore the product is non-compliant and has been reported to Bucks & Surrey Trading Standards as part of VLS’s Primary Authority relationship.
Case 010200 – SCT Vertriebs GmbH Mannol Brake Fluid DOT-4 (3002). Complaint. Not compliant. 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 procured a sample of the product with a manufacturing date which followed the initial case investigation and has been tested. The results have been reviewed by the Technical Review Panel and the product found to be non-complaint. This has been communicated to Lubriage Ltd trading as Mannol UK & Ireland, reported to Thames Valley Police, the DVSA and also reported to Trading Standards and a press release has been issued.
Case 010195 – Silverhook Supreme Plus 5W-30 API SP, ACEA C2 C3. The six- month review was completed on 3rdMay, 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.
Current Cases
Case 010233 – PCEO 5W-30. Under investigation. The complaint concerns the product’s claim against the Stellantis specification FPW9.55535/03. The complaint is under consideration by the TRP.
Case 010232 – PCEO 5W-30. Compliant. Anonymous An advisory notice has been issued to the Lubricant Marketer and a website publication notice has been issued, and the case will be archived on the 1st September 2025.
Case 010231 – PCEO 0W-20. Compliant. Anonymous. An advisory notice has been issued to the Lubricant Marketer and a website publication notice has been issued, and the case will be archived on the 1st September 2025.
Case 010230 – PCEO 0W-20. Compliant Anonymous. An advisory notice has been issued and the case will be archived on the 30th July 2025.
Case 010229 – PCEO 5W-30. Complaint. Anonymous. Investigation complete. The product was found to be compliant during investigation. No further action, and the case will be archived on the 6th August 2025.
Case 010228 – PCEO 5W-30. Advisory. Under investigation. Concerns the compliance of the product against SAE J300 Low Temperature Pumping Viscosity requirements. The Lubricant Marketer has been contacted and provided a response, a sample is currently being sourced for testing.
Case 010227 – PCEO 0W-20. Complaint. Under investigation. Concerns the compliance of the product against SAE J300 Low Temperature Pumping Viscosity requirements. A sample of the product has been sourced and is being tested. The Technical Review panel is supportive of engaging in a dialogue with the Named Party to investigate this case.
Case 010226 – PCEO 0W-30. Complaint. Under investigation. Concerns the compliance of the product against SAE J300 Low Temperature Pumping Viscosity requirements. A sample of the product has been sourced and is with SGS for testing.
Case 010225 – PCEO 5W-30. Complaint. Under investigation. Concerns the compliance of the performance claims VW 504.00/507.00, MB 229.31, 229.51, 229.52 against the HTHS test limits, the compliance of the claim against the Fiat specification 9.55535-S2 and the claim against ACEA C2. The test results have been reviewed by the Technical Review panel and the TRP is supportive of engaging in a dialogue with the Named Party to investigate this case.
Case 010224 – PCEO 5W-30. Complaint. Investigation concluded. Anonymous. Concerned the performance claim against the Stellantis FPW9.55535/03. The Lubricant Marketer provided robust technical evidence in support of the claim and there is no case to answer. A website publication notice has been issued and the case will be archived on the 6th August.
Case 010223 – Mannol TS-23 UHPD 5W-30 and Mannol TS-24 UHPD 5W-20. Compliant following investigation – Case Resolved. The case concerned the claim for a formal Scania approval against the following products; Scania LDF-4 for Mannol TS-23 UHPD 5W-30, and Scania LDF-5 for Mannol TS-24 UHPD 5W-20. It is not possible to obtain a formal approval against a Scania specification as the manufacturer only provides letters of recognition and not letters of approval against which Lubricant Marketers can claim their product meets the requirements of, or is suitable for use.
Following detailed dialogue with Lubriage Ltd trading as Mannol UK & Ireland the claim for a formal approval against Scania LDF-4 for Mannol TS-23 UHPD 5W-30 was withdrawn. This product was therefore in compliance at the end of the investigation.
The claim for a formal approval against Scania LDF-5 for Mannol TS-24 UHPD 5W20 was also withdrawn subsequently and therefore the product is in compliance at the end of the investigation.
A six-month review of the case will be undertaken on the 18th September in line with VLS’s stated process.
Case 010222 – Ravenol HLS 5W-30. Complaint. Investigation concluded. The complaint concerned a claim against Stellantis FPW9.55535/03 which has been withdrawn by the Lubricant Marketer. A six-month review has been undertaken, and the product is in continued compliance. Consequently the case and investigation are concluded and a website publication notice has been issued and the case will be archived on the 23rd August 2025.
Case 010221 – Granville Hypalube FS C3 5W-30. Complaint, Investigation concluded.. The case concerned the compliance of the product against an OEM specification performance claim for both TBN and HTHS. The original product date of manufacture was in excess of twelve months old and so the Lubricant Marketer has not kept a sample of the batch after twelve months in line with their quality management policy. The CofA has been received and the marketer has been asked to check with their technology provider about the latest specification and to amend the formulation to resolve the issue. In response Granville Oil & Chemical stated that they had already removed the claim against VW 502 00 on current stock, and the sample tested was in excess of two years old. They also stated that they check for consistency in HTHS properties by testing the development blend pre-production and also checking every 3 to 4 blends post production. A case notice has been published to the website and a six-month review of the case will be undertaken in November 2025.
Case 010216 – Archived.
Case 010214 – Rock Oil Synthesis F 5W-30 ACEA A5/B5. Complaint. Case concluded. The case will be archived on the 6th July 2025.
Case 010212 – GM Genuine Oil 5W-30. Not Compliant. The complaint concerns the product’s compliance of TBN and Sulphated Ash against a VW 502.00/505.00 performance claim, and an advisory regarding the products 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 compliant against the OEM performance claim based on its TBN and Sulphated Ash test result. The case has been escalated to the toll blender of the OEM branded lubricant who responded agreeing to withdraw the claim against VW 502 00 due to revised specification limits imposed by VW. A notice has been published to the website and a six-month review will be undertaken in December 2025.
Case 010211 – HDDO 5W-30. Complaint. Non-compliant. Investigation. The complaint concerned the allegation that the product when tested was found to be non-compliant for HTHS at 3.34mPa.s versus a test limit for ACEA E9 & E7 of equal to or greater than 3.5mPa.s. VLS could not find the product available for sale on the open market. The Lubricant Marketer stated that the product had been supplied to them by a previous toll blender and they had since changed supplier. Consequently VLS is content to close the investigation subject to the usual six-month review.
Case 010207 – Kerax Hyperdrive 5W-30. Complaint. The case will be archived on the 13th July 2025.
Case 010206 – Compliant. Under investigation. The case 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. The Lubricant Marketer is disputing the test results and findings of VLS. A new sample of the product is being retested for HTHS and Noack through accredited laboratories.
Case 010205 – Aztec Oils Hydratec HVI 46. Compliant. The case will be archived on the 30th July 2025.
Case 010204 – Optimoil HLP 32. Compliant. A six-month review was undertaken and as part of this review a new sample of the product was procured and tested. The test results showed that the sample was compliant for demulsibility characteristics against the performance claims made. Consequently the case and the investigation are closed. The case will be archived on the 20th August.
Case 010202 – archived on the 13th June 2025.
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
UK Government Department for Transport. From 2026, self-driving cars without a safety driver could be available for people to book via an app for the first time.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. UK vehicle production constraints continue in May, New car and commercial vehicle production volumes fall, by -32.8% as multiple challenges beset industry.
National Franchised Dealer Association (NFDA) Calls for Urgent Action on Charging Infrastructure to Support EV Transition.
International Industry News
ACEA: New car registrations: -0.6% in May 2025 year-to-date; battery-electric 15.4% market share.
Reuters: US second-quarter auto sales rise, tariffs may drive up prices.
The Hill. General Motors recalls over 60K Chevy trucks due to brake pressure issue.
Media Editorial
Professional Motor Mechanic. June 2025. Best Quality. The importance of using quality brake fluid. Page 26/7.
CAT, June 2025. VLS/Comma workshop survey results are reported.
Autotechnician, June 2025. Hydraulic fluid safety warning. Page 6.
Autorepair Focus. You tube channel and LinkedIn. Interview with Harald Oosting VLS Chairman at Automechanika, Birmingham June 2025.
Garage & MOT Online, June 2025. Understanding complexity, assuring compliance. Report on the attendance by VLS at the Automechanika exhibition, June 2025 at the NEC in Birmingham on the website and newsletter.
Garage Talk Online, June 2025. Workshops still unclear about oil specifications and product claims, report on the VLS/Comma workshop survey 2025.
Autorepair Focus. June 2025. Report on the VLS/Comma workshop survey results.
CAT, June 2025. Techs still choosing oils on price and not suitability warns VLS.
Autotechnician Online, June 2025 Understanding oil complexity and compliance. Interview with VLS at Automechanika Birmingham 2025, and on the You Tube channel.
Garage Talk Online, June 2025. VLS poll on how consumers choose the oil for their car.
Autoscene, June 2025. Most UK workshops still unclear about oil specifications and product claims.
Aftermarket magazine, July/August 2025. VLS Chairman Harald Oosting comments on the issues facing workshops at Automechanika 2025 in Birmingham.
Lube magazine. June 2025. VLS/Comma UK Workshops: Attitudes to Engine Oil survey full results. Page 59.
Lube magazine, June 2025. Bulletins on cases 214, 200 and 202 published on pages 61-63.
As a member, we would encourage you to disseminate the materials and content generated by VLS through your own communication channels.
Media Advertising
Professional Motor Mechanic, June 2025. Half page VLS advert page 28.
CVW magazine, June 2025. Half page VLS advert. Page 13.
Lube magazine, June 2025. Half page VLS advert. Page 63.
Car Mechanics magazine, June 2025. Half page VLS advert.
Events
Lubricant Expo, 16-18 September 2025, Stuttgart, Germany.
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Harald Oosting
Chairman
