Here we are, a year after my column about obsolete motor oils, titled A Call to Action, was published. In it, I addressed the presence of obsolete motor oils (API SA to SH) on retail shelves. According to SAE International and the American Petroleum Institute, and PQIA agrees, some of these motor oils-specifically API SA to SE-can cause equipment harm. The column concluded by noting that, Maybe now its time for the API, Petroleum Quality Institute of America, Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association, National Conference on Weights and Measures, automakers and others to work together to find solutions to protect consumers from harmful motor oils.
It has also been one year since a panel discussion took place at the ILMA annual meeting meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, billed as The ILMA Ethics Initiative: Driving Towards Quality. The panel included representatives from ILMA and API, the director of the Florida Bureau of Standards in the states Division of Consumer Services, and myself, on behalf of PQIA. The discussion was well attended, informative, and there was little doubt from panelists or attendees that we need to continue to push for more action to protect consumers from obsolete and off-spec motor oils. Such actions would also help level the playing field so honest manufacturers and marketers can compete.
Expanding on these concerns, an ILMA meeting attendee brought up the subject of multigrade motor oils on the shelves labeled as meeting API categories SA and SB. In his words, these are phantom products. He is right, and PQIA has been taking issue with such labels for years. The reason is that, by definition, an API SA motor oil cannot be a multi-viscosity grade.
Readers may recall that API defines SA motor oils as straight mineral oil. As such, they contain no additives. Multigrade motor oil requires the use of viscosity modifier additives.
SAE, formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, defines API SA oils as straight viscosity grade products. By either or both of these definitions, a motor oil cannot meet both the API SA service category and be an SAE multigrade.
Similarly, multigrade motor oils marked as API SB are a contradiction. SAE did not recognize W grades until 1952, and API SB motor oils were designated for use in vehicles built prior to 1951. They can contain minimal amounts of oxidation inhibitors-but no viscosity modifiers.
But while these motor oils cant legitimately exist, they are still sold. In fact, PQIA visited 18 convenience stores in Florida after the ILMA meeting last year and found that a preponderance of the motor oils observed at many convenience stores were labeled as multigrade products meeting API SA or SA/SB specifications.
So whats happened over the past year? Have we made progress to protect consumers from obsolete motor oils? Have the phantom products been removed from the shelves in the Sunshine State and elsewhere?
The good news is that progress has been made.
Most notably, effective January 1, 2016, the state of California banned the sale of obsolete motor oils. This includes API SA through SH service categories, which are now prohibited from sale or distribution in the state as motor oils. This was a big step to protect consumers in California. In addition, it helped raise awareness about the issue nationwide and may blaze a trail for other states to follow.
Also raising awareness about this issue is the class action lawsuit filed in December 2015 in 14 states against Dollar General. The suit accuses Dollar General of engaging in deceptive trade practices by selling its DG-branded motor oil, which is obsolete and allegedly unsuitable for use in the majority of cars currently on the road. This became national news when Good Morning America did a segment about the lawsuit on Feb. 12, 2016. In doing so, it got the attention of many retailers and consumers.
Another area where we have seen progress is the continuing action by the states of Alabama, California, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina and New Jersey. These states continue to be the front runners in removing motor oils and transmission fluids from shelves when they dont meet their labeled specifications.
So the good news is that, over the past year, we have made progress to protect consumers from obsolete, off-spec and deceptively labeled motor oils.
At the same time, we still have a ways to go. One example was seen when PQIA took another tour of the Florida market in September. We were disappointed to observe that one year after the issue of deceptively labeled motor oils was brought to the attention of our industry-and the state of Florida-they are still on the shelves. In fact, they are the primary motor oils on the shelves at many of the convenience stores PQIA visited in that state.
With that said, there is clearly more work for us, as an industry, to accomplish. And you can be sure we will revisit these and other quality and labeling issues to look at the progress we have made.
Tom Glenn is president of the consulting firm Petroleum Trends International, the Petroleum Quality Institute of America, and Jobbers World newsletter. Phone: (732) 494-0405. E-mail: tom_glenn@petroleumtrends.com