Bullseye Motor Oil can cause significant damage to car engines, the Petroleum Quality Institute of America said, issuing its first-ever Dont Buy alert for a motor oil.
PQIA, based in Metuchen, N.J., tests and reports on the quality of lubricants in the U.S. market. Over the past year, PQIA has purchased multiple samples of Bullseye Motor Oil from convenience stores in Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey. Tests consistently found serious issues with the oil. After each test, PQIA issued consumer alerts about the products.
More than a year after first reporting on serious issues with a sample of Bullseye Motor Oil, PQIA announced today, another sample of Bullseye … is far off specification and potentially damaging to car engines.
In addition to the viscosities being significantly off specification, PQIA President Thomas F. Glenn told Lube Report, test data on the latest sample indicate the product may contain used oil and has very high levels of aluminum, iron and silicon. In addition, the product has virtually no zinc, which is a vital antiwear additive in motor oil.
The makers of Bullseye show egregious disregard for consumers, said Glenn, by continuing to market potentially damaging products.
Sale of Bullseye Motor Oil is not limited to Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey. PQIA has found the brand on retail shelves in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York. Convenience stores buy it because it makes them money, Glenn noted sadly. Convenience stores need to wise up.
Bullseye President Carlos Silva, reached by telephone yesterday, said We have a low-end oil. Were trying to give a more economic product, but we have a very good oil. When asked about PQIAs test results, Silva called PQIA reports about Bullseye defamation of character.
My spec results are completely different from PQIAs, Silva added.
More information about PQIAs test results, consumer alerts, methodology, funding sources and industry advisory board (which includes representatives from Afton Chemical, Infineum, Lubrizol, ConocoPhillips, Citgo, Pinnacle Oil, Lubricating Specialties, Chevron, Warren Distribution and Warren Oil) is available at www.pqiamerica.com.