UK lubes standards monitoring body reports Toyota lubes supplier to UK Trading Standards and ATIEL
The UKLA's subsidiary, Verification of Lubricant Specifications (VLS) is referring the complaint to the UK's trade standards body after receiving a complaint in early November 2018 regarding 5W-30 Fully Synthetic SN/CF Oil supplied by Impetus Automotive Ltd, trading as Toyota First. The company allegedly stated a "number of conflicting claims made for the product which, taken together, were not technically feasible", according to the VLS statement.
The complaint included claims related to ACEA and API SN and CF sequences, as well as a number of OEM specs for a variety of manufacturers. VLS also highlighted errors in promotional material for the lube product and claims set against obsolete industry standards, reported to include API's CF specification.
According to the VLS statement, despite the regulator's best efforts to work with Impetus Automotive and resolve the issues, one significant item of information was not supplied after a formal request from VLS. The Candidate Data Pack (CDP) provides detailed information of the formulation of a products and how the claims made by the lubes producer have been reached - either through testing or formal approval. Failure to supply this data is in breach of Section Seven of the ATIEL Code of Practice and, in this case, VLS had no choice but to refer the company to both ATIEL and the UK's Chartered Institute of Trading Standards.
According to VLS Chairman, Andrew Goddard: "VLS cannot independently verify or validate that any of the claims made on the product have been supported by the technology provider either through appropriate and rigorous testing or that formal approvals have been granted. We, therefore, have to conclude that no evidence has been provided that the product is capable of meeting all or any of the claims made against it. As an independent industry trade body, it is our duty to uphold standards in the industry and protect end users. All products being sold on the market must be suitably tested and capable of delivering what they claim.”