PQIA Issues Consumer Alerts on Two ATFs
CONSUMER
ALERT
Don’t Buy
The Petroleum Quality Institute of America recently issued Consumer Alerts for Mileage 365 and Q Motor Oil brands (see list below). In addition to finding serious deficiencies and contamination in the samples tested that could result in harm to an engine, the labels on the products do not comply with the Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulations because they fail to provide the names of the responsible parties that manufacture or market the products.
Now, in addition to the motor oils, PQIA issues Consumer Alerts on the automatic transmission fluids (ATF) sold under these brand names. (CLICK BOTTLES AT RIGHT FOR DETAILS)
CONSUMER
ALERT
Don’t Buy
Samples of the Mileage 365 and Q ATF’s tested DO NOT meet any recognized specifications for Automatic Transmission Fluid and would likely not meet the requirements for any cars currently on the road. Moreover, the test results on the sample indicate that use of these products in the transmissions of virtually any car or truck currently on the road will likely cause harm to the transmission. And as with the motor oil labels, the ATF labels also do not comply with the Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulations because they do not include information about the responsible party.
PQIA’s Previous Consumer Alerts on the Q Motor Oil and Mileage 365 Brands
| Q Motor Oil Samples Tested | Mileage 365 Samples Tested |
Responsible Party
The party responsible for manufacturing, packaging, or distributing motor oils and transmission fluids must appear on the product labels. There are a number of reasons for this requirement, not the least of which is that buyer may have the need to know who the responsible party is in the event they have questions or issues concerning the product.
Information about the responsible party is required to be listed on the label to comply with the Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulations contained in NIST Handbook 130 (Declaration of Responsibility: Consumer and Non-Consumer Packages), and regulations adopted under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act Section 4, Part 500.5: Name and place of business of manufacturer, packer or distributor.
The Declaration of Responsibility states:
“Any package kept, offered, or exposed for sale, or sold at any place other than on the premises where packed shall specify conspicuously on the label of the package the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor. The name shall be the actual corporate name, or, when not incorporated, the name under which the business is conducted. The address shall include street address, city, state (or country if outside the United States), and ZIP Code (or the mailing code, if any, used in countries other than the United States); however, the street address may be omitted if it is listed in any readily accessible, well-known, widely published, and publicly available resource, including but not limited to a printed directory, electronic database, or website.”
Consumers are encouraged to contact PQIA if they see any motor oils or ATFs on store shelves that fail to include information about the responsible party.
