Verification of Lubricant Specifications has issued a safety warning and escalated case VLS 010200, a complaint regarding Mannol Brake Fluid DOT 4 3002, to Trading Standards.
In December 2023, VLS received a complaint claiming that the product failed in critical performance areas required for safe brake operation.
VLS independently procured a sample of the product within the UK and completed its own independent testing in which the product failed to meet specification limits stated in the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 116 DOT 4.
VLS asked Lubriage Ltd, trading as Mannol UK, to comment on the test results and confirm the steps it would take as a result of them. As the product’s distributor in the UK, Lubriage Ltd is responsible for claims made in respect of Mannol Brake Fluid DOT 4 3002 and its compliance with market standards.
VLS understands that Lubriage Ltd has stopped selling the product in the UK marketplace and asked distributors to quarantine the affected batch number until further notice and not resell it. However, VLS has not seen any evidence of the product being quarantined or withdrawn from the relevant distributors or any attempt to contact end users who might have purchased the product through their distributors to recall it. VLS has, therefore, escalated the case to its Primary Authority partner, Bucks & Surrey Trading Standards, as a consumer product safety issue.
David Wright, VLS’ Company Secretary, said, “We urge motor factors, mechanics and end users alike to check for the affected batch number MD46_PEA-230526. Whilst we appreciate that Mannol has taken steps to stop supplying the product, any remaining stock on shelves and in vehicles could pose a safety risk. Sufficient action must be taken to protect driver safety.”
PMM contacted Mannol to provide a response to the investigation. Managing director, Jevgenij Lyzko sent us the following:
“We would like to address the findings of the recent VLS report concerning a batch of our Brake Fluid DOT 4 3002. We are taking this matter extremely seriously and have implemented necessary actions to address and mitigate the impact of the contamination.
“The issue pertains to a specific batch from 2021 and affects a very small portion of our product range. As soon as we were informed of the contamination, we immediately quarantined the affected product. We have also initiated a product recall, providing instructions to our customers on how to safely quarantine any products with the batch number MD46_PEA-230526. We have issued guidance on how they should advise their own customers who may have purchased this brake fluid.
“We are actively working with those holding the affected stock to ensure its safe removal and disposal. In addition, we will communicate these key messages through our social media channels to reach a broader audience.
“All sales of the product, including those from the contaminated batch, have been halted indefinitely.
“Needless to say, we are also currently conducting thorough internal investigations to identify and eliminate the source of the contamination, working closely with our parent company, Lubriage Ltd. We’d like to offer our assurance that we have not found other such contamination within any other Mannol UK products and are confident that contamination of our Brake Fluid DOT 4 3002 was an isolated case.”
You can keep up to date with VLS investigations here.
