Fleets, drivers and the motor industry have been warned not to use a non-compliant brake fluid, said to cause risk to personal injury, accident or even risk loss of life.

VLS has urged motor factors, mechanics and end users to avoid using the product

Safety organisation Verification of Lubricant Specifications (VLS) has issued a second safety warning after stock of Mannol Brake Fluid DOT 4 3002 was found to be still available and still non-compliant, posing a continued risk to public safety.

The case dates back to December 2023, when VLS received a complaint claiming that the product failed in critical performance areas required for safe brake operation.

The independent organisation, founded to provide a credible and trusted means to verify lubricant specifications, independently procured a sample of the product within the UK and completed its own independent testing. This found that 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 & Ireland, 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.

Lubriage Ltd advised VLS that they had 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However, VLS said it’s not seen any evidence of the product being quarantined or withdrawn from the relevant distributors, or any attempt to contact end users who might have purchased the product through their distributors to recall it at the time.

VLS has now undertaken a six-month review of the case, procuring and testing a new product sample. This new sample had a date of manufacture of 25 May 2024, after the date when VLS originally advised of the issue, and was also found to be non-compliant against the DOT 4 specification performance claim.

Based on the results obtained, the potential consequences of using the product could be increased stopping distance, accelerated wear and braking system degradation, according to an industry expert, which could cause risk to personal injury, accident or even risk loss of life.

VLS has again raised the issue with its primary authority partner, Bucks & Surrey Trading Standards, and another safety warning has been issued to alert users to the danger.

David Wright, VLS’s company secretary, said: “We urge motor factors, mechanics and end users alike to avoid using the product as it could put drivers at risk of personal injury, accident or even risk loss of life.”