Mobil One HM 10w-30 still ACEA rated?

I posted this before, understandably some will only believe it if they see it labeled on the bottle, but here is what Mobil says:

-----Original Message-----
From: Mobilproducts [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: #252533-US(English) - Lubricants: for Cars and Trucks

They responded:

The Mobil 1 High mileage 10W30 is the same at walmart. Mobil1 High
Mileage 10W 30 is ACEA A3/B3,A3/B4


I wrote:
>
> Your typical Mobil1 High Mileage 10W30 oil is clearly labeled as ACEA A3/B3 certified.
> I've noticed the identical oil I purchase at Wal-Mart lacks this certification on the label.
> Is the Wal-Mart oil a different formula?
> Is the Wal-Mart oil ACEA A3/B3 certified?

As I indicated in the original post here, I sent an email inquiry to Mobil One asking about ACEA certification of the HM products:


From: Mobilproducts [[email protected]]

> Yes they do meet the ACEA A3/B3 04, A3/B4 04 specifications,. For the
> full range of product claims please refer to the PDS on the web site.
>
> Regards
>
>
> -MJ

>
>
> On 1/10/2011 11:52 AM, Mobil1w[email protected] wrote:
>> Does Mobil One High Mileage 10w-30 still carry the ACEA A3/B3
>> approval as
> of January 2011? Containers I have seen recently in stores no longer
> have the ACEA rating on the bottle or jug. Other Mobil One products
> appear to still have the ACEA approvals listed on the container, but
> not the High Mileage products. Do the High Mileage products no longer
> meet the ACEA specifications?

Yeah, but... Even though "they said" it is... It doesn't have to be, if it's not on the container. Product specs change all the time. Customer service and tech support reps that typically answer emails at large companies aren't a particularly trustworthy source, either, in my opinion (think call center...).

Not saying it isn't. Heck, it probably is. But, if it's not on the container, it doesn't have to be, so maybe it's not, and I don't trust the folks who answer customer emails to actually know for sure, one way or the other.

To play devils advocate for a moment - what possible reason could there be for not including the ACEA certs on a label, if indeed the product being labeled meets those specs? I mean, why have different types of packaging and labeling for one product in the first place? It's more expensive to maintain and stock two labels and containers, than it is to have only one. So why are they different to begin with and since there are different labels why does one get used instead of the other? Maybe, because some production locations are using slightly different formulations? As one who has worked in a mass production facility providing OEM labeled product for dozens of separate brand name companies, I know for a fact that exactly this occurs frequently in many industries.

So, since the person who answered the email said it's all ACEA, it probably is. But just to be safe, I prefer to see it on the container .

- DAA

Oh, and I just checked for the helluvit, because it smelled fishy...

Here is the company that actually answered your email (the email address it came from). As I expected, that reply came from a third party contract call center, not even from an actual Mobil employee. Let alone one that migh have actually had a clue.

Still, very well could be accurate info that they provided. I certainly can't say it isn't. But, I can say, my considerable experience in this kind of stuff makes me more than just a little bit suspicious that perhaps the answer was pulled out of an orifice, or even partially fabricated. And in any case, I still have to wonder why the two different packages if it really all meets ACEA.

But, I might be sniffing too much glue this week and being overly paranoid :laugh: .

Even after I come down off the glue, I'm still gonna want to see the certs on the container though :lildevil: .

- DAA