Calfornia penalizes Smitty's $751,155

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Tom NJ

Tom NJ

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As reported by PQIANews, Smitty's Supply was penalized $751,155 by the State of California for "unfair and fraudulent business acts or practices."

"There were several violations for selling, or offering for sale, petroleum or automotive products of a different grade than represented on the label and adulterated or mislabeled product that does not meet the latest automotive manufacturer’s recommended requirements as indicated on the label."

"It was determined that samples from Custom Plus™ Motor Oils products sold within the State of California did not meet the specifications represented on the label."

For more information, see:

Smitty's penalized by California

Tom NJ/VA
 
Good thing I never used smitty's

I was tempted one time I was at kmart getting some clearance..
but the bottles were all sucked in and looked at least 5+ years old.

I'll stick with my 2$/qt M1
 
That Smitty's Supply "Custom Plus" oil in the red bottle was a synthetic blend that was rated SJ, so it's a rather dated product. Maybe this was a product geared towards dollar store consumers.

Smitty's other blue bottle oils get decent PQIA reviews.
 
I never used this red bottle out of date stuff but the SN oil is very good. MultiFlow in blue bottle.
 
If you read the judgement, it covers much more than just the one oil product (in fact it names transmission fluid, brake fluids, coolant, etc). If the label of whatever you normally buy from Smitty's within California changes in the next few months, then it's a sure indication that that other product was also mis-leadingly labeled.

If you're not in California, they are under no obligation to change the labelling on their product to comply with the CA judgement.
 
Good job Cali!

PQIA testing of the Custom Plus brand has shown several problems over the years.

I wonder what the way CA looks at automotive fluids could mean for coolant that is sold as all makes / types.
 
I guess I'm not too surprised either.
Smitty's motor oils appear to have been formulated to a price point.
If you search for threads on Smitty's oils, the main theme is just how cheap they were from Kmart or Menard's.
I couldn't find a single VOA or UOA.
There are those who would say that all oils meeting the required spec are functionally equivalent, but there are not too many who've been here for very long who actually believe that.
For the shortish drains many here seem to favor, Smitty's is probably as good as any other oil but for longer drains, maybe not.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
I guess I'm not too surprised either.
Smitty's motor oils appear to have been formulated to a price point.
If you search for threads on Smitty's oils, the main theme is just how cheap they were from Kmart or Menard's.
I couldn't find a single VOA or UOA.
There are those who would say that all oils meeting the required spec are functionally equivalent, but there are not too many who've been here for very long who actually believe that.
For the shortish drains many here seem to favor, Smitty's is probably as good as any other oil but for longer drains, maybe not.


They are functionally equivalent when the products meet the same specs. If not then it is not up to spec. As the article states Smitty's products did not meet specs.
 
...and here i am, always touting how they are the cheapest Dexos certified oil. Get burned once, not again. Although i never used it, i probably would have if necessary.

Major brands it is. (Castrol, Mobil, SOPUS, Chevron, Valvoline, and ConocoPhillips)
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
...and here i am, always touting how they are the cheapest Dexos certified oil. Get burned once, not again. Although i never used it, i probably would have if necessary.

Major brands it is. (Castrol, Mobil, SOPUS, Chevron, Valvoline, and ConocoPhillips)


I have bashed Smitty's since the company has a product they advertise as a ATF+4 replacement and it is obvious it is not licensed. At least they updated their website. Before they stated it was a OEM replacement. The company has come off as Shady to me. This latest news does not help.
 
I think that Warren Oil looks WAY better than Smitty's right about now. I could be wrong but I don't think Warren Oil has had any problems like this. Ohh and I have found this red bottle Smitty's at a Shell gas station in Hopewell.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
I guess I'm not too surprised either.
Smitty's motor oils appear to have been formulated to a price point.
If you search for threads on Smitty's oils, the main theme is just how cheap they were from Kmart or Menard's.
I couldn't find a single VOA or UOA.
There are those who would say that all oils meeting the required spec are functionally equivalent, but there are not too many who've been here for very long who actually believe that.
For the shortish drains many here seem to favor, Smitty's is probably as good as any other oil but for longer drains, maybe not.


PQIA did a VOA on Smitty's SuperS and it is fine
smile.gif


The recall/fine does not affect the blue and silver Smitty's you find at Kmart. It affects some of their private label [censored].
 
And... will any of that penalty money actually go to the people that purchased those products ? short of that, the state has done nothing to protect anyone.
 
The penalty money goes into the Treasury, which collectively belongs to the People of California. So yes the people benefit.
 
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