Confused & ticked @ Mobil 1 oil

[Stainless]

Hello. I just wanted to share some things I have recently noticed:

I am confused & ticked at Mobil 1's labeling vs its "rating"; mainly WHICH oils are A1/B1 and A5/B5 rated.

First off: I was in Walmart and was looking at new production bottles of Mobil 1 oil in various weights. I was able to check the hidden UV code, and noted that all bottles were produced in October and November of 2006. I thought about taking pics of the bottles, but that might have caused problems.

Here is what I have found:

The Mobil web sight advises that current production 5w30 Truck & SUV AND 5w30 Extended Performance HAVE an A5/B5 rating... but the BOTTLES sitting on the shelf DO NOT. They ONLY read A1/B1.

Now, the REGULAR 10w30 and 10w30 Extended Performance ARE marked A1/B1 & A5/B5.

What's going on here?

This post is an offshoot of a previous post of mine, where I found some bottles of Regular Mobil 1 5w30 marked A1/B1 AND A5/B5 and some marked JUST A1/B1.

It looks like the newest production Mobil 1 oils do not meet the same standards as the older production... OR the labeling has changed & the oils remain the same.

Any help or ideas?

 

[buster]

Quote:

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What's going on here?

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I wish I could tell you. Lot of changes taking place with M1 lately. I honestly don't know.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I do know that sometimes when new formulations are ready to get bottled, they use remaining old bottles from the old formulations that are leftover. There could be a multi-month supply of old jugs. They don't throw them away & if they are already labeled, they run new oil with the old labels.

Superstore places like Walmart get volume discounts. The more they buy for their main warehouses, the cheaper they get it. When XOM decided to change formulas, the best & easiest way to get rid of old stock is calling dear ol' Walmart. Would not surprise me if Walmart bought a few months supply of the old rated stuff.

All speculation on my part - but I am well versed in warehousing & inventory control.

 

[Gene K]

Maybe just a label issue. I often find certifications listed on a manufactures websites that dont appear on the bottles. When questioned about it they either didnt list all the certifications or the labels were ordered pretest.

I remember an issue with an HDEO (Chevron Delo 400?) that was claimed to meet a specific BMW or M-B specification on the bottle. It was the only non-synthetic that supposedly met this spec. Upon contacting the manufacture it turns out the labels were an error.

 

[mitchcoyote]

Everybody is taking this M1 paranoia a little to far.... Get a grip......

 

[btanchors]

I have the same exact observations as Stainless, judging from the Walmart Mobil 1 bottles here in Fairfax, VA. The older formulations of Mobil 1 Extended Performance in 5w30 had A5 and B5 ratings, so I don't think it's simply a matter of using up old bottles, since the older stuff did have A5 and B5. So this leaves two possibilities:

1: The new formula doesn't meet A5/B5 and the website is in error.

2: The new formula DOES meet A5/B5, but new bottles for the new formula were ordered before those tests were complete, as GeneK suggests.

At any rate, this definitely suggests a significant formula change for Mobil 1 in these viscosities.

Assuming scenario 1 above is correct, what does this mean for the performance of the oil? Since it does meet SM/GF4 and A1/B1, what aspect of the oil's performance would be lacking that would prevent it from meeting A5/B5?

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Noisy...

Very, VERY noisy