Oil company warranties?

[heypete]

Several oil companies offer various warranties on their products.

For example, in the specific case of Mobil Clean 5000, ExxonMobil says says:
Quote:
ExxonMobil guarantees that the Mobil Clean 5000 lubricant you purchased will protect your vehicle’s critical engine parts from oil related failure for 5,000 miles or six months, which ever comes first. If not, provided the engine was serviceable at the time the oil was installed, ExxonMobil will have your vehicle repaired and replace the oil at no cost to you.


Quaker State and Valvoline seem to have similar warranties, but require that one use their products exclusively since the car was new, and require detailed documentation.

Some questions about these warranties:
1. Has anyone ever needed to file a claim due to defective oil or some other oil-related failure?

2. Has anyone ever successfully completed a claim, and had an oil company pay for repairs? How much do the companies fight?

3. Does the existence of such warranties play into anyone else's mind when purchasing oil? That is, would anyone buy Mobil Clean 5000 over, say, Pennzoil conventional, simply because the Mobil oil has a better warranty? (They both meet essentially identical specifications, and I'm sure they're both excellent oils.)

 

[salesrep]

I will address #3. I think the warranties that are offered, albeit with a grain of salt by the public, does indeed play a role in selection. The perception that an oil is better because of a warranty offered is present.

 

[gathermewool]

I don't think you'll see many legitimate oil warranty claims. The only oil-related failures I've EVER heard of were due to poor maintenance - never changing the oil or changing to infrequently. IMO, it's all marketing, and will not affect those who change their oil within the warranty-prescribed intervals using any current-spec'd oil.

 

[highmilegeguy]

I don't see 1) how you could substantiate a oil failure claim or 2) counter the response of poor maintenance that will inevitably be invoked by the insurer.

Its all marketing with little risk to the oil cos actually paying out any claims.

No doubt, though, they will get some yahoo trying to fault the oil for throwing a piston rod or breaking a crankshaft. All the while forgetting to mention he was drag racing the stock engine to 8k revs.