Valvoline Syn DOT 3&4 - FMVSS No. 116

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I searched for a brake fluid meeting FMVSS No. 116 and found Valvoline Syn DOT 3&4.
They have all over their site that their brake fluid meets FMVSS No. 116 but the bottle on the shelf does not list that specification while my old cans of fluid do.

Is this another big company thumbing its nose at the small guy who buys it, trusts it, gets screwed by it and can't do anything about it?
 
Maybe they just didn't put it on the bottle.
Since it says Syn DOT 3&4 meets FMVSS 116 on their website, I would send them an e-mail and ask them to confirm it.
 
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Isn't FMVSS No. 116 from like... 30 years ago? I would assume the SAE specs are far more up-to-date and would disregard the FMVSS.
 
It is in fact illegal to sell a brake fluid in the US that doesn't meet FMVSS 116. The DOT 3/4 standards are actually part of FMVSS 116. I wouldn't worry about it. This is Valvoline, and this is a nonissue.

The only case where I heard that it became an issue was when ATE Super Blue was taken off the market. It in fact did not meet the standard because it was dyed blue and not clear to amber as per the color requirements for glycol brake fluid.
 
Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
Isn't FMVSS No. 116 from like... 30 years ago? I would assume the SAE specs are far more up-to-date and would disregard the FMVSS.

As I noted, all brake fluid must meet FMVSS 116 if sold in the US. And what SAE specs are you thinking of? The DOT 3/4/5/5.1 brake fluid specifications are part of FMVSS 116 and not a SAE spec.
 
There were a couple dollar store-level brake fluids that a number of years ago got spanked,because their fluid contained....water!
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
Isn't FMVSS No. 116 from like... 30 years ago? I would assume the SAE specs are far more up-to-date and would disregard the FMVSS.

As I noted, all brake fluid must meet FMVSS 116 if sold in the US. And what SAE specs are you thinking of? The DOT 3/4/5/5.1 brake fluid specifications are part of FMVSS 116 and not a SAE spec.

I always thought it was SAE J1703 that defined the type of fluid (DOT3/4/5). I guess not... is J1703 just a supersede?
 
DOT3/4, SAE J1703/J1704, and FMVSS116 are fairly interchangeable and seem to encompass each other.

DOT3 = SAE J1703
DOT4 = SAE J1704
Both are included in FMVSS116/CMVSS116
 
Originally Posted By: tommygunn
DOT3/4, SAE J1703/J1704, and FMVSS116 are fairly interchangeable and seem to encompass each other.

DOT3 = SAE J1703
DOT4 = SAE J1704
Both are included in FMVSS116/CMVSS116

I found a copy of SAE J1703, and it doesn't say anything about DOT3, DOT4, DOT5, or DOT5.1. I couldn't find anything about color, which is mentioned in the federal rule. These are expressly defined in FMVSS 116.

https://law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/ibr/005/sae.j1703.1983.pdf
 
Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
Yeah, http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/FMVSS/#SN116

FMVSS 116 has not been updated since 1972.

Not sure what's up with that, but it's been updated several times since 1972. I don't believe DOT 5.1 was defined in 1972.

I found a recent proposed rulemaking to add compatibility with EPMD from 2010, and that language is in the current version of FMVSS 116.

Quote:
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles...le-brake-fluids

This NPRM proposes to amend FMVSS No. 116, Motor Vehicle Brake Fluids, so that brake fluids would be tested with ethylene, propylene, and diene terpolymer (EPDM) rubber, as this type of rubber is increasingly being used in brake fluid seals. This NPRM also updates references to standards issued by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Society for Materials and Testing (ASTM) (no substantive changes to the standard would be made by these updates), and corrects minor errors in the standard.


Here's the current standard from the Government Printing Office:

Quote:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title49-vol6/xml/CFR-2012-title49-vol6-sec571-116.xml

Title 49 - TransportationVolume: 6Date: 2012-10-01Original Date: 2012-10-01Title: Section 571.116 - Standard No. 116; Motor vehicle brake fluids.Context:
Title 49 - Transportation. Subtitle B - Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued). CHAPTER V - NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. PART 571 - FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS. Subpart B - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
 
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