Fords Position on Engine Oils Made With Re-Refined Base Oils

Ford Motor Company does not specify the type of base oils to be used for engine oil meeting Ford's requirements. Regardless of the origin of the base oils, a non-Ford engine oil is acceptable for use if manufacturing and quality control practices make sure the oil continuously meets Ford's performance requirements.

Ford recommends using Motorcraft or equivalent engine oil meeting Ford specification ESE-M1C153-E and licensed as CERTIFIED FOR GASOLINE ENGINES by the American Petroleum Institute (API Certification). Both virgin and re-refined engine oils are capable of meeting these requirements by qualifying against a series of rigorous tests designed to ensure their suitability for modern gasoline engines. While these tests confirm a specific sample of the oil qualifies with acceptable performance, it is the responsibility of the oil marketers to make sure their products meet the requirements consistently and continuously.

In general, vehicle operation, adjustments and maintenance procedures (such as oil changes) performed contrary to recommended manufacturer specifications may, but do not automatically, void the applicable warranty. Each warranty claim is reviewed on its own merits. If, however, the use of a non-Ford product causes or contributes to the failure of a Ford component, the cost of repairing the affected component is not covered by the Ford vehicle warranty. In such cases, the vehicle owner would have to look to the seller or installer of the non-Ford product for the replacement of the affected components and for any related damage to the vehicle.

Based on recent engine oil market surveys, Ford has concerns that some engine oils made with re-refined base oils may not consistently meet Ford's engine oil requirements. Test results show viscosity characteristics and low temperature performance of some engine oils made with rerefined base oils are unacceptable. However, there are other engine oils made with re-refined base oils which have met API Certification requirements and have met viscosity and low temperature characteristics.

Customers considering the use of engine oils made with re-refined base oils should be aware that the final product quality may vary if improper manufacturing controls are used. Marketers of engine oils made with re-refined base oils must adhere to standards for their base oils which ensure variations in re-refining processes or incoming raw materials do not adversely affect performance. In addition to a standard for the base oil properties, it is Ford's view that a rerefined oil produced with stringent manufacturing controls and batch testing of low temperature viscosity performance and other significant characteristics would comply with Ford's recommendations.

Refer to Lubricant and Maintenance Materials Specifications chart.

Use only engine oils displaying the American Petroleum Institute CERTIFICATION MARK on the front of the container.