OEM approval, specification or performance claim?

Name the type of statement correctly

ACEA and API publish industry performance categories. Vehicle or equipment manufacturers publish their own specifications and may operate approval processes. A lubricant producer can also state that a product meets or is recommended for a requirement.

These statements can be technically relevant without having the same evidential status. Preserve the verbs used in the source instead of shortening every statement to “approved”.

Trace the statement to the exact product

Check the full product name, product identifier, TDS revision and any approval record. A claim for one viscosity, formulation or product family must not be copied to a similarly named product.

Where a formal approval is essential, use the current approval evidence or an authoritative OEM source. A price list or marketing summary cannot replace that record.

Keep an auditable decision record

For a technical enquiry, capture the requested standard, exact source wording, source type, issuer, version or date, product identity and reviewer. Mark missing or expired evidence as unresolved rather than assuming continuity.

• exact product and identifier;
• statement: approved, meets, suitable for or recommended for;
• source document, issuer, language and revision;
• application and manual requirement;
• review date and technical reviewer.