Castrol says no to dexos license

[Tom NJ]

"While the decision has been made not to officially license Edge and Syntec, Castrol will guarantee their performance in GM gasoline engines that recommend a dexos™1 approved engine oil."

"So the tally is now, two of the brand leading PCEO manufacturers saying "nay" to officially licensing dexos and one (Shell) saying yea. This leaves only one of the leading players in PCEO, in the uncommitted column. That player being ExxonMobil."

Full story at JobbersWorld

Tom NJ

 

[Ben99GT]

I bet XOM says "yea" to Dexos.

 

[Steve S]

Is the no to licensing not wanting to spend the $$$ on the royalty fees? if that is the proper terminology?

 

[bepperb]

I think XOM has to say yes to keep the M1 branding on the CTS-V and Corvette?

Though, this could only be on M1 and not MC5000?

 

[Johnny]

If Mobil is going to continue being the factory fill on all GM products they will have to be dexos 1 approved.

 

[rclint]

I'm willing to make bets that XOM is heading up the Dexos by formulating the oil for GM.. They are already a GM factory fill (for many applications, and in the spotlight in some), maybe that's why other oil companies are not wanting to pay royalty fees.. they may be going to XOM LOL

ahh it may be half right... time for another XOM bashing from the m1 guys anyway..

 

[Spyder7]

Castrol has enough brand recognition established that they don't need it. Same for Mobil, but as others have pointed out, being a GM factory fill they will almost certainly say yes to it.

-Spyder

 

[2oldtommy]

I would be willing to bet that this Dexeos oil fiasco follows a similar path that GM created in 1974 with the first "GM spec" radial tire which became std equipment in 1975 model year. The spec, (IIRC was TPC 1075) even had a specific tread design. The tread did not differ from Goodrich or Uniroyal or General. Well, that lasted all of about 2 or 3 model years. It happily died as no manufacturer supported it. Lets watch and see what happens to Dexos. If some of the big boys don't belly up to the bar to pay their Dexos admission fees, I'll expect to go the way of tire spec TPC 1075. FWIW--- Oldtommy

 

[tig1]

Perhaps XM already meets Dexos. Any chance of that?

 

[rclint]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Perhaps XM already meets Dexos. Any chance of that?


Or lord I'm starting to think like tig1 now... as I said I imagine they are making dexos for GM, still they may have to pay the fee ? I dunno, the others I'm sure meet the specifications as well... BUT that don't matter they want that cha ching in fees to use the dexos name, and a big cha ching on fees charged to meet dexos

 

[Spyder7]

Very good chance of that. Just a matter of getting the seal of approval from GM and stamping the bottle.

-Spyder

 

[StevieC]

The thing is most people don't even look at the "Ratings" on the back of the bottle. They just go by the brand they think is best, and this is usually based on the best commercials.

Remember us BITOG folk aren't the norm so in this case Castrol is saving a ton of money on not licensing the oil.

They have just taken a step in the right direction towards Amsoil IMO. (Stand behind your product and its performance and forget about "Official" ratings!)

 

[sunfire]

Not to get too far off topic... I found this interesting:

Quote:
When asked: If a dexos1™ license engine oil is not used in an engine that calls for dexos1™, will the warranty be voided?," Castrol says, "No." They continue by adding, "In order for the warranty to be voided, the engine manufacturer must prove that the engine oil caused the failure. If the engine oil meets / exceeds the requirements of dexos™ 1, the warranty can not be voided just because the engine oil in question is not officially licensed."


But its been quoted here many times that using an unlicensed motor oil, ATF, MTF but yet still meets the requirements can void warranties.

 

[StevieC]

Yeah, their oil meets/exceeds the specifications but wasn't actually licensed for $$$ from GM so it's up to GM to prove the oil failed to lubricate. If they do then Castrol picks up the tab for the oil failure.

 

[tig1]

Just to use Castrol or Amsoil would you take the chance with a new GM engine? I wouldn't.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Just to use Castrol or Amsoil would you take the chance with a new GM engine? I wouldn't.
I would use Amsoil because I know they will stand behind their product if it fails to stand-up as they have in the past.

Then again with GM's poor record in past I might not take the chance because of the headache...

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Yeah, their oil meets/exceeds the specifications but wasn't actually licensed for $$$ from GM so it's up to GM to prove the oil failed to lubricate. If they do then Castrol picks up the tab for the oil failure.



The same goes for most of the Amsoil line, I wouldn't sweat it! Does XL meet the new GM spec?

 

[StevieC]

I don't think they have certified it yet as it doesn't show on the website...

AMSOIL SPONSORS CHECK IN!!!!!!

Even if they don't I would use it anyways...

 

[Spyder7]

That cuts to the core of it. Most of those having their car serviced while its under warranty will have the dealer do the OC as well. Since its Mobil going into those cars, and not Castrol, dexos is meaningless to Castrol. Likewise the quick lube places will either use whatever their bulk stuff is, or the customer supplied oil. That's where the Castrol brand recognition kicks in and why they gain nothing from a dexos rubber stamp.

Also may allow themselves to price their products more competitively because they're saving on the licensing and certification fees. I say good for Castrol. If every car maker starts adopting their own proprietary standards, with the attached licensing and certification fees, we would be the ones to eat the cost if the oil makers all ponied up to get in line. And people say oil is expensive now.

-Spyder

 

[rclint]

I'm on the line combining this with the amsoil, I just don't see it as a relevant point being Castrol has been paying these fees all along, and it's a much larger picture when they refuse to pay it.

A smart move as they can always pay the fee if it becomes a hit, and it's also a stance against GM trying to extract money out of the oil industry for more numbers on a bottle..