Dura Lube

The Dura Lube Corporation was formed in 1986, originally concentrating on producing engine treatment products for trucks. It later extended its product line to include cars.[1]

Controversy

Dura Lube was heavily marketed in the 1990s via television infomercials that made certain claims about its effectiveness as a lubricant, even going so far as to demonstrating that their products can protect engines with the oil drained. The company was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission in 1999-2000 and was found to have no competent or reliable evidence substantiating these claims about its performance.

The FTC action that followed on May 5, 2000 forbade the company from making claims about its products that were not backed up by competent and reliable evidence. Some of the claims that were forbidden by the FTC: That the product reduced engine wear, that it prolonged engine life, that it improved gas mileage, that it reduces emissions, that it protects the engine when oil pressure is lost, and that tests prove any of these claims. The Dura Lube Corporation was fined 2 million USD and forced to notify distributors of the FTC action and was also forced to relabel all of the product subsequently offered for sale.