(a) (1) The department shall establish specifications for engine coolants, antifreeze, prediluted engine coolants, and prediluted antifreeze that promote the public safety in the operation of motor vehicles.
(2) The chemical, physical, and performance specifications for engine coolants and antifreeze and prediluted engine coolants and prediluted antifreeze under paragraph (1) shall not fall below the minimum specifications, if any, established by ASTM International. Engine coolant and antifreeze shall not contain, after dilution with 30 percent water and subsequent mixing, visually identifiable suspended matter or sediment. Prediluted engine coolant and prediluted antifreeze shall not contain, after mixing, visually identifiable suspended matter or sediment.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, the department shall adopt the ASTM International testing procedures. Methanol- and ethanol-based coolants and antifreeze are not suitable for use in automotive engines and shall not be sold or distributed for automotive use.
(b) Transmission fluid shall meet the latest automotive manufacturers’ recommended requirements for all transmissions disclosed on the label of its container. No transmission fluid shall be sold without clearly disclosing, on the label of its container, the type of transmission for which it is intended.
(c) The department shall establish specifications for brake fluid that promote the public safety in the operation of automotive vehicles. The specifications for brake fluid shall not fall below the minimum specifications established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States Department of Transportation.
(d) Any manufacturer or packager of any product regulated by this chapter and sold in the state shall provide, upon request to duly authorized representatives of the department, documentation of any claim made upon their products’ label.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 591, Sec. 52. (AB 808) Effective January 1, 2016.)