Browse clear reference guides to API, ACEA, ILSAC, JASO, and vehicle manufacturer oil standards.
Reference library
Manufacturer
Volkswagen engine-oil approvals range from legacy VW 500/501/503/505/506 series to current vehicle-specific VW 502 00, 504 00/507 00, 508 00/509 00, VW 511 00 and regional VW 508 88/509 99 requirements. Always match the exact approval and viscosity specified for the vehicle, engine and market.
Manufacturer
Ford engine-oil, axle-lubricant and transmission-fluid specifications, including legacy WSS-M2C913 oils and newer Ford WSS and MERCON requirements. Ford specifications are application-specific: use the exact viscosity and specification stated in the current owner’s manual or workshop information for the vehicle.
Manufacturer
BMW Longlife specifications are application standards, not a simple progression in which the newest oil replaces every earlier one. Oil must match the vehicle’s engine, model year, emissions equipment and sales market. Viscosity alone is not enough: two oils with the same SAE grade may carry different approvals. Likewise, terms such as “fully synthetic,” an ACEA or API classification, or a particular base-oil group do not replace the required BMW approval. Always confirm the permitted specification in the owner’s manual, BMW Driver’s Guide, under-hood label or a VIN-specific BMW service system. Some BMW M engines require dedicated oils such as 10W-60 that are outside the regular Longlife specification system.
Manufacturer
GM Dexos Motor Oil Specifications GM Dexos approved oils are recommended to be used in all GM vehicles except those built with Duramax diesel engines that require an API CJ-4 quality oil. GM Dexos 1...
Manufacturer
These qualifications define the characteristics to be complied with by the lubricants used in engines with Otto and Diesel cycle for the first time of filling and during service. The standard is formed of a...
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz passenger-car and van engine-oil specifications are identified by MB sheet or MB-Approval number. The current Mercedes-Benz Operating Fluids system lists approved products for each sheet, while sheet 223.2 and the vehicle’s current owner’s manual determine which approvals and viscosity grades are permitted for a particular engine.
Manufacturer
PSA Peugeot Citroën engine-oil specifications remain relevant for many existing Peugeot, Citroën and DS vehicles, while newer Stellantis FPW9.55535 specifications now appear alongside them. This page distinguishes the main legacy PSA codes, later PSA low-viscosity requirements and current Stellantis-labelled specifications.
Manufacturer
Current Renault engine-oil specifications include RN17, RN17 FE, RN17 RSA and AN2022 alongside the established RN0700, RN0710 and RN0720 requirements. The page also covers manual-transmission-fluids: the new Tranself NFX and some other, legacy products.
Manufacturer
Volvo passenger-car engine-oil specifications span current low-viscosity 0W-20 requirements and several engine-specific legacy specifications. The vehicle’s model year, engine, market, and current owner’s documentation determine the correct oil; a Volvo specification cannot be substituted solely from the SAE viscosity grade or a broadly similar ACEA/API claim.
Organization
For more than 75 years, API has led the development of petroleum and petrochemical equipment and operating standards. These represent the industry’s collective wisdom on everything from drill bits to environmental protection and embrace proven,...
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ACEA Engine Oil Sequences: current light-duty (2023) and heavy-duty (2024 Revision 1) categories, claim-status dates, terminology, and historical context.
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During the mid-90s it became clear that the JASO Specifications cannot satisfy the requirements of the modern European two-stroke engines. The ISO standards listed below were developed to address this shortcoming. Their basis is the...
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2T specifications Japeneese motorcycle manufacturers found the limits demanded by the API TC specifications too loose. Oils meeting the API TC standard still produced excessive smoke and could not prevent exhaust blocking. Therefore the Japanese...
Organization
ILSAC gasoline-engine-oil specifications: current GF-7A and GF-7B, the GF-6 transition through September 30, 2026, API certification marks, and historical GF categories.
Topic
Current API engine-oil category charts, updated for API SQ and ILSAC GF-7 while retaining the relevant historical gasoline and diesel categories.
Topic
API Publication 1560, 9th edition (November 2023), now lists API GL-5 as the only API automotive gear-lubricant service designation in current use. GL-1, GL-2, GL-3, GL-4, GL-6, and MT-1 remain important historical designations but are not in current use; API specifically notes that GL-4 test hardware is no longer available for performance verification.
Topic
Spec Status Description TA Obsolete Proposed classification for two-stroke engine oils required for extremely-small engines, typically less than 50 cc. Engine Tests for this classification were under preparation when the Coordinating European Council (CEC) withdrew...