Multiple recent operator’s guides for Ski-Doo snowmobiles and Can-Am ATVs, manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), advise customers that it is necessary to use BRP-branded lubricants or risk the loss of warranty coverage, while some guides also state there is “no known equivalent” to the branded BRP lubricant on the market.
AMSOIL confronted BRP and asserted that its warranty language violated the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a federal law which prohibits manufacturers from requiring the use of a branded service/replacement part unless the branded service/replacement part is provided free of charge or is not intended for use in consumer applications, and emphasized that AMSOIL synthetic lubricants meet or exceed the engine performance requirements for both two- and four-cycle engines used in powersports equipment.
BRP has agreed to modify the language in its operator’s guides to no longer indicate that use of oil other than the BRP-branded product may void the warranty, to clearly identify product recommendations as recommendations rather than requirements and to no longer comment on the availability of equivalents to the BRP brand oil(s).
For more information on this issue:
AMSOIL Attorney’s Notice to AMSOIL Dealers
