Oil Additive Scam ( FTC )

[Marylandrauder]

Guys, this is Marylandrauder's son, Brent, you may have seen me at the Safford Lincoln Mercury Car Show that goes on every year in June, I need some advice.

I was a moderator for 2 years on a forum for a product called auto-rx that claims it cleans out:

1) Engines
2) Transmissions
3) Differentials
4) Powersteering

I left the auto-rx board when I found out the product was originally designed to clean printing presses that runs on hydraulic fluid, and these printing presses are a closed system, meaning no introduction of air, just like a transmission, differential, or powersteering, so the contaniments are soft.

In an engine the deposits are harder, and many people are claiming that all this product has done is maybe clean there ring packs, it has not cleaned there valvetrain because arx does not work under splash lubrication. I also found out this product was never tested on an automobile engine, this stuff is not cheap, it goes for $26.00 a bottle.

They tried to sell the product to Auto-Zone, and they were going to give auto-rx $20.00 for every bottle that was sold and charge consumers $50.00 a bottle, many people who tried auto-rx are now using Marvel Mystery Oil that goes for $3.50 a quart and they are getting better results.

This is as big a scam as Z- Max and maybe Slick50, I want to report them to the FTC, I was an insider and I was given a lot of free product, do I call the FTC, I was thinking of mailing in a short letter, but I am afraid it will get lost in some bureaucratic mess. I do not want to see this product show up in some auto parts store.

There is a You-Tube video on this product and the pictures of the valvetrain are fake, do I post underneath in the comment section and say hey FTC check these guys out.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[SpartaPerformance]

Wow that sounds horrible. I use Lucas oil stabilizer, my little tracer has horrible valve train noise and the Lucas quiets it right up.

[DOOM]

The ONLY additive i occasionally use is lucas in the gas tank & oil stabilizer.
Does ANY additive on the market really do what its supposed to do?
What really works??? :confused: :help:

[SpartaPerformance]

Lucas is the only thing I found that works

[rayjay]

You need all your ducks in a row before you public with these type allegations. You can expect to be sued.

[Bluerauder]

Personal opinion .....

Let it go. Sounds like you are trying to clear your conscience after pimping the product "on the boards" for more than 2 years. As RayJay states, you will only stir up a hornets nest of legal activity for yourself by going public. Their resources are greater than yours (I suspect) and the battle will be a costly one.

Regardless of the outcome, people will still buy the product. As P.T. Barnum once said "There's a sucker born every minute." There's no end to products that don't live up to their claims ..... this'll just be another one.

Don't beat yourself up .... you now know the facts on the product and terminated your relationship with the sponsor. Your conscience should be clear.

JMHO.

On the Positive Side .... some people need to be taken in by a $50.00 scam so that they are more wary and won't fall for the $5000.00 Nigerian e-mail scam or something worse later on.

[Marauderjack]

Personal opinion .....

Let it go. Sounds like you are trying to clear your conscience after pimping the product "on the boards" for more than 2 years. As RayJay states, you will only stir up a hornets nest of legal activity for yourself by going public. Their resources are greater than yours (I suspect) and the battle will be a costly one.

Regardless of the outcome, people will still buy the product. As P.T. Barnum once said "There's a sucker born every minute." There's no end to products that don't live up to their claims ..... this'll just be another one.

Don't beat yourself up .... you now know the facts on the product and terminated your relationship with the sponsor. Your conscience should be clear.

JMHO.

^^^+10^^^:beer:

If you value your knee caps you should just move on!!!:cool:

You have done your job in warning the people that count.....US!!!:D

BTW, Z-Max is the most lucrative scam ever!!!:shake:

[Paul T. Casey]

Another vote for let it go. The only sure fire method I know of to clean the valvetrain is disassembly and power brush.

[Vortex]

http://www.spellchecker.net/spellcheck/

[RoyLPita]

Just move from this debacle.

[RF Overlord]

Auto-Rx has enjoyed a very good reputation among the more knowledgeable people on BITOG for a long time. Their word means more than that of someone we don't know who claims "inside" information.

[2,4shofast]

I agree with the others, let it go....It will cause more problems than what it is worth.

[Phrog_gunner]

I think you should do what you feel is right. The right thing and the easy thing are rarely the same thing. IMO the people that know something is wrong and don't speak out share just as much blame as the company that is actually screwing people over.

The Federal Government has whistle blower laws and protections to ensure your safety. They are so adamant about businesses doing things like this that they give the whistle blower a cut of the settlement money. Proof of this has been in the news as recently as yesterday with the Pfizer deal, google it. The whistle blower is getting around $51 million of the over $2 billion settlement Phizer is ordered to pay.

www.whistleblowerlaws.com (http://www.whistleblowerlaws.com) outlines some of the numerous federal laws about whistle blowers that may or may not apply.

[Krytin]

won't fall for the $5000.00 Nigerian e-mail scam or something worse later on.

Oh no!!
That was a SCAM!!:eek:








:lol: :D

[sconut1]

I'd tread carefully if I were you. I couldn't agree more with what Bluerauder posted here. You've terminated your relationship with the sponsor, and hopefully that will make you feel better about things. I believe that companies that are "below board" will probobly be faster to sue than ones that aren't and the last thing you need on your hands is a lawsuit. Even if you win, the legal fees might kill you, and may god forbid that you loose. Seriously, I'd just walk away; it sucks, but the future issues that this might cause you just aren't worth it.

[SideshowBob]

Does the product actually HARM the engine? If it does, then you do have something to lose sleep over. But if it doesn't do any harm then just forget it, you can't be responsible for all the gullible people in the world.

[JimmyXR7]

. . . I was a moderator for 2 years on a forum for a product called auto-rx that claims it cleans out:

1) Engines 2) Transmissions 3) Differentials 4) Powersteering

I left the auto-rx board when I found out the product was originally designed to clean printing presses that runs on hydraulic fluid, and . . . I also found out this product was never tested on an automobile engine, this stuff is not cheap, it goes for $26.00 a bottle.

. . . many people who tried auto-rx are now using Marvel Mystery Oil that goes for $3.50 a quart and they are getting better results. . . .

Just because it costs more does not mean it works better. Thanks for the 'grass roots' info.

Jim