Section 13710.

(a) (1) The department shall establish specifications for engine coolants and antifreeze, and prediluted engine coolants and prediluted antifreeze that promote the public safety in the operation of motor vehicles.

(2) In addition to paragraph (1), if the ASTM International adopts standards for recycled engine coolants and antifreeze, the department, on or before January 1, 2002, shall establish specifications for recycled engine coolants and antifreeze, and recycled prediluted engine coolants and antifreeze that promote the public safety in the operation of motor vehicles.

(3) The chemical, physical, and performance specifications for engine coolants and antifreeze and prediluted engine coolants and prediluted antifreeze under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not fall below the minimum specifications, if any, established by the 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.

(4) For purposes of this subdivision, the department shall adopt testing procedures and shall specify a virgin reference coolant that it finds is recognized as standard in the industry. Alcohol-based coolants and antifreeze, excluding glycols, are not suitable for use in automotive engines and shall not be sold or distributed for automotive use.

(b) Any automatic transmission fluid sold without limitation as to type of transmission for which it is intended, shall meet all automotive manufacturers' recommended requirements for transmissions in general use in the state. Automatic transmission fluids that are intended for use only in certain transmissions, as disclosed on the label of its container, shall meet the latest automotive manufacturers' recommended requirements for those transmissions.

(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. 2012, Ch. 661, Sec. 57. Effective January 1, 2013.)