On September 6, the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) issued a call for public comments on launching the revision of mandatory national standard “GB 12981-2012 Motor vehicle brake fluids”.

Whereas ISO 4925: 2020 and automobile OEM manufacturers have put forward the requirements for Class 7-equivalent brake fluids and the reserve alkalinity index, domestic R&D, manufacturing, use, and evaluation of brake fluid products have basically reached the average level of the world, and some Class 7 level products have been put on the market domestically and internationally, the National Energy Administration proposed to revise the currently effective mandatory national standards of brake fluid: GB 12981-2012, adding the quality level equivalent to Class 7 and the index of reserve alkalinity.

The new standard will specify requirements, test methods, and inspection rules for non-petroleum based brake fluids used in hydraulic braking and hydraulic clutch systems of motor vehicles. The new standard will also include requirements for the marking, packaging, transportation and storage of the brake fluids.

The new standard will be applicable to motor vehicle brake fluids that are made of non-petroleum based raw materials as the base fluid and a variety of additives and in contact with seals made of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) or ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM).

A number of international standards will be used as reference in the revision, including "ISO 4925-2020 Road vehicles - non-petroleum based brake fluid", the United States Federal Department of Transportation standard FMVSS No.116-2019, the American Society of Automotive Engineers Standard SAE J1703-2019 and SAEJ1704-2019, etc.

The main changes will take place in introducing the quality level of HZY7 and the corresponding index requirements, and increasing the performance index of reserve alkalinity for all quality levels.

Should you need more information about this standard project, please contact us at: contact@bestao-consulting.com