MVC Completes Environmentally-Friendly Process
at Inspection Facilities Statewide

(TRENTON) – New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) Chief Administrator, Sharon A. Harrington, today, announced that the MVC has completed its Lift Oil Replacement Project, which entailed removing petroleum-based fluid from the hydraulic, in-ground vehicle lifts at the MVC’s 30 centralized inspection facilities and three specialty vehicle inspection sites and replacing it with an environmentally safe, biodegradable soybean-based fluid.

The new soybean alternative has both performance and environmental benefits. On the performance side, not only will the new oil require no equipment modification or special handling, but it will also protect vehicle lift components from wear and scuffing, reduce corrosion of internal components and will not react with steel or copper alloys. As for environmental impacts, the soybean oil is both biodegradable and non-toxic, making it an ideal product to be used in situations where leaks or spills can result in damage to the environment.

“With emissions testing playing such a critical role in vehicle inspections, it is only natural that we would look to innovative ways to ensure that the MVC’s own operations are as environmentally-friendly as possible,” said Harrington. “With the switch to nonpolluting, soybean-based oil, the MVC not only gets the same equipment performance, but also contributes to the protection of the environment.”

The project, performed by S.A.R. Lifts, Inc. of Barrington, New Jersey, was completed in two phases. During phase one, the old petroleum-based hydraulic oil was flushed out of 56 MVC in-ground vehicle lifts and replaced with the new soybean-based fluid, Mobil EAL 224H. In phase two, to ensure the removal of any residual petroleum-based hydraulic oil, the entire flushing process was repeated again in all of the lifts and filled a second time with the soybean-based fluid.

Vehicle lifts, which are used at MVC inspection sites statewide, are in-ground, hydraulic-and pneumatic-operated hoists used to lift the front end of vehicles. The lifts allow for close examination of steering and suspension components, frame condition, front brake fluid lines and tires during an inspection.