Armor All Denies Charges That Its Car-Care Products Do Harm

Armor All Products Corp., responding Tuesday to charges made by a former research manager, denied that its car-care products cause tires and air bag covers to crack.

The Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based company said in a prepared statement that after selling more than 750 million bottles of its leading product, Armor All Protectant, it has “found no relevant facts” in its records to support the claims of former research manager Pritam S. Dhaliwal.

“We’ve been selling this product for 20 years, and we haven’t had any incident data like Mr. Dhaliwal is alleging,” said Steve Kliff, an Armor All senior vice president. All of Armor All’s products were found to be safe in tests conducted by independent laboratories, he said.

Dhaliwal’s contentions are part of a lawsuit he filed against the company for what he alleges was his wrongful termination last year. Armor All has sought to have records in the San Bernardino County Superior Court case sealed, arguing that Dhaliwal is unfairly disclosing trade secrets.

Armor All, 57% owned by McKesson Corp. of San Francisco, saw its stock price fall $1.438 a share in Nasdaq trading Tuesday to close at $18.813 a share.