[ChipB]

For those (like me) who have been using ATE Super Blue brake fluid it turns out that in the US all brake fluids are required to be either colorless or amber in color, so ATE SuperBlue has been running afoul of government regulations for years. Apparently they just realized this and consequently are pulling back all supplies from their dealer network. See:
It Took The US Government 15 Years To Realize This Brake Fluid Is Blue)

The reason for requiring only colorless or amber brake fluid appears to be driven by the idea that requiring different colors for different types of fluid in the car makes it easier to figure out what may be leaking in case of a crash or malfunction. That may be thin reasoning, but it's amazing to me that a company could be selling a product that is so clearly in violation of required government rules for so long. From Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Std 571.116, "Motor Vehicle Brake Fluids," section S5.1.14:

S5.1.14 Fluid color. Brake fluid and hydraulic system mineral oil shall be of the color indicated:

DOT 3, DOT 4, and DOT 5.1 non-SBBF--colorless to amber.
DOT 5 SBBF--purple.
Hydraulic system mineral oil--green.

Standard No. 116; Motor vehicle brake fluids.

So if you have a can or two of the Super Blue hang onto it - perhaps a market will spring up on EBay for people desperate to get their hands on a can of the stuff - sort of like the Great Twinkie Rush last year!

[Meeni]

ATE already has a replacement fluid with the same specs as superblue that is amber.

[The Cleaner]

Super Gold has been around for as long as the Blue and it's the same fluid less the blue color. The Super Blue was a bit of Marketing for the standard ABS fluid that ATE was selling.

[David1]

All you will have to do is put some blue dye in the amber. no big deal.

[NudeLobster]

They've always had the same formula in both amber and blue. the point of the blue was to assist in full brake fluid flushes. It's incredibly easy and convenient to just gravity bleed the brakes until all the calipers leak blue, then close em up and do a couple classic pump and bleeds. otherwise you gotta watch the fluid closely to see when its clean, etc. Then to flush the blue, you just flush it out with the amber.

-Justin

[Maestro]

First, I see this all the time where companies have no clue about various regulations. I am not saying they did things knowing the rules, but you can tell they had no idea. The fact they could ship for 15 yrs into the US and only now being brought to their attention show our government passes laws and regulations and in hope the industry will sell regulate. Obviously, if it took 15 yrs it was not really hurting anyone.

If they are not allow to be blue that whey can BMW use Blue anti-freeze then. I just did my water pump and they gave me blue anti-freeze. If the government reasoning is to make easily identifiable, then Amber break fluid could be confused with power steering or tranny flue and clear could be confuse with gas. Not sure they really though this one through.

[mike-y]

yeah, saw that this weekend. Been using super blue and super gold for years. I still have 2-3 cans of blue in the garage.

[997_RICH]

For reference, If anyone does buy the gold, the "super gold" is also known as "typ 200".