Original data · Updated July 2026
The Car-Care Safety Report
Compiled by Brent Rhodes · CarCareTruth Editorial
We read the Safety Data Sheet for every car-care chemical we review, then counted the hazards. Across 808 car-care chemicals and 648 ingredients: 34% carry a DANGER warning, 43% carry a Prop 65 burden, and the most common ingredient of all is Water.
Notable findings
- Carburetor cleaner, deicer, and throttle-body cleaner are the most hazardous categories in CarCareTruth's data; the worst, Carburetor Cleaner, averages 2.3/10 on health. →
- Of the 808 car-care chemicals CarCareTruth has scored, the GHS signal word splits into near-thirds: 34% DANGER, 32% WARNING, 34% none. →
- Across the 2,059 products CarCareTruth reviews, 90% disclose no VOC figure at all; among those that do, the highest is 1,070 g/L. →
- The single most common ingredient in car care, by CarCareTruth's count, is Water, found in 226 products. →
- 62% of the 808 car-care chemicals CarCareTruth scores carry at least one serious health-hazard code (eye damage, organ toxicity, carcinogen, or aspiration risk). →
The headline numbers
34%
carry a DANGER signal word#
273 of 808 car-care chemicals are classed DANGER — the most severe GHS signal word — on their own SDS.
62%
carry a serious health hazard code#
501 products carry at least one H3xx code — eye damage, organ toxicity, carcinogen warning, or aspiration risk.
43%
carry a Prop 65 burden#
350 products either warn under California Prop 65 or contain a Prop 65-listed ingredient.
25%
of disclosed-VOC products are high-VOC#
Of the 216 chemicals that publish a VOC number, 53 are at or above 250 g/L.
16%
have no published SDS we could find#
130 products don't make a Safety Data Sheet easy to find — flagged transparently, not hidden.
5.7
average health score (out of 10)#
Our health score translates the SDS hazard codes and ingredient chemistry into a single 1–10 figure for the realistic home-use case.
226
products contain Water#
The most common ingredient across the whole catalog. We track 600 distinct ingredients in active use across 37 chemical classes.
1%
are EPA Safer Choice certified#
Only 7 products carry the EPA's independent safer-ingredient certification.
More from the data
Each line is computed live from the 808 graded chemicals and 648 ingredients, and carries its own anchor — link the exact figure you quote.
- Most car-care chemicals are milder than their SDS boilerplate implies: of 808 graded, only 84 carry the GHS05 "corrosive" pictogram and just 12 carry GHS06 "acute toxicity." #
- 106 of 808 graded chemicals carry H304 — "may be fatal if swallowed and enters the airways" — the aspiration hazard behind most solvent-based products. #
- 75 carry H318, "causes serious eye damage" — the single most common reason eye protection is genuinely warranted. #
- Carcinogen flags are rare in car care: only 27 of 808 graded chemicals carry H350 (known) and 33 carry H351 (suspected). #
- 34 graded chemicals contain a confirmed asthmagen (a respiratory sensitizer), and 59 are flagged toxic to aquatic life. #
- Eye protection is warranted far more often than a respirator: 110 chemicals rate eye protection "required" versus 55 for breathing protection and 89 for skin. #
- Among the 314 chemicals that publish a flash point, 127 are flammable — they ignite below 60 °C. #
- Among the 314 chemicals that publish a pH, 11 are strongly acidic (pH below 3) and 31 strongly alkaline (pH above 11) — the rest sit in a milder middle. #
- Of every category we grade, Glass Water Spot Remover is the most corrosive-heavy: 5 of 9 carry the GHS05 pictogram. #
- The three most common chemical classes across our 648 catalogued ingredients are Solvent Aliphatic (68), Surfactant Nonionic (54) and Fragrance (46). #
- 158 of 648 catalogued ingredients are environmentally persistent — they don't readily break down. #
Signal-word split: near-perfect thirds
The GHS signal word on each car-care chemical's own SDS.
VOC levels — and how rarely they're disclosed
Only 216 of 2,059 products publish a VOC number at all. Among those that do (highest: 1,070 g/L):
The most hazardous categories
Car-care categories ranked by average health score (lowest first; categories with at least 5 chemicals).
| Category | Products | % DANGER | Avg health |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carburetor Cleaner | 17 | 100% | 2.3 |
| Wheel Coating & Sealant | 6 | 83% | 3.3 |
| Penetrating Oil / Multi-Purpose Lubricant | 17 | 100% | 3.3 |
| Rust Converter | 8 | 63% | 3.5 |
| Undercoating | 6 | 100% | 3.6 |
| Deicer / Frost Spray | 12 | 83% | 3.7 |
| Silicone Lubricant | 9 | 100% | 3.7 |
| Throttle Body Cleaner | 6 | 83% | 3.7 |
| Anti-Seize Compound | 6 | 100% | 3.9 |
| MAF Sensor Cleaner | 5 | 100% | 3.9 |
| Tire Cleaner | 10 | 50% | 4.1 |
| Engine Degreaser | 12 | 33% | 4.3 |
The most common ingredients in car care
By number of products they appear in. 273 of the 600 tracked ingredients appear in just one product — a long tail of niche chemistry.
| # | Ingredient | Flags | Products |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Water | — | 226 |
| 2 | Petroleum Distillates, Hydrotreated Light | VOC | 83 |
| 3 | 2-Butoxyethanol | VOCProp 65 | 56 |
| 4 | Isopropyl Alcohol | VOC | 53 |
| 5 | Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) | — | 52 |
| 6 | Carbon Dioxide | — | 43 |
| 7 | Propane | — | 38 |
| 8 | Fragrance | — | 37 |
| 9 | Acetone | — | 36 |
| 10 | Ethanol | VOC | 29 |
| 11 | Aluminum Oxide (Alumina) | — | 27 |
| 12 | d-Limonene | VOCAsthma | 27 |
| 13 | Toluene | VOCProp 65 | 26 |
| 14 | Alcohols, C9-C11 Ethoxylated | — | 24 |
| 15 | Xylene (mixed isomers) | VOC | 24 |
Browse all 648 ingredients in the chemical reference.
The most common hazards
At the ingredient level
Across the 648 distinct ingredients in our library, 184 (28%) are volatile organic compounds, 33 (5%) are California Prop 65-listed, 9 (1%) are respiratory sensitizers (asthmagens), and 2 (0%) are PFAS-class chemicals. Browse them all in the ingredient index.
Methodology
Every figure is computed live from the 808 car-care chemicals reviewed on CarCareTruth as of July 2026. Signal words, GHS hazard codes, VOC levels, and Prop 65 status come from each manufacturer's published Safety Data Sheet; ingredient flags from published ingredient disclosures. Denominators: signal-word, Prop 65, and hazard-code percentages are over all 808 chemicals; VOC percentages are over only the 216 chemicals that disclose a VOC number. These are GHS classifications from the SDS — not our own safety recommendations. The full underlying records are public in the SDS database, and you can look up any single product in the SDS lookup tool.
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Explore the data
For comparison and research only — always read the actual SDS and label before handling any chemical product.