Survey reveals gaps in maintenance knowledge

Almost half of women drivers don’t know how to carry out the most basic car maintenance checks, according to a new survey.

SimpleMotoring.co.uk – who carried out the research – found that just 51.8% of female motorists know what they’re doing when it comes to checking tyre pressure and oil and water levels.

Taking the motor to a garage is still intimidating for 4 in 5 women, the survey claimed, an anxiety shared by 63% of men too.

This weariness over garages could be linked to ignorance over how their car works, reckons SimpleMotoring.co.uk.

Of the 551 drivers questioned in the survey, 89% of men and women said that they would like to understand how their car works ‘a bit better’ then they do. Interestingly, this figure was virtually the same for men (88.6%) and women (89.2%).

Roland Head, founder of SimpleMotoring.co.uk, said motorists can learn how to check oil, water and tyre pressure in five minutes.

“Knowing how to check the oil, water and tyre pressures on your car is an essential element of car ownership,” he said.

“These are not jobs that can safely be left unchecked between services – to do so is to invite problems.

“Flat tyres increase your fuel consumption are more likely to puncture, while a stealthy oil or water leak could end up doing catastrophic and expensive damage to your engine.”

Author: John Simpson, September 19th, 2011
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