According to a nationwide survey commissioned by Castrol, many owners of internal combustion engine cars are risking damage to their vehicle’s vital components by delaying essential checks of the oil level.
The survey found 59% of car owners last checked their vehicle’s oil level up to three months ago, while a further 31% left it for four months or longer. However, Castrol recommends drivers check their engine oil at least once every 1,000 miles, and always before a long trip. Ensuring a vehicle’s oil level is sufficient helps to safeguard an engine’s vital components, including the valvetrain, timing chain, pistons, and bearings, from damage and wear.
When asked: ‘How often is the oil level of your car checked?’, only 24% of drivers said at least once a month, compared to 26% once every three months, 19% once every six months, and 16% at least once a year. Older drivers are most likely to leave a longer period between checks, with 22% of those 65 or older saying the level is checked just once per year. Those in London are most likely to conduct a regular check of the oil level, with 49% saying they do so at least once per month, compared to just 9% of those in the South-West.
A clear majority (80%) of car owners say they know how to check the oil level in their current car, although that proportion is lower among women (70%) than men (92%). 6% of all car owners admit to having never checked the oil level on a car.
The survey also found most respondents (79%) would feel confident in judging how much oil to put in their own car engine if the indicated oil level was low. However, this proportion is also much higher among men (88%) than women (68%).
When asked, ‘Who typically manually checks the oil level in your car’s engine?’, the largest proportion of car owners (64%) check it themselves, compared to those who ask a partner or spouse (16%) or a vehicle workshop (15%). A far greater proportion of men check oil level themselves (79%) than women (44%). While many check the oil level on their own car, the survey found over a third (34%) would prefer their technician or mechanic to do so.
Vincent Panel, Head of Product & Communications – Europe at Castrol, said: “Our latest survey shows that many drivers are leaving it much longer than we, and most car manufacturers, would recommend before checking their vehicle’s oil level. While many modern cars have oil level sensors that indicate when the levels become dangerously low, early stages of wear and component damage could already be happening by the time the driver is alerted.
“With many drivers preferring to leave essential oil checks to others, we urge more workshops to offer a simple oil check service to their customers as a means of driving footfall and identifying other essential work.”
