New survey reveals maintenance knowledge gaps
![](https://www.bodyshopmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/BSM_tyretread_roadsafety_060623.jpg)
Leading retail group JCT600 has revealed that 33% of car owners do not know how to check brake fluid and 26% of car owners wouldn’t know how to change a tyre.
It surveyed more than 2,000 drivers to discover where the most common knowledge gaps are when it comes to vehicle maintenance.
Apart from a third not knowing how to change brake fluid and a quarter unable to change a tyre, it also found that 20% of car owners do not know how to change a windscreen wiper blade, 10% can’t check tyre tread, while nine per cent don’t know how to check a vehicle’s oil levels or tyre pressure.
Graham Thacker, director responsible for aftercare at JCT600 said: “With so many car owners in the UK, it’s surprising in a way how many of us do not know how to perform basic maintenance checks on our vehicles. But in another way, it’s less surprising that with such busy lifestyles, many of us choose to leave car maintenance to the professionals so that we can get on with our day.”
The data also revealed that those who went to university or completed a post-graduate degree were more likely not to know how to change a tyre (25% and 29%), windscreen wiper (18% and 22%), or check their brake fluid (32% and 39%).