70% drivers have never checked the oil level of their current car, according to an online survey of 1,300 customers carried out by Swinton, the UK’s leading high street retailer of car insurance.

Women were the worst offenders with a staggering 85% admitting to not checking their oil compared to 52% of men.

The survey found the top five reasons for not checking oil were:

1.  Don’t know how to (35%)

2.  Get someone else to do it for them (17%)

3.  Don’t think it needs doing (14%)

4.  Don’t know what type of oil to use (11%)

5.  Rely on annual service to change/top up oil (9%)

Oil plays a vital part of keeping an engine lubricated, cool, cleaning impurities, protecting from rust and maintaining water good water-tightness.

Running low on oil can cause a lot of damage to a car as the engine gets worn far quicker. In some cases it may ruin an engine completely which can prove very costly as this damage is not covered by motor insurance as all drivers have a duty of care to maintain their vehicle in road worthy condition.

Steve Chelton, Insurer Development Manager for Swinton car insurance, said: “We’d advise all motorists to have a thorough understanding of car maintenance and be able to carry out simple procedures such as checking oil and topping up with water. The older a car gets the faster it consumes oil, so we’d advise people to check their oil level at least every two weeks and carry a spare canister in the car at all times.”