How Swedes neglect car maintenance

"They are punished when the winter cold comes" - says expert from CTEK 

7 out of 10 Swedes hardly ever check the battery, while half forget to check the radiator fluid and 38 per cent rarely or never check whether the car's lights are working. ‘As we move towards darker and colder times, it is very important from a safety point of view to keep track of all the key functions of the car to reduce the risk of accidents or immobilisation,’ says Henrik Fagrenius, CEO of CTEK. 

A recent survey of over 1,000 drivers from across Sweden found that Swedes are poor at looking after their vehicles. While tyre pressure and washer fluid are things that many drivers check regularly, the maintenance of the battery, engine oil, coolant and lights is worse. 72% rarely or never check the battery's function and the corresponding figure for the coolant is 53%. More than one in three drivers (38%) do not regularly check if the vehicle's lights are working and almost half (46%) do not routinely check the engine oil in their vehicle. 

- We know that accidents and incidents increase in winter, while traffic increases around the bank holidays. Checking the whole car and making sure it's in good working order should be the norm, says Fagrenius. 

One of the key components of modern cars is the battery and here the survey shows that Swedes have limited knowledge of how batteries and maintenance charging work. For example, only half know how trickle charging works and most are unsure about the risks of using jumper cables in modern cars. 

- It is surprising to see that one in five drivers do not even know how to charge the battery in their car and almost half do not know that the battery discharges even in good weather if the car is left standing. However, the vast majority seem to know that it discharges more easily in cold weather,’ says Henrik Fagrenius.   

About the survey 

The survey was conducted by Norstat and included 1,054 drivers aged 18 and over across the country. The responses were collected during 4-10 September this year.