Battle of the sexes a wash when it comes to car care
A recent nation-wide survey by Jiffy Lube casts strong doubt upon the age-old image that men know more about cars than women. When asked, for example, where to find a tire's air-pressure, two-thirds of the men answered incorrectly as opposed to 45-percent of women. The percentages were the same when men and women were asked if synthetic oils increased mileage between oil changes.Men fared better in a few questions: 78 percent of men surveyed knew the purpose of antifreeze versus 56 percent of women.
[Source: Jiffy Lube International via PR Newswire]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Puff Chippy 12:39PM (5/12/2006)
"Two-thirds (67 percent) of men and 46 percent of women incorrectly assumed simply switching from conventional engine oil to synthetic oil enables the number of miles between oil changes to be safely extended."
Uh, sorry but synthetics do allow for longer oil change intervals. Oh wait, this study was done by Jiffy Lube. Nevermind...
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Erik 12:43PM (5/12/2006)
A Wash? Yea, riiiight, I HIGHLY doubt that
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karlInSanDiego 12:57PM (5/12/2006)
Poor conclusion from adubious source. Presumedly this was a survey taken at Jiffy Lube by folks who don't/can't do their own maintenance, either because of ignorance, budget, or time. As with all stats, you'd need to observe how many folks read the survey and balked at it's patranizing questions, instead picking up Car&Driver to read half-correct Sport Utility reviews. I've been to Jiffy Lube once in my life as a favor to my Mother. I learned a lot about Jiffy Lube [sic] and nothing about auto maintenance.
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Michael Karesh 1:00PM (5/12/2006)
And how many people replace their wiper blades every six months, or even every year?
It rains enough here for me to know when they're not working well enough. That's when they get replaced, usually every 2-3 years.
A final good one is the serpentine belt. Repair shops often want to replace these. With my wife's previous car, an Olds Intrigue, they loved to point out how the raised grooves, used to align the belt on the pulleys, had small cracks in them. This went on for about four years until I sold the car. Never replaced that belt.
One reason people are so poorly informed is that very few repair shops provide accurate informationn on when maintenance really has to be done. And even when this information is available, it's never clear what it's based on. My suspicion: "that's just the way it's always been done."
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AutoFan 1:44PM (5/12/2006)
Y'know what would be really helpful? If car companies would provide some sort of book with all this kind of maintenance information in it. A manual for the owners, if you will. It'd say when to change oil, check tire pressure, all that stuff. It could be conveniently sized to keep it in, say, the glove box. Maybe in a nice little leatherette case, too.
Someday...someday.....
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Kevin 1:47PM (5/12/2006)
Some cars do have that (like Mazda). Look in your manual and you will find service intervals for everything. Mazda's website even has an owner center that you can keep track of maintenance, and check was service procedure are upcoming.
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Ferguson McSqueege 1:59PM (5/12/2006)
*WOOOOOSH*
That's the sound of Autofan's sarcasm whizzing over Kevin's head.
:)
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Bobby 2:03PM (5/12/2006)
I'm pretty sure all cars have that, not just mazdas.
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AutoFan 2:15PM (5/12/2006)
Ferguson:
Yeah, no kidding. I was worried I'd laid it on too thick, too!
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Peter 2:38PM (5/12/2006)
Actually my ford ZX2 ownders manual is really pathetic in the maintence schedule info. It is mostly a generic contact ford every 3months/3000 miles type crap.
Nothing about when the Timing belt should be changed or that kind of info. Basically generic one size fits all for all fords. Totally useless compared the the manuals that I had with my Mazda 323 and Miata. That specified when everything should be checked/replaced.
Previously I would have considered it sarcasm, but after looking at my ZX2 owners manual, I am not so sure.
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Ferguson McSqueege 3:25PM (5/12/2006)
Peter, grab a Haynes repair manual. If you like to do your own maintenance, it's the best thing you can have.
I always buy one immediately after purchasing a car.
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Richard Warren 3:29PM (5/12/2006)
Ah yes, the most unread novel in the world, the auto owners manual. Yep, got the sarcasm, it was great
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Kevin 3:59PM (5/12/2006)
*WOOOOOSH*
Holy crap! I think my inability to detect that comment as sarcasm must be because my base assumption of the level of automotive knowledge on this website is so low that I assume any comment, no matter how retarded, MUST have been written in earnest.
Thanks, not only for pointing out the sarcasm, but for using "WHOOSH" - I enjoy when sounds are spelled out ;-)
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Corey W. 4:03PM (5/12/2006)
"When asked, for example, where to find a tire's air-pressure, two-thirds of the men answered incorrectly as opposed to 45-percent of women"
This survey is a joke!!
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jeff 6:29PM (5/12/2006)
i'm just wondering about the wording they used there. "So many people answered incorrectly..." What if you compared how many people answered correctly? Maybe men are just more likely to pretend they know what they're talking about rather than saying i don't know, cause stereotypes would make them feel like they should know the answer. Maybe men answered 2/3's incorrect and 1/3 correct, while women answered 1/3 incorrect but 2/3's "I don't know".
Just a thought.
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C.P.T.L. 10:34PM (5/12/2006)
There is no 'battle of the sexes,' it's a false, worn, catch-phrase used by lazy bad writers. And there is nothing remarkable about a woman who understands or drives a car.
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