AIBU or am I just thick ?

[daffodillament]

Car journey.. 4 hr round trip on motorway the other day. My oil light starts flashing. Didn't think much of it at first but thought I'd better get it checked out at some services I happened to pass. There was a Co-Op shop with all the usual oils and car maintenance stuff outside. Me, scratching head, didn't have a clue. Popped in and asked person behind the counter which oil would be recommended for my type of car..explained make, age and model etc.. she listened then said.."sorry, I am not allowed to tell you, it's not part of policy, would be liable if anything went wrong..bla bla " FFS, comes to something if they can't help you out at a services ! Stropped out and tried to look on google..was none the wiser. Drove off, on way home found a little garage (mot/car service type place )off the beaten track, popped in and what do you know... sorted thanks to lovely helpful people ! The end. But am I a bit thick for not having a clue about oil ? (and it took me ages to find the leaver thing that opens the bonnet)

Yea, you sound a bit thick. HTH

And ps. cucumber it was actually a woman at the second garage who helped me out.

Are the posters on this thread, who I'm assuming are mostly female, the same people who with a tinkly laugh tell everyone how useless they are at maths?

Woman up and educate yourselves about at least the basics of making sure you have enough liquids in your car or how to find out if you have enough. It's no harder than operating the washing machine or iron.

Go second women at the garage go!

oooh Patti That's harsh.

Last time my oil light came on I was straight in a services. The guy behind the till explained there were different oils and helped me by looking it up on his phone. I then managed to fill the oil up but a lovely taxi driver came over to help and make sure I knew what I was doing. I appreciated it as I had 2 children under 3 crying in the car. I actually did know what I was doing but I was on an 8 hour journey on my own overnight , driving in England for the first time and petrified that I was about to break down in in the dark.

I think yabu to expect the till lassie to know but I'm sure that you'll learn for next time. I now keep a spare of oil in my car to allow top ups

I don't think people are being harsh at all.

Cars are dangerous if operated wrongly and that includes not doing basic maintenance. How to top up screen wash, engine coolant, oil and water should be included on the test. My instructor included it in my lessons and made sure I knew how to do all of those things, check tyre pressure, check lights and brakes and fill up the car.

It kind of scares me that people drive around in cars they actually have no real idea how to run or maintain.

Woman up and educate yourselves about at least the basics of making sure you have enough liquids in your car or how to find out if you have enough. It's no harder than operating the washing machine or iron.

Admittedly, I only passed my test last Friday, but I really agree with this! Since I started learning to drive (longer ago than I want to think about!) I've done all the checks regularly, mostly because not doing some of them (like tyre depth) could land me in trouble. I reckon that if I'm responsible enough to be allowed to drive a car then I ought to be responsible enough to make sure it is safe.

I have sticky labels in my car to remind me about oil type, tyre pressure and which kind of fuel to put in. I know I'm likely to forget things like the manual if I'm in a flap, but I know where my handy reminders are.

Do you not check the air pressure in your tyres, the coolant in your radiator or the water in your window washer system either?

Along with the oil level, all these things should be checked regularly, and before any long journey. Being gormless about your car is not cute.

Chinny Sometimes people going above and beyond like that makes all the difference.

gerda Agreed. All that is checked for me. Panic with the oil light threw me. That's all. I know now though.

I think the petrol station guy could see I was struggling to hold a baby and a toddler and concentrate 😂

You're looking for a spoil
Question can of oil
Have I missed a trick
Or are you just plain thick ?

All that is checked for me

Thta's nice, but if you're going to drive you NEED to know how to do it yourself.

you aren't thick but you do need to learn how to open the bonnet, where the oil goes and which oil is needed. And you need to perform the basic safety checks which include checking oil level, not waiting for a light.

many on MN are way too precious to do this, don't be one of them!

I'm thick. No DH. Am doomed

Thanks specialsubject I intend to learn all this ! X

Filling up the fuel, oil, water, coolant and checking the tyres is really basic stuff. It should be done regularly and there is NOTHING complex about it at all. You might need to read the manual the first couple of times to check what goes where in your particular car, or the type of oil/tyre pressure, but there is not excuse for not being able to do them.

I filled up the oil whilst parked outside my daughter's dance studio recently . One of the other mum's was amazed "Ooooh, I couldn't do something like that!". Really? You can't pour a bottle of oil into a hole?

For what it's worth I can change a car battery, tyre and have changed spark plugs on my old car before. The first two are incredibly simple too - although if your tyre was put on using an electric tool then they can sometimes be too tight to turn without a VERY long lever. Which I don't have. Knowing how (and when) to change fuses and bulbs in the car is an obvious "need to know" task too.

Your not thick, I wouldnt know either because I''ve never been a driver.
Book yourself in with a driving instructor and ask them to go through all the basic car maintenance with you. Like how to fill up the oil and water, how to change a wheel etc. They wont laugh at you and its better than breaking down and not knowing what to do.

If you don't drive, it's fine to not know how to do the basic checks on a car, but the suggestion to ask a driving instructor to show you is a little over the top.

Ask a friend or relative with their own car to show you, look on you tube (the manufacturer of my car has a youtube channel with videos showing all this stuff and more), in the manual, buy a Haynes manual, no need to pay a driving instructor.

Hollow - our dipstick is actually crap.
You can put it in 4 times running and get a different reading. It is really hard to see.
I recently discovered that if I wipe the whole length 2-3 times then finally I get a consistent result.

I know all about basic car maintenance and back in the day I used to maintain my own car (pre computer systems)
BUT I had never bought the oil for THIS car and it took me ages to find the right info. The oil packet had a surprising amount of info about car types on it.

How is it hard to find the information?

This page took about 3 seconds to find via Google

www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/EngineOilGuidedSalesMobile?action=findEngineOils&storeId=10001&catalogId=10151&categoryId=165581&langId=-1&vrn=Hx07axp&findPartsVRN=Find

OK, maybe the link isn't working, now I'm getting an error message but if you want check Halfords oil check should get you there

Your link worked for me Patti. Nice car, I've had a few of those.

Bloody expensive oil though, good job most of mine were company cars.

good for you, OP.

the basic checks are:

• screenwash level
• coolant level (when engine cold)
• wiper blades ok
• tyre pressures (must be cold, do it when car has been standing overnight)
• oil level (extract dipstick, wipe, put back, extract again. Car must be on level ground with engine cold. Make damn sure you put dipstick back properly)
• lights: check occasionally to make sure they all work. And definitely check before the MOT and when the nights start drawing in.

changing wheels is not as easy as it used to be, especially as many crappy modern cars don't have spares. But know where the locknut is.

wash it occasionally so you can see out of the windows. Don't carry unnecessary crap about. But do carry a tyre pressure gauge and a footpump.

keep a note in your glovebox with the details of the breakdown company and your car insurers. do not rely on your phone for this.

any dashboard light other than screenwash or 'it's cold outside' (Why?) means immediate action.