Warrant of Fitness fails: five basic checks you can do yourself

Friday, 9 August 2019

Mechanics are speaking up about growing numbers of motorists bringing increasingly dangerous cars to garages. They say the introduction of annual warrant of fitness inspections for most cars was a mistake.

Warrant of Fitness (WoF) first-presentation fails have been rising steadily since the test period for post-2000 vehicles rose from six to 12 months back in 2014.

Over 40 per cent of cars now fail on their initial inspection - many due to lack of basic maintenance.

There's actually a lot you can to to monitor and maintain your vehicle's condition day-to-day, to keep it in safe running order (which is the most important thing) and minimise the chances of multiple visits to the testing station or garage come WoF time.

Here are are the five most common reasons for a WoF fail in NZ - and what you can do to avoid them.

Lights

It's a bit tricky to start checking and adjusting things like alignment and positioning, but assuming your car's lighting hasn't been modified in any way (which can be a minefield of potential fails), there's one often-overlooked thing that you can definitely check at home.

Like, make sure all your lights are working.

* The bits under your car's bonnet

* Over-50s leave youngsters stranded on car care

If you can see the whole '20' your tread is getting low.

* Young NZ drivers not taking responsibility for car safety

Many of us don't do it enough, but checking tyre pressures is quick and easy.

* Drivers failing to carry out simple winter safety checks

* Important dashboard symbols**

Sounds obvious, right? But because you can't actually see all your car's lighting while you're driving, it's easy to overlook.

So have a friend stand outside the car and check that lamps (low/high beam), daytime running lights if you have them and especially indicators.

Have a look at the high-stop brake light, especially if it's one of those aftermarket jobs that you stick on yourself: see that it's still securely attached and operating at full illumination. They wear out over time but are easily replaced.

Steering and suspension are critical to safety. For obvious reasons.

Tyres

Tyres are the most important and arguably most overlooked aspect of vehicle maintenance.

Make sure your tyres are correctly inflated at all times. It's basic safety but it also drastically increases your chances of identifying other issues with steering and suspension. And yes, you can fail a WoF for a tyre that's dramatically under or over-inflated.

Tyres must have at 1.5mm of tread depth, preferably more. Put a 20-cent coin in the tread and if the whole of the number 20 can be seen, it means there's less than 2mm remaining.

You might not be able to spot brake problems. But if your car is otherwise healthy you'll feel them.

Check the general condition of the tyres: they shouldn't have lumps or bulges that indicate damage, exposed cords or cuts in the sidewall that are more than 25mm long.

You could fail for having mismatched or incorrect-size tyres for your wheels. Manufacturer markings and specifications need to be visible on the sidewall.

And don't forget to check the spare. It needs to be properly inflated and securely mounted.

Wiper blades have to operate correctly - including the washer, so check nozzles and keep the bottle topped up.

Squeaking windscreen wipers are massively annoying. Here's how to stop them. (Video published August, 2021)

Steering and suspension

This sounds pretty specialised but if you have a well-maintained vehicle (see tyres above) you will be able to identify impending problems with steering and suspension.

You'll fail a WoF for having modified or damaged steering and suspension components.

Make sure your wheels are correctly aligned (visit a tyre service centre for that) and tyres correctly inflated, and you'll soon notice whether your vehicle is pulling to one side, the steering is unusually stiff or there are issues with suspension performance - including unwelcome noises.

Steering racks do wear out on older vehicles because they are subject to high temperaturess under the bonnet and road debris can damage components and contaminate fluid. Ensuring the power steering fluid is changed at the appropriate service time can go a long way towards extending the life of the rack.

Brakes

Again, a holistic approach to other areas of maintenance will increase your chances of identifying brake problems. Noises, vibration, poor pedal feel… they all indicate potential problems that should be attended to.

A WoF inspection will cover the condition of major components, including hoses and connections. It might be a bit too much of a deep dive, but you can take a look for obvious deterioration and especially rust: there should not be corrosion within 150mm of a brake mounting point.

The handbrake often catches people out. If needs to be correctly adjust and hold the vehicle securely. It's an easy thing to have adjusted, but commonly forgotten… until WoF time.

Windows and wipers

Windscreens have to be free of major damage and not have anything stuck over them that might obscure vision.

In particular, the Critical Vision Area (CVA, see illustration) must be damage-free, although wear-and-tear such as surface pitting and small scratches are acceptable.

If your windscreen has been rejected and then repaired, it must be certified to AS/NZS2366 or NZS5470. That's a lot of numbers, but an authorised repairer will do it to specification; just make sure you bring the receipt/certification back for the retest.

Check that your rearview mirrors are securely mounted (excessive vibration could cause a fail) and that the glass is not damaged.

Wiper systems have to be fully functioning, including nozzles. It pays to check and clean wipers regularly anyway, especially in winter, and make sure your washer bottle is full and ready for the WoF test.