Failed your Warrant of Fitness (WOF)?
In New Zealand, every car on the road needs a current Warrant of Fitness. A failed WOF can be stressful — your car isn’t legal to drive as normal until the failed items are fixed, and you’ve got a 28-day window to get it repaired and rechecked before the whole inspection has to be done again from scratch. Fortunately, we want to make the process of getting your WOF sorted as straightforward and simple as possible.
At Grimmer Motors, we repair every common WOF failure under one roof — brakes, suspension, steering, lights, rust, tyres, exhaust and more. Bring in your check sheet and one of our mechanics will clearly explain what failed, why it failed, and what it will take to fix it. No jargon, no run-around.
Want to know what your repairs will involve before you commit?
Common reasons for a failed WOF (and how we fix them)
Below are the failure categories we see most often on Hamilton WOF check sheets, with links to our detailed guides for each one.
Brakes failed WOF
Your brakes are the most safety-critical system on your car, and the WOF checks them hard — pedal feel, brake hoses, pads, discs and overall braking performance. A spongy pedal, leaking hose or worn pads are all instant fails. See our guide to service brake WOF repairs. If the problem is deeper in the system, we also handle brake valve faults and brake imbalance, where one side brakes harder than the other and pulls the car on a stop.
Suspension failed WOF
The suspension is the system of springs, shock absorbers, struts, bushes and links that keeps your tyres planted on the road. Any worn or broken component can fail a WOF. Start with our general suspension WOF repairs guide, or go straight to the component: springs, shock absorbers and strut assemblies.
Steering failed WOF
Excessive play in the steering wheel, worn rack ends or a noisy power steering system will all get flagged at WOF time. Our loose steering WOF repairs guide covers the common causes. A cracked power steering belt is another frequent culprit — cheap to catch early, a headache if it lets go on the expressway.
Car lights failed WOF
Every light on your car — headlights, brake lights, indicators, reversing lights and more — must work correctly to pass a WOF. Blown bulbs, cloudy lenses and dodgy wiring are some of the most common fails we see. Our car light WOF repairs hub covers every light the inspector checks and how we fix each one.
Seatbelts and seats failed WOF
Frayed webbing, a buckle that won’t click and hold, or a retractor that doesn’t lock when the belt is pulled out quickly will all fail a WOF — seatbelts are your last line of defence in a crash. See our fixes for failed seatbelt inspections. Seats themselves are checked too: a loose seat frame or rusted mounts is a fail, and our car seat repair team can sort it.
Rust and structural damage failed WOF
Hamilton’s damp winters are hard on car bodies. Surface rust can usually be stripped back, treated and repainted right here in the workshop — see our WOF rust repairs guide. Structural areas get extra scrutiny: our subframe checks and repairs guide covers what the inspector looks for underneath, and towbar rust is a surprisingly common fail on its own.
Tyres and wheels failed WOF
The minimum legal tread depth is 1.5mm, and tyres also fail for damage, perishing, mismatched sizes or uneven wear that points to other problems. Our tyre WOF repairs guide has the full rundown. A noisy or loose wheel bearing is another wheel-related fail we fix all the time.
Exhaust failed WOF
A leaking, smoky or excessively loud exhaust will fail its WOF. From a rusted-out muffler to a damaged manifold or hanger, our exhaust WOF repairs guide explains what gets checked and how we fix it.
Car doors failed WOF
Doors need to open, close and latch securely from both inside and outside. Worn hinges, sagging doors and broken handles are typical fails — see car door WOF repairs.
Horn failed WOF
Your horn must work reliably and be loud enough to be heard. Faulty wiring, a blown fuse or a worn clock spring behind the steering wheel are the usual suspects — see car horn WOF repairs.
Windscreen and wipers failed WOF
The WOF checks your windscreen and wipers together: cracks or chips in the driver’s vision area, perished wiper blades and blocked washer jets are all fails. Our windscreen repair tips for WOF guide covers the lot.
Airbag (SRS) system failed WOF
If your airbag or SRS warning light is on during the inspection, your car will fail — the system can’t be trusted to protect you in a crash. We diagnose, repair and reset airbag systems; see airbag WOF repairs.
Driveshaft and CV joints failed WOF
CV joints deliver engine power to the wheels while letting them steer and move with the suspension. A split CV boot, clicking on full lock or play in the driveshaft will fail a WOF — see driveshaft WOF repairs.
The 28-day recheck: how it works
When your car fails its WOF, the clock starts. Get the failed items repaired and bring the car back to the same inspection organisation within 28 days, and only the items that failed need to be rechecked. Miss that window and the car has to go through a complete new inspection.
Two things catch people out during the recheck period:
- Driving the car. Once your car has failed, you shouldn’t be driving it as normal — generally you’re only allowed to drive it to get the faults repaired, and only if it’s safe to do so. Driving an unwarranted car can also lead to a fine; see what the fine is for having no WOF.
- Insurance. Your cover can be affected while the car is unwarranted. We’ve written guides on insurance during the 28-day WOF recheck period and whether you’re insured with no WOF.
The simplest way to stay out of trouble: get the repairs done promptly, inside the window, and get the recheck ticked off.
Hamilton’s WOF repair specialists
Whatever your car failed on, we can fix it — and explain exactly what we’re doing and why before any work starts. Our mechanics handle WOF repair work every day, across every make and model on Hamilton roads.
You can also see how our WOF checks work on our WOF inspections page.
For reliable WOF repairs in Hamilton, book your car in or request a repair estimate online — we’ll get you back on the road, safe and legal.