What’s the Deal with Reverse Lights?
So, your reverse lights. Those bright, white ones on the back of the car that pop on when you chuck it in reverse. They’re actually more important than most folks realise. Think about backing out of Pak’nSave car park, or wriggling out onto Peachgrove Road on a foggy winter morning, or trying to park in the dark near Chartwell – without reverse lights, it’s a much riskier move. They let everyone know you’re about to head backwards, help you see what’s behind (especially on those dark Hamilton nights), and keep kids, cyclists, and other drivers safe.
But like everything on your car, reverse lights can start playing up. Some of the usual culprits we see here in the workshop: blown bulbs, cracked or cloudy lenses (a classic after hitting a speed bump on Ulster Street a bit quick), wiring dramas from years of rough weather, or sometimes just a random electrical fault that pops up – especially on older Subarus or that quirky Peugeot 307 we had in from Cambridge last week. Even Toyotas and Mazdas, known for being bulletproof, get the odd issue with reverse lights after a few years battling NZ roads.
Can Damaged Reverse Lights Fail Your WOF?
Short answer – yeah, they can. In New Zealand, if your reverse lights aren’t working properly, you could well be staring down the barrel of a failed WOF. Happens more often than you’d think, especially with folks from Te Awamutu, Ngaruawahia, and Morrinsville bringing in older Honda Jazzes or even late-model BMWs with electrical gremlins.
The things that’ll trip you up on WOF day:
- Lights not working when you put the car in reverse – sometimes both, sometimes just one. Often it’s just a simple bulb swap.
- Lenses cracked or letting in water (you see this heaps after a prang in the Countdown car park). If moisture’s got in, time for a new lens.
- Reverse lights coming on when they shouldn’t, or not going off – often a switch fault or dodgy wiring, especially on older European models.
- Bulbs gone dim or lenses faded so the light’s a bit average – again, usually just a quick replacement sorts it.
Is It Safe to Drive With Dead Reverse Lights?
Look, you technically can drive, but honestly, why risk it? No one knows you’re backing up, you can’t see bugger-all behind you – accidents happen quick, especially around the busy bits of Hamilton. We had a customer from Rototuna in with a Nissan X-Trail that nearly backed into a delivery van on Grey Street because they hadn’t noticed both reverse bulbs were gone! Easiest fix they’d had in ages, and now they can actually see the potholes by the letterboxes again.
Need New Reverse Lights or a Quick Fix?
If your car’s reverse lights are out, flickering, or just looking a bit sad, bring it in. Doesn’t matter if you’ve got a late-model Kia Sportage, a Suzuki Swift, a Ford Ranger from the dairy farm out Morrinsville way, or even a hybrid Prius that’s done a decade of commuting up and down SH3.
Here at Grimmer Motors, we swap out blown back-up bulbs, clean up or replace dodgy lenses, chase down wiring faults and blown fuses, and sort dodgy switches. Been under bonnets since before some of these import vans were even built, so we know what lasts in Hamilton’s hot, dusty summers and dicey, damp winters. We fix up all sorts – from reverse lights to headlights, tail lights, indicators, the lot. If you need a bigger lighting job, we’re happy to sort that too.
Bottom line – working reverse lights are a must for safety, for your WOF, and just for making life a bit less stressful on the Kiwi roads. If you’re in Hamilton or anywhere nearby – give us a yell, and we’ll have your car sorted in no time.