Servicing Guide · Updated June 2026 · By the Brad Ward Motors workshop team
Before West Auckland's wet season sets in, the five things worth checking on your car are tyres, brakes, wipers, lights and the battery. Wet roads, longer nights and cold mornings put extra load on all of them, and they are exactly the items that keep you safe and stop you getting stranded. A quick winter check is cheap insurance, and most of it gets looked at anyway during a service or WOF. Here is what matters most and why, and you are welcome to bring your car into our Henderson workshop for a once-over before winter bites.
- Check tyre tread before winter, grip drops in the wet well before 1.5mm
- Wet roads mean longer stopping distances, so brakes matter more
- Replace perished wipers and top up washer fluid for visibility
- Check every bulb, a blown light is an easy WOF fail
- Test batteries over about four or five years old before cold starts
- Most of this is covered in a service or a winter check
Tyres and braking on wet roads
Tyres are your only contact with the road, and wet West Auckland roads make tread depth matter far more than it does in the dry. The legal minimum is 1.5mm across the tread, but grip in the wet starts dropping well before that, so if you are close to the limit heading into winter it is worth replacing them now rather than after a scare. Check for uneven wear too, which points to alignment or suspension issues.
Brakes work harder in winter because wet roads mean longer stopping distances and more cautious driving. Worn pads or glazed discs that you got away with in summer become a real problem in the wet. We check pad thickness, disc condition and brake fluid as part of any service or winter check.
Wipers, washers and visibility
Winter in West Auckland means heavy rain and shorter days, so being able to see clearly is non-negotiable. Wiper blades perish and split over a dry summer and then smear and judder exactly when you need them. New blades are a cheap fix that makes a big difference. Top up the washer fluid and check the jets are clear so you can clean road grime and spray off the windscreen.
Demisters and heated rear windows earn their keep in winter too. If your windscreen fogs up slowly or the rear demister has dead patches, mention it, as a clear screen is a safety item, not a luxury.
Lights and being seen
With the sun setting early and so much grey, wet weather, your lights are doing far more work in winter than in summer. Walk around the car and check every bulb: headlights on both low and high beam, brake lights, indicators, number plate light and rear fog light if fitted. A blown bulb is an easy WOF fail and an easy thing to miss from the driver's seat.
Cloudy or yellowed headlight lenses cut how far you can see and how well you are seen. If your lights look dull, they can often be restored rather than replaced. Clear lenses and working bulbs are among the cheapest safety upgrades you can make before winter.
Battery and cold starts
Cold mornings are when tired batteries give up. A battery that cranks fine in summer can struggle on the first cold start of winter, often without much warning. If yours is more than about four or five years old, or the car has been slow to start, it is worth a quick test before it leaves you stranded in a wet car park.
We can test your battery and charging system in a few minutes and tell you whether it is healthy, on the way out, or whether the real issue is the alternator. If it does need replacing we quote it first, and if testing shows the battery is fine we will tell you that too.
Talk to a real Henderson mechanic
Quotes, no surprises, all makes and models. MTA approved, 35+ years on Moselle Ave.