Education

That dismal feeling that sets in when you’ve realised your car battery has gone kaput isn’t one that is recalled fondly! If you haven’t had the misfortune of this happening to you (yet!), now’s your chance to turn the tide on one of those fails that seems to catch every driver out at least once […]

Your car has brakes. The size of the brakes determine stopping power, the ventilation deters brake fade, and your brake components range far and wide. There’s a lot going on with stopping your car basically. Your brake pads are what make contact with your brake rotors. This contact creates friction, which creates heat. The friction […]

Your car has a lot of safety features that keep you safe that you’ll (hopefully) never use. Things like airbags, seatbelts, crumple zones and even fire extinguishers, all of these are great for when you’re having a crash. What about to avoid a crash though. These things can save your life, let alone your car. […]

Ugh, the irking thought of car repairs.  They’re always looming in the background of any driver’s consciousness.  And generally accompanying those thoughts is a sense of dread around the scope of the car repairs, and what the cost is to fix parts. Here at My Auto Shop, we think knowledge is power.  And we’re here […]

So, you’re thinking about buying an electric vehicle (EV), or you already own one.  Nice.  We thought it’d be useful to give you a bit of a guide about where to charge it. Sure, most EV drivers will find charging at home or in a carpark at work can be convenient, but there comes that […]

For many of us, our big annual break comes around at the end of one year, and the beginning of another.  Even if you’re working through the period, you’re no doubt scrambling to get out the door and out to a holiday destination. Sure enough, the roads are busier, bottlenecks more frequent and we daresay […]

Expert’s guide to summer car maintenance Woohoo!  As I write this article, New Zealand’s famous sun is pouring in through the windows and I’m reminded of everything wonderful about living in this country.  Not least the idea of hitting the road and getting out to a beach after months spent in lockdown! If you’re anything […]

If you’ve ever parked on a steep hill, you’ll need to say thanks to your park brake. Your brake pedal uses your brake pads to slow the car down. The parking brake system utilises the same idea. It uses the rear brakes to lock the rear wheels. In an automatic transmission you have park, that’s […]

Shock absorbers do what their name suggests. They absorb shocks. There are a few different types of shock absorber but they all do the same job, provide a smooth ride. When you’re driving your car and it hits a bump, your shocks are what absorb and distribute the impact. They are an integral component of […]

When you depress the brake pedal, brake fluid is pumped from the master cylinder. This hydraulic fluid gets to the brakes through the brake lines. Over time, as your brake fluid boils and returns to the brake fluid reservoir, it can collect moisture, break down and your pedal feel will suffer. As a result your […]

Your spark plugs are responsible for igniting the fuel and air mixture in your petrol engine. They work extremely hard, endure heat cycles and wear over time. Spark plugs can be replaced with the OEM specification plugs as recommended. By sticking to the manufacturer’s service schedule you can ensure that your cars performance isn’t compromised. […]

It’s a wonderful by-product of our increasingly busy lives that we have the opportunity to spend time on the things that really make us tick.  Whether that’s work, family, sport or another hobby (driving, anyone?), we all want to spend more time doing what we love, with the people we love, rather than spending endless […]

If your cars’ cooling system is overworked and underpaid, there’s a chance your car overheats on a hot day stuck in traffic. There’s only so much your engine coolant and water pump can do. If your temperature gauge tells you that a sabbatical on the side of the road is required, you’d best listen. Overheating […]

You want a fast car, who wouldn’t? But it’s got a DCT transmission, what’s that? Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all you need to know on how a dual clutch transmission works.  A manual gearbox has one clutch, an automatic transmission has a torque converter, but now there’s an automatic transmission with two clutches. Is […]

You’ve got brake lights, you’ve got headlights, lights for turning, daytime running lights, and even lights for opening your door. But what about fog lights? What do fog lights do? Why do you need them?  Fog lights, or fog lamps as some call them, help you see through…. You guessed it – fog. When fog […]

If your temperature gauge zings off the charts and there’s steam pouring out from under your hood, you’re in trouble. Most likely cause is a blown head gasket. If your engine overheats, your cylinder head gets lifted due to the expansion, and coolant leaks into the combustion chamber. That means your head gasket failed, and […]

Your car needs fuel to run. Unless it’s electric, then it needs… whatever that is, magic? I don’t know.  In order to get your engine to run you need to get fuel from the gas tank, through the fuel line, at a certain fuel pressure so that your fuel injection system can operate. All modern […]

An engine needs fuel, air and spark to make it run. The piston is what takes this explosion and sends that energy down through the connecting rod and spins the crankshaft. It sounds complicated and technical. It kind of is.  But a piston is a neat thing and does a neat job. This job is […]

A radiator is pretty neat. It looks like a big sheet of steel with radiator hoses coming out of it. That is partially true to be fair. We can give you a more detailed description on how a radiator works. Your radiator is one of the key components in cooling the engine. Your cooling system […]

You wake up in the morning and you drink a glass of water to quench your thirst, then you have a morning coffee and you’re up and running for the day. Your car is much the same, it has some essential fluids that it requires to run optimally.  They are all extremely important and they […]

The price of fuel at the moment is nothing short of painful. With Brent Crude Oil sitting at around $80 a barrel at the time of writing, we’re all feeling it at the pump.  There has to be some way to get more range out of your cars’ fuel. We have a few tips to […]

You’ll often hear how diesel cars get really good gas mileage and often outperform similar petrol cars in the process.  We could talk about some seriously complicated science stuff, or just tell you what you need to know. There’s a difference between fuel economy and fuel efficiency.  Fuel economy is related to how you drive […]

The quote has come back from the mechanic and they say you need a timing belt change. It sounds expensive, clock-based and confusing. Well you’re right about two of those and close on the third.  It can be expensive, it can be confusing, and it does kind of involve timing. A timing belt replacement is […]

If you’ve ever been confronted with a large repair bill from a mechanic you may have thought supplying your own sourced parts would save you some of the expense. It’s never been easier to look online and check the latest price for car parts via Repco or Super Cheap Auto. You may even have brake […]