The Christchurch woman and fulltime mechanic hosted “Girls and Gasoline” sessions in Dunedin on Friday and Saturday.
Ms Hannon, who has been a mechanic for 19 years, said she still felt like “a bit of an outlier” in her position.
“It’s still a very small industry for a woman to be into a man’s trade, but it’s accepted more around the country to be a woman in this trade.”
The course takes women through all the basic skills, including replacing a tyre, checking engine oil, coolant levels, air filter, brake and power-steering fluid; how to jumpstart a vehicle; changing light bulbs and wiper blades and how to safely jack up a vehicle.
“I just knew that there wasn’t anything out there for women or ladies to learn the basics of vehicle maintenance.
“I wanted to do something in a fun, friendly environment that was more than just coming out to learn something, but getting a little community together and making it fun and just teaching them how to maintain their own vehicle makes it less scary.”
Each session is limited to eight women..
“We’ve had an amazing response.
“They come away with so many skills, and it just takes the scary moment out of breakdowns or being under the bonnet of their vehicle.
“Just having that little bit of knowledge is really encouraging for them.”
Dunedin resident Diana Thomas participated in Saturday’s session.
“My parents never encouraged me and my sisters to get our licence.
“So I only actually got mine as an older person.
“I didn’t have like my dad to show me how to do all of this stuff when I was younger — so I felt like I was a wee bit behind anyway.”
Having recently bought a couple of cars, Ms Thomas felt it was time to get some skills.
“I hope I never have to change a tyre, but now I have that confidence that I can do it,” she said.
Ms Hannan said once people got involved with their vehicle, everything became “less scary”.
She has hosted her sessions all over the country.
“Once you kind of know the basics and are confident with it, it really just takes the pressure off, especially knowing how to change a wheel.
“There’s nothing worse than being stuck on the side of the road and having to call for help, but just a little bit of knowledge and the confidence behind the wheel is just awesome.”
