Modern vehicles have some indictor lights that can be confusing. Here’s what these uncommon dashboard warning lights mean.
Most people understand the check engine light, tire pressure warning, and battery lights. These are easy to spot and understand. The airbag warning light is pretty self-explanatory, but there are other indictor lights that could be confusing. Additionally, you might not be sure a system is on and functioning if the light is off, which makes the situation even more difficult for you.
Here are a few of the most uncommon warning lights and what they mean.
Transmission Temperature
When you break down what this light looks like it become obvious, but at first you might think to yourself “what is that?” You might never see this light or think about your transmission, but it’s a circular gear with a thermometer in the middle, indicating your transmission has reached a critical temperature. This can happen when towing heavy loads or if your transmission fluid level is too low.
Traction Control, Stability Control
This light looks like a car that has swerved on a winding road, but the two squiggly lines under the car show what these systems are trying to avoid and help you from getting into trouble. If you experience slick roads or the car begins to go out of control during foul weather, this light should illuminate, indicating the systems are doing their job. You shouldn’t see this light when driving during regular conditions at moderate speeds. If it comes on during your normal driving, either you have bad driving habits or there’s a flaw in the system.
Automatic Emergency Braking Disabled
This is one of the more common modern warning lights, but some people are confused by its meaning. When its illuminated, the driver has shut off the automatic emergency braking system. The light looks like two cars hitting each other, which should be a pretty good indication of what needs to be done. The system can shut off temporarily if it detects debris or road conditions that limit the system’s ability to function properly, which means you can’t rely on this electronic system when the light is on.
Automatic Steering Disabled
If your vehicle is equipped with an automatic steering system, there’s a warning light that indicates when this system isn’t working or has been turned off. The light shows a car swerving to the side of another car, showing that its avoiding an accident. This system is in place to help you stay out of trouble but can become disabled either by the driver or when debris and road conditions limit its ability to function properly.
Freezing Temperatures, Roads May Be Icy
If you see a light that looks like a falling snowflake flanked with two angled lines, it’s not a weather prediction. This is one of the most helpful warning lights, informing you that the roads might be icy because the temperatures have dropped below freezing. This should be a warning to you to be much more cautious than you normally would be when driving. Thankfully, this is one of the few warning lights that doesn’t mean anything is wrong; you only need to drive more cautiously than you might normally would.
Automatic Stop-Start Active
If you see a green light with an A in the middle surrounded by a nearly complete circle with an arrow at the end, don’t worry. This should happen every time you come to a stop as long as you have the automatic Stop-Start function of your vehicle working. If you turn this system off, you won’t see this light, but you should feel the engine shut off at lights and see this light if the system is working properly.
Lane Keep Assist Off
Lane Keep Assist might have two warning lights. The first would be a vehicle with two lane lines that illuminates when you come too close to the lane lines and the system has to push you back toward the center. The second shows a vehicle crossing the lane line at an angle with the word OFF underneath. This second warning light tells you the system is off, which should only happen when you turn it off, or the system fails to function due to an error.
These are just a few of the dashboard warning lights you’ll see in your vehicle. Most cars show all warning lights for a few seconds when you start the car, and then the lights turn off as long as the systems are functioning correctly. Are there any warning lights on your dashboard that you aren’t sure of their meaning?
