Dashboard Lights: What Do They Mean and Why Should I Care?

Oh, those annoying dash lights. One minute, your car is running fine, the tunes are good, and life is smiling at you and then some symbol pops up on the dash and you don’t know what it means.

Is this something serious? Do you need to take the car in right away? Can this be ignored until payday? Perhaps the most pressing question; how much is this going to cost me?

The good news here is that some of the dash lights aren’t serious and/or they are simple inexpensive fixes.

Don’t fear those dash lights and don’t place a piece of electrical tape over them- if one or more dash lights are lit up on your vehicle, the following guide will help you understand them so you can assess the time frame needed for service.

The Top 10 Most Common Dash Warning Lights and What They Mean

Keep in mind that not all manufacturers use the same lights or even the same symbol. The following are the most common ones you will find on a majority of the cars/trucks/SUVs on the road today.

1. Battery Symbol

If you should see a small picture of a battery light up on your dash or the word “Alt” (which is short for Alternator) or the word “Batt” (Sometimes “Battery”, but this isn’t as common) you may not be too surprised to discover that the car won’t start or it died while you were driving and it won’t restart.

This could be due to several reasons and it isn’t always a dead battery. Some possible causes include:

• Loose battery cables or extremely corroded cables

• The serpentine belt is broken, which means that the alternator can no longer charge the battery

• The alternator or voltage regulator isn’t working

• The battery is dead or has such low voltage that it won’t start the car

If this light comes on while you are driving, do not hesitate to drive it to Hong Kong Auto Service. Chances are that the car will stop running fairly soon, so you might even want to call for a tow to Hong Kong Auto Service.

2. Engine Temperature

This is usually a serious problem and it should never be ignored. The symbol is sometimes just the word “HOT” in red or there’s a symbol showing a thermometer in water that will come on in red.

While sensors sometimes fail and say that the engine is hot when it isn’t, this is very rare. If your vehicle says it’s overheating, chances are very good that it is.

Whether this is due to a broken hose, a broken belt, low coolant in the radiator, a hole in the radiator, or something more serious, the fact is that you can do major damage to the engine and the transmission if you continue to drive the car.

Stop ASAP. Wait for the car to cool off, then inspect the coolant level. If you add coolant and the light goes out, you should drive to Hong Kong Auto Service immediately so our professionals can discover what the problem is.

3. Tire Pressure Warning

This symbol is sometimes an exclamation point inside a circle or it might look like a low tire with an exclamation point inside the tire.

Called the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (or TPMS) this warning means that one or more tires are very low on air pressure and need attention.

Sometimes, the tire is simply low on air, and adding a few pounds will fix the problem. Other times, the sensor inside the tire has malfunctioned. Occasionally, the tire is old and worn out and it needs to be replaced.

Don’t drive a vehicle very far that has low air pressure in any of the tires. This can lead to a blowout and cause you to lose control of the vehicle.

Check the air pressure in all the tires as soon as you can. If the light does not go out and all the tires are OK, bring the car to Hong Kong Auto Service so we can service the TPMS system.

4. Oil Pressure

This is a serious problem that cannot be ignored!

This symbol often looks like an old oil can with a drop of oil leaking out of the spout. Other times, the light simply says “OIL” in red letters.

Stop the car immediately. Pull over as soon as it is safe to do so and stop the motor. Don’t think that you can probably make it home or to work. To avoid major engine damage, stop the motor and inspect the oil level.

The car may only be low on oil but then again, the oil pump could have failed.

If the vehicle is low on oil, add what is needed and then drive to Hong Kong Auto Service. We will inspect your vehicle for leaks or other problems that may have caused this light to go on.

5. Check Engine

This is probably one of the most annoying lights in car history. This warning light is often a picture of an engine, or it may say “Check Engine” or “Service Engine Soon”.

Unfortunately, this warning light could mean anything from a loose or missing gas cap to a major engine problem.

If the vehicle seems to be running fine, you probably don’t have to worry. Call Hong Kong Auto Service for an appointment.

Some manufacturers have tried to narrow things down for car owners by adding a flashing or steady light. If the light is steady, the problem isn’t serious but if the light flashes off and on regularly, then you should see the professional mechanics at Hong Kong Auto Service as soon as possible.

6. Washer Fluid

This symbol, which looks like a windshield with water and a wiper is nothing to worry about.

As the name implies, this symbol is simply telling you that the windshield washer reservoir is very low or empty.

Refill with a high-quality windshield washer fluid when you can.

7. Traction Control

Nearly all vehicles since the 1990s have had some sort of traction control to help assist you in driving when you are on wet or slippery roads.

This symbol looks like a car driving on a curvy road and it means that either the traction control system or the ABS (anti-lock braking system) is having problems.

While this won’t affect your driving in the summer months, this safety feature is very important in the wet or winter months.

Call Hong Kong Auto Service for an appointment to have this problem looked at very soon.

8. Anti-Lock Brakes

Anti-lock brakes, also known as ABS, are a very important safety feature. This system will pump the brakes for you if you hit the brakes too hard and the car starts to skid.

This symbol is often the letters “ABS” inside a circle or inside two circles. While your brakes are probably working fine, you need to have this problem inspected sooner rather than later.

While you don’t need to stop driving, you should take the car to Hong Kong Auto Service as quickly as you can to avoid the possibility of having the brakes lock up while you are driving. This doesn’t happen often, but it is a very real possibility.

9. Airbag Indicator

If you’ve had an accident, even if it was a minor one, and your airbags deployed, then that would explain why this symbol came on the dash.

This symbol often looks like a person wearing a seatbelt with a big O in front of him. Sometimes the “O” has a red X through it.

If this symbol is showing but you the airbags have not deployed, you need to have this problem inspected ASAP. If you should be involved in an accident, the airbags may not deploy.

Call Hong Kong Auto Service for an appointment ASAP. Don’t risk your life driving a car with non-working airbags.

10. Parking Brake

This warning symbol is usually a big red “P” inside a circle. This means that you have left the parking brake on.

While you probably realized it as you were pulling away, a parking brake that is worn out may still let you drive the vehicle.

Release the parking brake. If you are unsure as to whether or not the parking brake is in good working order, bring your car to Hong Kong Auto Service when you can and our experts will be happy to inspect it for you.

There are at least a dozen more warning lights that your car might have, but the above are the most common ones you will see.

Got a Dash Light Problem?

Are one or more of the above dash lights on your vehicle staying on? Is there another dash light that we did not describe here and you aren’t sure what it means?

Call Hong Kong Auto Service. Our expert mechanics are ASE certified, so you know they are trusted professionals who will tell you about your dash warning light, what it means, and how it can be repaired.

Don’t be afraid of those warning lights, these are nothing more than your car’s way of telling you something isn’t working right so you don’t have to wait until the car stops working entirely!

Modern cars are wonderful pieces of ingenuity. Take good care of your vehicle by calling Hong Kong Auto Service today.