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Do you ever notice all the lights that come up on the dashboard whenever you turn your car on? If they all disappear shortly, you’re in the clear. However, if some or all stay on, you better be ready to take immediate action.

Not all of these lights should make you too worried though. They differ in severity, and knowing which ones are severe and which ones are not can be the difference between saving your car and losing it forever. Luckily, that severity is indicated by the color of the light. If the light is red, that means it’s time to take action as soon as possible. If it is orange or yellow, that means you should pay close attention to your car. If it is green, the light is just trying to tell you something about a system inside your vehicle. It’s important to not only know about the colors of each light, but to also know what each symbol means. Here are some common warning light symbols that are probably on your dashboard:

Low oil pressure

Your vehicle is trying to tell you that your car has low oil pressure when you get a light on your dash that looks like a red oil can. It can also mean that there is an engine malfunction or (hopefully) it’s just a bad sensor.

It is crucial that, once this light comes on, you stop and pull over as soon as it is safe to do so. This is because the oil circulating throughout your car is what keeps the parts from seizing together. If that happens, your engine may not be able to start again.

Engine/coolant temperature

This light comes on whenever the coolant in your engine is hotter than it’s supposed to be. Usually, it will look like a thermometer. Just like the low oil pressure light, if this light comes on, you should pull over as soon as you can because high engine temperature can do some serious damage to your vehicle.

Always wait until the engine cools down before you open up the coolant reservoir. Otherwise, your face may be burned by extremely hot steam.

Check engine light

The symbol for this light looks like an engine of sorts, with a fan on the left side and a flat air filter on the top. This light can be an indicator for various things, such as a problem with your emissions equipment, a loose gas cap, or even something more serious- like a cylinder misfiring.

The best course of action to take when this light comes on is to keep driving with caution. Typically, though, a check engine light isn’t going to be a dire emergency.

It would still behoove you to take your car to the shop as soon as possible. The people there can plug it into their computer and see what the problem is.

Charging system/Battery light

This light means that there is a problem with the way your car is recharging its battery. The symbol for it conveniently looks like a car battery. Whenever this light comes on, you should be cautious because if the battery is not being recharged by the alternator, the battery will gradually discharge while the engine continues to run. If this persists, then your car will not have enough power for even spark plugs to save it, and your engine will die. At that point, your car won’t have enough power to ever start again.

Antilock brake system

The antilock brake system light will come up as the abbreviation “ABS” inside of a circle with half circles around the outside of it. The antilock brake system, as the name suggests, is what keeps your wheels from locking up when you slam your brakes. This allows you to stop much more quickly. Instead of skidding wildly out of control when you slam your brakes, you will quickly come to a halt. This is because of the efficiency of the antilock brake system.

If the antilock brake system is not working, you will still be able to hit your brakes and stop, but you will not be able to do so as effectively or as safely as you would with it working. This puts you and everyone else in the car at risk if you ever have to slam your brakes.

Airbag

The airbag symbol that you generally see whenever you look at your steering wheel is the same symbol that is on your dash – a picture of a person sitting with giant circle next to them (which represents an airbag). When the light comes on, that means that there might be something wrong with the airbags in your vehicle. Airbags are what keep you slamming into your wheel or flying out the window when you get into a crash. If the light is on, that means your airbags may not discharge when you get into a wreck. It could also mean that your airbags could discharge at a time when you aren’t in a wreck, which can be just as dangerous.

Tire pressure

The tire pressure light looks like a horseshoe/tire with an exclamation mark inside of it. When this light comes on, it is indicating that you have significantly low tire pressure.

Fill them up with air when you get the chance, and it should get rid of that light. Unless of course you have something sharp inside your tire like a nail, which is something to look out for.

Seat belt

This light looks like a person sitting in a car with his or her seatbelt on. It lights up whenever you or the front seat passenger does not have your seatbelts on, reminding you to do so. This is for your own safety. If you put it on like you’re supposed to, the light should go off.

Source: https://www.autoinsurancecenter.com/what-are-those-dashlight-warnings-telling-you.htm