What do the dashboard warning lights mean?

Dashboard warning lights have evolved over the years and, moreover, they have multiplied. But do you know what they mean?

The dashboard warning lights have been old companions in cars for a long time. However, what has changed is the number of warning lights we have on the instrument panel, since in a Seat 600 there were no more than 4 and, in its grandchild, the Seat Ibiza, there are more than 50.

Therefore, if our grandparents saw one of them light up, the only thing they could do was stop and pray, since there were four possibilities: oil, petrol, water temperature or the dynamo. It must also be said that the engines of that era were the purest mechanical simplicity, so breakdowns were not like today’s.

Nowadays it is not at all pleasant to watch a warning light come to life before our eyes, but it is true that most are purely informative, so rather than an enemy they are an ally. We have several types of warning lights with different degrees of importance, so we are going to explain them.

The DGT publishes a magazine in which it informs users about this type of problem, although it is true that all the warning lights are thoroughly explained in that great unknown we usually keep in the car’s glovebox: the owner’s manual of our car.

The dashboard warning lights of greatest importance are placed so that we see them almost instantly. In addition, they light up in red or amber, so unless you are looking where you shouldn’t, it is practically impossible not to notice them.

What do the dashboard warning lights mean?

The strangest ones

This type of warning light that inhabits the instrument panel are ones that, when they come on, we do not know exactly what they want to tell us. Some, such as the bulb light indicating a blown headlamp, are easily recognised. However, surely the one indicating excessive brake pad wear is not so recognisable, not to mention the catalyst fault one.

Others, such as the one for a fault in the four-wheel steering, are specific to cars that fit this complex system, so you should not be surprised if you do not find it in your car.

Worry if these come on

Manufacturers have kindly left two warning lights for the most worrying situations: the one for water temperature and the one for oil. If either member of this uncomfortable pair comes on, you must stop immediately if you do not want to send your car straight to the scrapyard.

Another of these uncomfortable members is the engine fault warning light, which warns us that something is not working properly, whether in the engine itself, the injection systems, the ignition or the exhaust. Although it lights up in amber, this is one of the most frightening, since once it is on, we do not really know where the problem is.

Everyday ones

Yes, as we told you earlier, there are some instrument panel indicator lights that are purely informative and require no concern at all. One of them is the handbrake one: have you never jumped quickly into the car and not fully released the handbrake? In that case, thank the (P) light for warning you that you did not do it correctly.

Another common one is the open doors warning, since many times we do not close them properly, so this one alerts us together with the interior light, which stays on. Of course, another important one is the seatbelt one, since although it should never come on because we always have to wear it, it may remind some absent-minded driver.

The watchdogs

These are the ones that have emerged in recent years, as they belong to the latest-generation cars equipped with those guardian angels that watch over our safety on the roads called ADAS.

Therefore, among these we can find some such as lane change warning, the blind spot detector or the sign recognition one, although this last one is not a warning light as such, but is projected onto the on-board computer. These sensors do not always stay on; they come to life when a car passes through our blind spot or we are dangerously drifting into the other lane.

The “millennials”

These are the ones that have arrived with the latest-generation cars. We can find the gear change indicator, which tells us when we should change up or down a gear for more economical driving. Also the typical light with an “A” in the centre, which indicates that the automatic lights are on.

Another warning light we can find is the CNG mode or LPG one in cars that run on gas, or the plug one when we connect an electric vehicle to a charging point. If you are not quite sure what all this about gas cars is, do not miss our colleagues at Driving Eco’s feature on the 8 things about LPG cars you probably did not know.

How will the warning lights of the future evolve?

Like every aspect of the automotive sector, dashboard warning lights are going to evolve. They already are, and thanks to the new digital cockpits such as the one in the new Volkswagen Touareg, we get information in a much clearer way.

However, this will not stop growing, as we have seen innovations such as the Genesis G70 and its 3D instrument cluster. It is also a fact that 3D windscreens with augmented reality are approaching, so we will have to see how dashboard warning lights adapt to the future.