Written by Menswear Style in Cars on the 10th December 2018

You are driving along and suddenly a symbol on your car dashboard lights up, warning you of a potential hazard. You start to feel uneasy, not knowing what this means or could result in. It is important to understand what these warning lights mean and how they can affect your vehicle's handling and driving. It's crucial to ensure that your car is functioning to the best of its ability to avoid any mishaps.

It is normal to be worried about a costly trip to the garage but this can easily be avoided providing you spot these warning lights sooner rather than later. Dashboards may be different depending on the model of your car, but all these signals stay relatively the same. Here are a few of the reasons why warning lights appear:

What is coolant warning light? The means your coolant level is low and without this your car will be too hot to function properly. As a result, causing damage to your engine. What is the oil warning light? If this icon appears it is likely that your car is running low on oil. The best thing is to check your oil levels and top it up using the markers on the dipstick. What is the tyre pressure warning light? This means that the tyre-pressure monitoring system has detected a drop in pressure. Either by a puncture or they may need inflating slightly. 

What is the brake warning light? If this appears it may mean that the handbrake has been left on whilst driving, or it may mean that you are low on brake fluid and your hydraulic brake system has an issue. What is the hydraulic power steering warning light? The most common cause for this indicator is a lack of power steering fluid, or a more severe issue with the system. What is the glow plug warning light on diesel cars? This is for the heating elements that help start your engine, if this appears it could be a fault requiring a check-up.

Do any of these sound familiar? The best thing you can do is to brush up on your car dashboard warning light knowledge. So, if one of these lights appears in the near future, you know exactly what they mean and how to effectively resolve it. However, if in doubt, have a professional check it out. For more information on dashboard symbols, check out this resource and the below visual guide.

We explain what car dashboard, hazard and warning lights mean, whether its a drop in tire pressure or engine damage.