A CIRCLE symbol that lights up on your vehicle’s dashboard is a sign you must pull over right away and get a mechanic to fix it otherwise you could find yourself stranded.
As technology has advanced the warning lights that can pop up from time to time has also evolved and every driver needs to know about them.
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Fortunately the experts at the RAC have complied all you need to know to keep you safe on the road.
Generally speaking, the warning lights on your dashboard follow a traffic light colour system.
Green – everything is working correctly or is currently being used.
Yellow – something is not working correctly and you should take extra care and get it checked out as soon as possible.
Red – there is a serious and possibly dangerous problem. Drivers should stop as soon as it is safe to do so.
One key symbol you need to be aware of is a round steering wheel symbol with an exclamation mark next to it.
This is a warning about the power steering and is also known as the EPS or EPAS warning light.
This tells the motorist there is an issue with the power steering.
For electric vehicles this could actually be something simple to fix such as rebooting the car’s computer.
Or it could be something much more serious.
The motoring experts at the RAC say you should find a safe place to stop and try turning the car off, waiting 30 seconds and then turn it back on again.
If the light goes out, all well and good.
But if the light remains on, the RAC warns: “You need to take your car to get checked as soon as possible”.
It also warns: “If the power steering system fails you will notice that the car is harder to manoeuvre, and you should take extra care – it could be dangerous to drive at high motorway speeds without power steering assistance.”
Another key warning light is the airbag warning light which is indicated by a sitting person with a seat belt on and a large circle in front of them.
This is also known as the supplemental restraint system (SRS) warning light.
If the light comes up read it means that at least one element of the airbag safety system is not working correctly.
This could be either the airbag system itself; the front passenger occupant classification system (which detects the front passenger’s weight and position in order to safely deploy the airbag); or the seat belt pretensioner system, which tightens the belt in the event of a crash.
If the safety system is not working properly, it may not go off in a crash or even it might deploy unexpectedly and cause a crash.
The RAC says that either way though the airbag system is an “incredibly important” safety feature and you should get it checked out immediately.
Another key warning symbol is indicated by a car with squiggly lines in front of it.
This is the electronic stability problem (ESP) warning light which is also known as the electronic stability control (ESC).
If this lights up, it indicates an issue with the traction control.
If it flashes, this tells the driver the ESP system is intervening, such as when you are driving on a slippery road.
Should the light though remain on this means the ESP system is not working properly.
The ESP light will light up with the word ‘OFF’ if the system has been deactivated, in which case you may have inadvertently turned it off.
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At first, try stopping and starting the engine to see if this clears the issue.
If the light remains on after restarting, the RAC advises to get it checked at a garage because “the ESP system is an important safety feature”.
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