Some thoughts on auto warning lights with an exclamation point inside

Exclamation point

So, I was asked to about a car that the driver thought was showing him a triangle with an exclamation point inside in yellow. I noted that his display should be showing a text message to indicate the problem, as the triangle with an exclamation point is an attention symbol (right) ninety nine times out of a hundred (there are a very few exceptions).

He said his car was too old to have a message shown on the display (which I believe is inaccurate) I thought I’d better have a look.

It was the common tire light, not so much a triangle (right).

This suggested that an overview of the use of exclamation points in warning lights was warranted.

They’re everywhere.

And nearly always point to an actual system fault. The tire light is a notable exception, as while a tire may be flat, which is a real problem, generally the tire light is simply telling a driver to put air in the tires.

Some notable symbols include the oil sensor indicator (far right), steering fault (next one in), and the brake trouble indicator (nearest). These are in red and really and truly require immediate attention.

Warning lights in yellow/amber/orange (usually subject to color interpretation) may also feature an exclamation point. And note immediately that it speaks to a system fault.

From right to left is an electronically controlled brake fault indicator, a stability control fault indicator (always a scary one with the skid marks!), and a blind spot monitor fault indicator. Note in these cases that all of these are electronic systems and  a simple restart may resolve the issue!

The overall point is twofold: that any warning light or indicator that features an exclamation point is truly demanding attention and should never be ignored; and that the warning light must be properly identified! Even the tire light, which may only require an air pump, should never be ignored, but any other warning could lead to real problems.

Find your the warning lights for your make and model here.

Cars are changing, and among those changes is the growing number of symbols and indicators that will invariably show up on your dashboard or instrument panel. Every year, new features are added to vehicles, each of which is accompanied by a new symbol or symbols and likely a new acronym.

At DashboardSymbols.com, our aim is to help you understand what is happening to your vehicle at the first sign of trouble — a new warning light illuminated on your instrument panel. Its all here on this website. Our first intention is to bring the latest technologies down to earth and understandable for everyday drivers.

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