Brake Force Distribution
This is an Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) Indicator symbol. If this amber lamp is illuminated, it indicates that the system is unavailable or has a fault. In either case, an authorized repair facility will be needed to resolve its issue.
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These two combinations of warning lights used by manufacturers also warn of a fault in the system. The first is already a combination of what is more typically seen as three separate brake system warnings, and the second indicates a fault with the Anti-lock Brake System (ABS). The second uses the ABS light and the more typical BRAKE warning light.
EBD is best seen as an enhancement of or an addition to the ABS. ABS, oversimplified, varies the brake force on a given wheel to prevent wheel lock up while braking based on road contact. EBD goes further by varying the brake force on a given wheel using factors such as the load on each wheel, the condition of the road, the speed of the vehicle.
If the first indicator light is seen in conjunction with the ABS and Stability Control warning indicators, it indicates a fault in the EBD system, and that the ABS and Stability Control are also unavailable. Once a vehicle is equipped with EBD, the ABS and Stability Control systems rely on the proper function of the EBD system.
Your vehicle’s brakes and steering will continue to function in a normal fashion. Risk exists only in extreme braking or steering conditions or in poor weather. Drive with caution.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
Advanced stability control and traction control systems are the primary culprits, or more to the point, the electronics that they depend on. And they are the least likely to actually fail. These systems rely on signals from the electronics controlling the operation of the engine, transmission, 
Multiple lights rarely, if ever, mean multiple system faults. A fault in the engine (
In a simpler day, if your engine’s oil pressure dropped too low, your dashboard, or more properly, your instrument panel, would have had an analog oil pressure gauge displaying the pressure reading and a warning light, a red dot, that would come on to get your attention. Then some manufacturers did away with the gauge altogether, leaving only the red dot or “Idiot” light. There would have been a temperature gauge plus a light to warn a driver if the engine’s temperature rose too high. But now you might not see a gauge at all. In the meantime, “Idiot” lights have proliferated to the point of madness. And as a driver, you need to be a “road scholar” (sorry) to understand them all.
However, in today’s vehicles, there could never be a corresponding gauge to compliment a Check Engine light, or the ABS (anti-lock brake) light, or a Drivetrain Trouble light, or for any of the dozens of text and picture tell-tales that have permeated vehicle instrument panels over the last few decades.
Maybe the most troubling about the “Prodigy” lights is that when one of them crops up, it indicates a problem or malfunction has already occurred. For instance, there is no gauge to indicate a change in the anti-lock brakes. If a malfunction occurs, a tell-tale appears. The same for an electronic throttle, the power steering, the stability control system, or any of the other advanced, and often electronic, systems.
A New Name for Adaptive Cruise Control Revisits an Old Question
Another Name Change
Adaptive Cruise Control systems have been available from many auto manufacturers now for several years, These are systems that allow a car to maintain a set distance from a vehicle ahead of it. Kia Motors now in 2014 has it available in its Cadenza and K900 models. The fact that the company has chosen to call the system “Advanced Smart Cruise Control” prompts this piece.
Never mind that manufacturers were already bouncing between the names Active and Adaptive Cruise Control and Radar Controlled Cruise Control. Now the motoring public has a new name – and a new acronym (ASCC) – to adjust to.
Too Many Examples
This is not the first time we’ve commented on the topic of nomenclature. Drivers already face too many instances where their automobiles can make them feel inadequate and under the gun. A look through our Acronyms page finds three names as well for blind spot monitors, five versions of lane departure systems, and no less than twelve names for stability control (go ahead, count them up!). Is any of this really necessary? The answer is no…
It is a wonder that drivers know any the names of the many
functions of today’s vehicles and understand what they do. It is a greater wonder that they recognize its associated warning light! Seriously, does the light shown on the right mean that other car is about to hit? We’ve been asked that question!
In the meantime, beleaguered sales and service personnel spend hour after hour explaining advanced systems to their customers and struggle with what is an Automotive Knowledge Gap – drivers simply don’t understand their cars. Meanwhile, the industry continues to build the equivalent of the old VCR with a clock that only a select few know how to program.
Anti-lock Brakes (ABS) and Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) are standard names across the industry. Where is the consistency, the standards, the sanity, when it comes to other advanced safety systems?
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.