New Dashboard Symbols
The introduction of the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX electric vehicles in 2024 required us to add several new dashboard symbols to the manufacturer’s respective pages. Well, actually, new old symbols.
This is because we already had the symbols in play — on pages for General Motors (GM) models!
What’s happened is that Honda and GM jointly developed the EVs, a collaboration that began in 2013, which was focused on hydrogen fuel. That shifted as EVs rose to prominence and in essence, GM‘s drivetrain and control systems won out. And the proof is in the owner’s manuals!
The cover pages of the Honda and Acura models are properly identified. Then comes page one…
Tables of Contents
Below in order are the table of contents for a Chevrolet Malibu (left) and the Honda Pilot (right). And then below left is the TOC for the Honda Prologue.
They’re difficult to read here, but the styles are clear, which is the point. The contents of the Prologue and ZDX manuals follow the GM style of presentation to the letter right on through the entire manual! Every other Honda or Acura manual for 15 years+ has a TOC and structure just like the Pilot.
And the result is the addition of at least a dozen new (at least to Honda!) symbols and telltales that fall right out of the GM playbook.
The majority of the additions are of course related to the fact that the vehicles are fully electric. So all of the resulting indicators and warnings related to the high voltage system are found.
But beyond this, many of the driver support system indicators, like lane keeping and pedestrian avoidance are in the GM style.
Remember that auto manufacturers are given great leeway in the way they present warning symbols and indicators. Only a few are identical from one manufacturer to another. Most of the time symbols end up looking similar but differ enough for us to address here on this site. Hence the fact that we host over 1,000 of them here!
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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.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
The Acura dashboard symbols page has been given the new color treatment
Acura dashboard symbols
Several months after updating our Acura dashboard symbols page, we at last re-aligned the page into the new color arrangement. We’ve now transformed 21 pages, including our primary picture symbols page, to reflect the new color ordering and just short of half of our total manufacturer symbols pages on our site.
Note that when we updated the page, we discovered that a large number of new symbols needed to be added, but they were already in our possession. That is because of the addition of the ZDX EV model to the line up, which was done in collaboration with General Motors (GM). We had the symbols in play — on our GM pages.
Acura parent Honda Motor Co. and GM jointly developed the EVs, a collaboration that began in 2013, which was initially focused on hydrogen fuel. That shifted as EVs rose to prominence and in essence, GM‘s drivetrain and control systems won out. And the proof is in the owner’s manuals that look very much like carbon copies of GM manuals.
The page is now ordered red through yellow/orange/amber (depending on how you interpret the color!), then to green and blue and finally to black and white or gray scale symbols.
Ordering the page by color provides a cleaner, simpler option for drivers searching for information on a new symbol.
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.
Our page covering Acura indicators, now numbering over 90, can be seen here. On to Honda…
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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.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY