Tag: indicators

Got the car wash blues

Kia LogoCar wash

So I took the Kia EV for its second car wash since becoming its owner and ended up stuck with the Park Brake warning light on. So the question is why?

I slid into the car wash’s track and placed the car in neutral, as one should. But, I had forgotten that I had activated the Brake Hold system when I’d left home. So, the brake was on when the car wash mechanism attempted to move the car forward.

Brake force dist indicatorAuto Hold indicatorI deactivated Brake Hold (right), but was left with the warning light (far right), obscured by the steering wheel. I slipped the car into drive for a moment and back to neutral, which resolved the problem.

I ran through some scenarios after the wash, but without the car wash. I drove forward with Brake Hold on, stopped, which activated the hold, slipped into neutral, turned off Brake Hold, and got the message that I needed to step on the brake to deactivate the Hold.

This is what I missed at the car wash, and evidently the mechanism that slid under the wheel attempting to move the car forward set off the warning light.

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.

I have added this notation to the Brake Hold page, which is here, and the Park Brake page, which is here.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/10/got-the-car-wash-blues/

Saturn symbols page now re-ordered by color

Saturn logoSaturn symbols page

Our Saturn symbols page has now been aligned by color. We’ve have now transformed over a dozen pages, including our primary symbols page, to reflect a color ordering.

As a testament to the growth of technology and the accompanying indicators, the Saturn page holds just over 50 symbols. The majority of manufacturers have this number to near 100 and more.

Saturn as a manufacturer has been defunct since 2016. Nevertheless, we will keep the page for drivers of the cars who likely have few places to turn for help. We also have pages for Holden, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Mercury, Saab and Scion, all of whom have faded from the scene, all of which have now been transformed. We have a Fisker page as well, a company whose status remains in limbo…

The page’s indicators are now ordered red through white, which generally provides a “mostly serious” to “simply letting you know” range. We used the term “mostly serious” for red indicators because many of them do not point to problem with the vehicle.

Regardless, the new ordering provides a cleaner, simpler option for drivers searching for information. 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.

The Saturn dashboard symbols page can be found here.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/10/saturn-symbols-page-now-re-ordered-by-color/

Saab symbols page now ordered by  color

Saab logoSaab symbols page

Our Saab symbols page has now been aligned by color. We’ve have now transformed several pages, including our primary symbols page, to reflect a color ordering.

As a true testament to the growth of technology and the accompanying indicators, the Saab page holds just over 30 symbols. This is easily the lowest count seen on any of our 50-odd symbols pages. Today the majority of manufacturers have this number to near 100 and more.

Saab as a manufacturer has been defunct since 2016. Nevertheless, we will keep the page for drivers of the cars who likely have few places to turn for help. We also have pages for Holden, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Mercury, Saturn and Scion, all of whom have faded from the scene. We have a Fisker page as well, a company whose status remains in limbo…

The page’s indicators are now ordered red through white, which generally provides a “mostly serious” to “simply letting you know” range. We used the term “mostly serious” for red indicators because many of them do not point to problem with the vehicle.

Regardless, the new ordering provides a cleaner, simpler option for drivers searching for information.

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.

The Saab dashboard symbols page can be found here.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/10/saab-symbols-page-now-ordered-by-color/

Mercury symbols page now features the new color coded ordering

Mercury logoMercury symbols page

Our Mercury symbols page has now been aligned by color. We’ve have now transformed several pages, including our primary symbols page, to reflect a color ordering.

As a testament to the growth of technology and the accompanying indicators, the Mercury page holds just over 50 symbols. The majority of manufacturers now have this number to near 100 and more.

Mercury as a manufacturer has been defunct since 2011. Nevertheless, we will keep the page for drivers of the cars who likely have few places to turn for help. We also have pages for Holden, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Scion, all of whom have faded from the scene. We have a Fisker page as well, a car company whose status remains in limbo…

The page’s indicators are now ordered red through white, which generally provides a “mostly serious” to “simply letting you know” range. We used the term “mostly serious” for red indicators because many of them do not point to problem with the vehicle.

Regardless, the new ordering provides a cleaner, simpler option for drivers searching for information.

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.

The Mercury dashboard symbols page can be found here.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/10/mercury-symbols-page-now-features-the-new-color-coded-ordering/

Holden symbols page gets the new color treatment

Holden logoHolden symbols page

Our Holden symbols page has now been aligned by color. We’ve have now transformed several pages, including our primary symbols page, to reflect a color ordering.

As a testament to the growth of technology and the accompanying indicators, the Holden holds just over 50 symbols. The majority of manufacturers have moved this number to near 100 and more.

Holden as a manufacturer has been defunct since the end of 2020. Nevertheless, we will keep the page for drivers of the cars who likely have few places to turn for help. We also have pages for Mercury, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Scion, all of whom have faded from the scene. We have a Fisker page as well, a company whose status remains in limbo…

The page’s indicators are now ordered red through white, which generally provides a “mostly serious” to “simply letting you know” range. We used the term “mostly serious” for red indicators because many of them do not point to problem with the vehicle.

Regardless, the new ordering provides a cleaner, simpler option for drivers searching for information.

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.

The Holden dashboard symbols page can be found here.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/10/holden-symbols-page-gets-the-new-color-treatment/

Chevrolet symbols page has now been re-ordered by color

Chevrolet logoChevrolet symbols page

Our Chevrolet symbols page has now been aligned by color. We’ve have now transformed a dozen pages, including our primary symbols page, to reflect the new color ordering.

The page features a number approaching 100 indicators, now ordered red through black, white or gray scale. This generally provides a “mostly serious” to “simply letting you know” range. We used the term “mostly serious” for red indicators because many legacy red symbols do not point to a problem with the vehicle.

in any case, the new ordering provides a cleaner, simpler option for drivers searching for information.

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.

The Chevrolet dashboard symbols page can be found here.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/10/chevrolet-symbols-page-has-now-been-re-ordered-by-color/

Mazda dashboard symbols update nets 17 new indicators

Mazda logoMazda dashboard symbols

A full review of 2024 and 2025 models results in the addition of 17 new indicators to the Mazda dashboard symbols page. This is due to the addition of a number of new technologies to Mazda models.

The most significant one is from what the company calls Cruising & Traffic Support (CTS), which results in one of only three truly new symbols shown on the page (we added a few new text symbols as well). It is a malfunction indicator, seen below right. CTS, part of Mazda‘s i-ACTIVSENSE system, is a technology that consists of a headway control and steering assist function for reducing driver fatigue during traffic jams when driving on expressways or highways.

Cruise and traffic support warningThe mention of “traffic jams” suggests it is meant to operate at slow speeds. However, further in Mazda’s description of the system, it states that “If a vehicle ahead is traveling at an extremely low speed, the system may not detect it correctly.” So its clear that this is meant to be “heavy traffic” not traffic jams.

It is, in effect, a low level self drive system that Mazda is playing catch up with.

Emergency lane keeping offCharge mode indicatorThe other two new indicators are a Charge Mode indicator (right), used in a new hybrid model, and another that indicates that lane keeping is turned off (far right). In the latter case, Mazda chose to adds an arrow in the direction of travel and a star to suggest a collision to an existing symbol. It also removes a lane line.

New technological additions will continue to swell the number of indicators drivers must cope with, and we’ll make another plea for manufacturers to at least draw from existing symbols rather than create new one unnecessarily.

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.

You can see the Mazda dashboard symbols page, now numbering over 80 total indicators, here.

——————————————————————-

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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2024/10/mazda-dashboard-symbols-update-nets-17-new-indicators/