In modern times, the evolution of cars is making them much more than a convenient mode of transportation. As a matter of fact, it had risen above the times when things had to be checked manually after periodic intervals.
The car owners of the previous age were constantly worried about whether things were working normally under the hood of their cars. However, their concern was quite logical, as the cars of that time did not have any warning signs on the dashboards.
However, luckily, in the modern day and age, it is easy to cater if anything goes wrong with a car. In cases of unnecessary activation of any feature, your car indicates to you by flashing a signal via an electrical system on the dashboard. It is easily visible to you.
This flashing hieroglyphic can indicate a lot of issues. However, you can ignore some of these issues. In contrast, others can be quite serious. Let’s take a look at these curious-looking dashboard signs and their meaning.
The Engine Temperature Warning Sign
It is one of the most important signs on a vehicle’s dashboard. This warning sign appears when the engine of your car gets too hot.
Tire Pressure Warning Sign
These car dashboard signs start to flash when one or more of your car’s tires have low pressure. It also tells the car owner to inspect them on time.
Oil Pressure Warning Sign
This hieroglyphic appears when your car’s engine does not have sufficient oil or if there is an issue with the oil pressure system of your car.
Traction Control Sign
When these car dashboard signs appear, it indicates that the traction control system of your car is engaged.
The Antilock Break Sign
The antilock brake symbol only appears when there is a problem with the anti-lock brake system. However, it needs to be fixed to avoid any potential damage.
The Engine Start Sign Or The Automatic Shift Lock Warning
When these hieroglyphics appear on the dashboard, it simply means that you need to engage your car’s brakes. It can either be in order to get it out of neutral or to start the ignition of your car.
The Battery Alert Sign
These car dashboard signs are only flashed when your car’s charging system does not have sufficient power. It means that the car is functioning only on the battery.
The Fuel Indicator Sign
When this symbol appears on the dashboard, it indicates that your car is running short on fuel. This symbol also shows an arrow beside it. The point of the arrow indicates the side of the location of the car’s gas cap.
The Seatbelt Reminder Sign
A seatbelt is important to protect yourself from deadly accidents. So, this symbol appears when you are not wearing your seatbelt. It shows itself in order to remind you to buckle your seatbelt.
An Airbag Sign
When this sign appears, it means that there is something wrong with one or more of your car’s airbags. Also, it may indicate that the whole airbag system has something wrong and needs immediate professional attention.
Fog Lamp Sign
Among several signs on the dashboard, Fog Lamp Sign is one of them. This car sign indicates when the fog lights of your car are on.
Security Light Sign
The security light symbol appears when there is a problem with your car’s anti-theft system.
Traction Control Malfunction Sign
Traction Control Malfunction Sign’s symbol usually appears when you turn off the anti-skid system of your car. It can also indicate if there is something wrong with your anti-skid system.
The Washer Fluid Sign
Then a washer fluid sign appears on your dashboard. It certainly means that your car is running low on the washer fluid. You can easily fill it up whenever you have spare time.
The Engine Warning Signs
While the rest of the signs usually indicate one or two features, the engine warning sign, on the other hand, can blink on for many reasons. Therefore, making it is quite difficult to pinpoint the real issue.
However, it is never a piece of good news when this symbol starts to blink on the dashboard of your car.
It can indicate something as minor as a loose gas cap, or it might even indicate something as huge as a failed sensor, connector, or even wiring. Worse yet, there might be a bigger issue, such as a costly emissions fault.
If you ignore this sign, you will have a bigger issue soon. Some of the major reasons are as follows. These may cause the engine warning signs to blink on.
Failed O2 (Oxygen) Sensors
The Oxygen sensors in cars measure the amount of unburned oxygen in the car’s exhaust system. When these sensors are not working properly, or there is something wrong with the combustion process of the air-fuel mixture, it triggers the engine warning signs to catch your attention.
Loose, Missing, Or Damaged Gas Cap
A gas cap is a vital part of the impenetrable evaporative emissions system of your car. The gasoline vapors recirculate in this sealed system and cannot escape into the open air.
If the gas cap goes missing, becomes damaged, or is loose, the engine warning indicator starts to blink on your car’s dashboard.
Poor Catalytic Converter
The catalytic converter in a car is used to protect the environment by superheating hydrocarbons as well as other dangerous tailpipe effusions into compounds such as carbon dioxide and water vapors.
The sensors are constantly monitoring these catalytic converters, and if something goes wrong, it will result in the appearance of the engine warning indicator to appear on your dashboard.
Mass Airflow Sensor
The mass air flow sensor (MAF) calculates the amount of air that enters the engine to estimate how much fuel will be required for your car’s engine to work smoothly.
If there is any opening that is causing the air to leak after or before the mass air flow sensor, then it can result in the engine warning signs blinking on.
However, it is important to remember that these mass airflow (MAF) sensors are very sensitive to water vapors, oil, dirt, or any other contamination.
As a result of exposure of these sensors to contaminants, it can also trigger the engine warning light to appear. You can easily deal with this issue by simply cleaning the sensors. Whereas other times, these mass airflow (MAF) sensors require to be replaced.
Final Thoughts
With the help of these car dashboard signs, people nowadays get a lot of benefits. They don’t have to go through the whole process of manually checking their cars in order to detect whether something is wrong or not under the hood.
People who are trying to buy a car are able to easily check if there is anything wrong or not without having to waste their time by checking every detail.
Going through this article will help you understand the car dashboard signs along with their meaning clearly. If you are looking for a car to buy, check the dashboard signs and mileage metrics of the used cars for sale to get away from any fraud.
