Modern cars are equipped with many warning lights and we should be familiar with a few of them, such as door ajar indicator and seat belt warning. Here are some of the warning lights that we need to know
SRS: Supplemental Restraint System or SRS is directly related to our airbag system. This should incorporate many pre-safe, passive and active technologies, depending on the actual car. In general, SRS can be considered as a safety system, which allows us to monitor automatic self tests and numerous sensors. If there’s a malfunction in this system, the SRS light will illuminate. Although the car can be driven with the SRS warning light on, it can be risky. When the SRS light illuminates, there is a possibility that the airbag don’t work properly.
ABS: In cars with Antilock Braking System, there should be a light for this mechanism. This should keep our car from suddenly skidding out control. The ABS system should be integrated with stability and traction control systems. They should work well and can keep us safe during abrupt braking. When the light illuminates, it is possible that the ABS system won’t work well. This could be caused by wears on disc brake rotor or disc brake pad. Just like with SRS system, the car can be driven with ABS light illuminating but this will increase the overall risks. In this case, the first thing that we should do is resetting the ABD system and finds out whether it will work well again. We should check the user’s manual to find out how to reset the system, but it is safer to bring the car to the designated mechanic to make sure that everything is working properly.
Low coolant warning: After a period of time, the coolant level will drop below the recommended level, especially when we drive the car in dry and hot weather. However, if the light continues to illuminate after we add the coolant, it is possible that there’s an electrical fault. In this case, we should bring the car to the mechanic to make sure that it is working properly. If we are sure that the coolant level and temperature indicators are normal, then it should be safe to drive the car, but we still need to bring it to the nearest mechanic.
Low oil warning: If the low oil level warning illuminates, we should shut the car off immediately. It is possible that the oil level is low and we should bring the car to the nearest garage. In a best case scenario, is that there’s an electrical issue and this should be easy to fix. We could quickly check the oil level and we should follow the owners’ manual to that. If the oil level is low, it is possible that we will ruin the engine if we drive the car too far. This can be indicated by knocking, ticking and other unusual noises. In this case, we should tow the car, instead of damaging it.
