Our cars have a complex system of warning lights and indicators to signal correct operation and guide the driver in the most common operations, but also to report any faults, anomalies or error messages that need to be addressed. Many motorists, however, do not know most of these warning lights, and it is normal for the alarm to go off or panic worse.
The best thing to do is always stop and call someone more experienced or consult the car’s user and maintenance manual.
For better or worse, we all know the main warning lights on the car’s dashboard, that is, those that come on most frequently or that do not cause major problems in the event of ignition. To give an example, those of the four arrows, direction indicators, headlights, high beams, heated rear window or battery.
There are also lights that come on less frequentlyand when they light up there is no need to be happy. We are talking for example of the oil pressure warning light, that of the water temperature, that of the engine, or that of the tire pressure (for cars that have it).
Finally, then there are some lights that are rarely seen on. Some motorists have never seen them turned on in their entire life driving several cars. An example? The pedal lights.
The car lights you didn’t know existed
With modern cars that are increasingly computerized and in which electronics are more and more preponderant, indicators, warning lights, sensors and automated systems have multiplied dramatically with the aim of assisting human driving. However, this translates into an average complexity in reading the car’s instrumentation.
In short, the times of the Fiat Uno in which the only light that could come on was that of the water temperature (and once it was turned on it was too late) are long gone and there is a lot of additional information to keep in mind.
In particular, let’s talk about the pedal lights, new generation indicators present only on some of the most modern carsespecially on Volkswagen. On these cars, warning lights come on which have the task of driving and warn the driver when it is time to press one pedal rather than another. These lights can be yellow or green. In particular, that of the clutch pedal is generally yellow and it comes on when we are starting the car, to warn us to put in neutral and therefore avoid jerking at the start, especially when we are parked and we could collide with other vehicles or a wall. After that, it should typically turn off on its own after a while.
The brake warning light, on the other hand, is greenand reminds us to press the pedal to exit parking mode. Obviously these warning lights only help us in the initial stages and do not come on every time you have to brake or change gear (luckily!). In any case, for many people they can be annoying, also because in case of malfunctions (especially software) they can remain on permanently, forcing us to go to the workshop.
