Guide · 5 min read
What your dashboard is telling you
Warning lights are grouped by the same three colours the world over, and understanding the colour tells you how urgently to act even if you do not recognise the symbol.
The short version
What to take away
- Red means stop somewhere safe and investigate. Amber means it can wait for a booking. Green and blue are information only.
- A steady check-engine light can usually wait a few days. A flashing one should not be driven on at all.
- Oil pressure and coolant temperature are the two red lights that can destroy an engine within minutes.
- If the dash lights up like a Christmas tree all at once, suspect the battery or charging system rather than a dozen simultaneous faults.
We service and repair cars in Bengaluru — at your home or office, or at our workshop when the job needs a lift. Open 24 hours, every day.
No price is listed anywhere on this site because it depends on your car and the parts chosen. You get an itemised quote before any work starts.
The colour rule
- Red — stop as soon as it is safe to do so and find out what it is. Something is at risk of damage, or the car is unsafe to drive.
- Amber — drive on, but book it in. Something needs attention and the car is monitoring itself in the meantime.
- Green or blue — information. Lights on, indicators, and on some cars a blue coolant light meaning the engine is still cold.
The red lights that mean stop
Oil pressure — the oil-can symbol. This one is genuinely urgent. If oil pressure has dropped, the engine's moving parts are being lubricated poorly or not at all, and the damage happens in minutes rather than days. Stop safely and switch off. Do not drive to a garage to "show them".
Coolant temperature — the thermometer symbol. Overheating warps cylinder heads and blows head gaskets, and it escalates fast. Stop, let it cool, and do not open the coolant cap while it is hot. If you need to add coolant, do it once the system is cool, and treat needing to top it up as a symptom rather than a fix.
Brake warning — the exclamation mark in a circle, or the word BRAKE. Check first whether it is simply the handbrake. If it is not, it can mean low brake fluid, which can mean a leak. Brakes are not a system to drive on and hope.
Battery or charging — the battery symbol. This one means the alternator is not charging the battery, which means you are running the car on stored power and will stop when it runs out. You can usually reach a garage, but do not set off on a long trip.
The check-engine light, and the difference that matters
Steady versus flashing. A steady check-engine light means a fault has been stored — often an emissions or sensor issue. It can normally wait a few days for a booking. A flashing check-engine light means a misfire is happening right now, and unburnt fuel is reaching the catalytic converter, which it will destroy. Reduce load and get it looked at immediately.
Because the same light covers dozens of different faults, guessing is expensive in both directions: people panic over a loose fuel cap, and ignore a failing sensor that is quietly damaging something else. Reading the code takes minutes and tells you which it is.
The amber lights worth knowing
- ABS — the anti-lock braking system is disabled. Your ordinary brakes still work, but they will lock under hard braking, so leave more distance and get it seen.
- Tyre pressure (TPMS) — check the pressures before assuming a puncture. Big temperature swings set this off legitimately.
- Traction or stability control — often comes on with the ABS light, since they share sensors.
- Diesel particulate filter — mostly on diesel cars; usually means the car needs a longer run rather than a repair.
When everything lights up at once
If most of the dashboard illuminates together, that is usually not a dozen simultaneous failures. It is far more often one cause: a failing battery, a failing alternator, or a bad earth connection, all of which upset every module at once.
That pattern is worth describing to whoever looks at the car, because it points the diagnosis somewhere completely different from a single warning light.
Asked next
Questions this usually raises
- Can I keep driving with the check-engine light on?
- If it is steady, usually yes for a few days while you arrange for it to be read — though it depends what the code turns out to be. If it is flashing, no. A flashing check-engine light means an active misfire, and driving on it can destroy the catalytic converter, which is an expensive part.
- My ABS light is on. Are my brakes gone?
- No. Your ordinary brakes still work normally — what you have lost is the anti-lock function that stops the wheels locking under very hard braking. So the car is drivable, but leave more distance, be gentler in the wet, and have it looked at reasonably soon.
- Why did all my warning lights come on together?
- That pattern almost always has one cause rather than many. A weak battery, a failing alternator or a poor earth connection will upset every control module at once and light the whole dashboard. Have the charging system and the battery tested first, before anyone starts chasing individual warnings.
If it comes to that
The services this usually involves
Only if the checks above point at something. Nothing here needs booking in advance of knowing that.
Diagnostics
OBD scan, fault-code reading and a plain-English explanation of what the warning light means.
Doorstep or workshop
Battery
Load-test your battery, or fit a new one at your door with the old one taken away.
Doorstep or workshop
Brakes & Clutch
Pads, discs, drums, brake fluid and clutch assembly work — inspected before anything is replaced.
Doorstep or workshop
Also worth reading
More guides
Drove through flooded water? What to check on your car
What to check after driving through standing water — the brake noise that is normal, the wet carpet that quietly costs money, and the one thing never to do if the engine stalled.
5 min read
Doorstep car service: what can and cannot be done in your parking
Which car jobs genuinely need a workshop and why, and which are fine at your apartment parking. Two questions sort any job, whichever garage you use.
4 min read
Next step
If you would rather someone just looked at it
Send us the car’s make, model and year, your area, and what it is doing. We will tell you what it needs and whether it can be done at your place or at our workshop — before anything is booked.