Auto Maintenance > Warning Lights

Brake warning light
Check your parking/hand brake. If you forgot to release the parking/hand brake, this light will come on and remain on until you release the parking/hand brake.

If your brake warning light remains on, you may have a larger problem. Your brake light will come on if you are losing brake fluid. Losing brake fluid is a major problem and can cause your brakes to fail! Take your car to a professional.

Temperature warning light
This warning light indicates that your car is overheating. If this light comes on, your need to pull your car over to safe place and allow the engine to cool. After your engine has cooled down, you will need to open the radiator to replenish fluids. If your engine continues overheating you may have a leak in the radiator, heater hoses, the water pump and/or the radiator. You can not drive a car that is overheating, you will cause serious damage to the engine.

Alternator warning light
If this warning light comes on, you are not producing enough current to run the electrical needs of the car. You will not get far, since your vehicle is running solely on the battery and a battery has a life of 1 to 6hrs. A quick test is to turn on the headlights and rev the engine. If the lights are dim or get brighter as you rev the engine, you have a charging system problem that requires further diagnosis. Get to a mechanic right away.

Oil pressure warning light
If this light comes on when you are driving, you will need to safely pull over and check the oil levels. Do not drive very long with this light on, as it can be an indication of low oil levels and you can seriously damage the engine if it is running on low oil!

If the oil level is low, refill your oil until it is full. If you drive your car and the light comes on again, you may have an oil leak and need to see a professional right away. Keep refilling the oil, do not ignore the light.

Check Engine light
This warning can be signal a simple or very complex, serious problem. If this light comes on, your vehicle's onboard computer has detected and is signaling a problem. A full diagnostic of your vehicle's computer will need to be done by a professional.