- The different lights on your dashboard show you the different functions of your car. They are meant to let you know when something is wrong in your vehicle so you can fix the problem before it gets worse. Specific lights tell you what part of your car needs service. Some are simple and meant to be reminders, such as the seat belt light that lets you know when someone is unbuckled. Others are there to provide warnings when part of your car may be tearing up, such as the engine. These are meant to keep you safe.
- The basic reminder lights consist of an airbag light, a seat belt light and a door ajar warning. As the names suggest, they inform you if your door is open, your seat belt is unbuckled, or simply let you know the airbag is turned on. The parking brake light is a reminder as well to let you know your parking brake is still engaged. These lights don't require any work to be done to your car. The more important lights are the ones involving the engine. Every car is different, but there is typically a light for each part of the car. The engine, the brakes and the transmission all have lights to warn you when there could be a major problem with your car; that way you'll get it serviced before something breaks down.
- Dashboard lights are there to keep you safe and give you feedback about your vehicle. Without them many of us wouldn't know when something was wrong. Often a problem can't be detected until it's too late and we're sitting stranded on the side of the road. Not only do they keep us safe, but they make us obey the laws. Annoying dinging noises and blinking lights that won't go off tell us when a door is ajar or our seat belt is unbuckled.
- Dashboard lights help us deal with new technology. As cars become more complicated and harder to fix, it becomes harder to tell where the problem is. Since we can't always monitor everything on our cars, the car monitors itself. Many cars even have lights to inform you if your tire is getting low before you even get close to having a flat. As dashboard lights expand and improve, they will begin to evolve until every piece of the car is covered and all we have to do is read the flashing light to see what's wrong.
- Even though dashboard lights are a great help to us all and save a lot of time and hassle, drivers should keep in mind that it's always a good idea to understand the basics of how your automobile works. Don't just take the warning sign's word for it. If you understand more about your car, you may be able to spot a problem before your car senses it. Not all lights are fail proof. Sometimes they'll go off when there's really no problem at all. This is also a good time to understand your car so you'll know when to simply ignore the lights on your dashboard.
