This light just came on, should I pull over?
The dreaded "__fill in the blank__" light has popped on. The question is "Now what?" Has some kind of count down started that will end with the annihilation of my bank account? Is my vehicle going to burst into flames like in the movies? Could this warning be any less ambiguous? How many acronyms can I take in one day? I am late, talking on the phone, eating my breakfast, drinking coffee, listening to the radio and dodging traffic, this is the last piece of sensory overload that will put me over the edge!
It might have been a good idea to have scanned through the owners manual to get an idea what all those crazy lights mean when I bought the car. YEA RIGHT! Like anyone is really going to do that. So now might be a good time to pull that nap inducing literature out of the glovebox or trunk and look up the offending light to see what it might mean.
Let me give you some hints if that is more effort than you can fit into your already overloaded brain pan.
If the warning light is RED stop as soon as it is safe to do so, turn off the engine and find out what it means. Auto manufacturers typically only make a warning red if it is critical to safe operation or to protect against major (expensive) damage.
If the warning light is YELLOW you can normally continue driving to your next stop before decifering its hidden meaning. Monitor your instrument cluster more closely though in case it precedes the red warning.
Engine oil and temperature warnings in red mean: If you don't shut me off immediately I will inconvenience you for weeks and max out your credit cards.
SRS lights don't mean that your air bags are going to deploy.
Yellow ABS, DSC, ASC or other traction systems warnings do not indicate brake failure. A red brake warning could mean that stopping when you want may become optional.
You could call us also and we will try to look it up and see what your options might be.
All things taken into consideration it is nice that our cars warn us when something isn't working right. Why can't our doctors come up with some thing like that? hmmmmm....
Thanks again for letting me take the wheel for a moment,
Robert