“What’s that Light?!”

Well, there you are, sitting in traffic. You’re kinda looking at your phone and feeling guilty about it; you’re mostly staring at the car in front of you and waiting for it to move. Suddenly, “ding! ding!” You move all of your parking tickets and fast food wrappers onto the floor, you see that your dashboard has acquired a new light or two.

What now? You know from the movies that this can only end badly. Are you about to lose warp capabilities? Is life support failing? Is a gas mask about to fall out of your ceiling?

Mostly, you’re probably thinking… ‘If I ignore it, will it just go away?’

In this series, we will answer your questions–and more–to cheer up your Thursdays. We’re going to get started with a few general questions about the lights on your dashboard:

Are all dashboard lights the same? 

The gnomes turn them on and off

Of course not! That would make too much sense, just like putting the gas tank on the same side of all cars. Car makers know that you prefer a little bit of mystery in your life, and have designed their dashboards accordingly. They also vary in number, from 4 to 40.

You’ll want to check your owner’s manual for a precise list.

During our blog series, we’ll be covering some commonly used symbols and their variations. We’ll also be telling what they usually mean, what you should do about them, and steps you should take to fix it. There will be other car advice mixed in, too.

Should I panic?

Don’t panic!

Don’t panic. Hey, wouldn’t that make a great dashboard light? Imagine this turning on every time something goes wrong with your car:

Seriously, this should come standard in every vehicle, starting now. Overheating engines would be much less stressful.

Once you have stopped panicking, it’s time to figure out what to do. If you don’t know what the light means, the single best thing you can do is call Schummers. We’ll ask you to describe the light, and tell you how far you can drive it before bringing it in. No, don’t call while driving! Find a safe place to pull over and make a call from there.

If I ignore it, will it go away? 

No.

But don’t feel silly for asking. Remember…

This should come standard on all vehicles!