Did An Amber Light On Your Car Dashboard Come On This Week?

I woke up Tuesday morning to a dash board light coming on. Ugh. That usually means a I gotta fix something.

I looked at it, and it was an amber light. That’s a plus. Will explain that in a bit. The light was that round flat tire logo on most cars. Great. Do I have a flat tire? I searched my car’s computer data, turns out, it was a low tire pressure light. Ok, all I gotta do is put some air in it. Cool. Now I am wondering, does the tire have a nail in it with a slow leak? I checked the tires. All good. Then I realized – it was cold. Overnight, it got down to the teens.

That’s why the light came on – the cold air contracted the air in the tires. Getting my first taste of winter here in Washington,

This brings to mind the importance of colors of dashboard lights on most vehicles. As we slowly migrate from traditional dashboards with simple lights to more sophisticated command consoles (like Tesla’s awesome setup), these warnings will be less universal and more specific to the issue.

For those who don’t have the new consoles, those colored dash lights still need to be understood.

These are colors are universal and the colors are important. Here is what the colors mean.

A red warning light demands immediate attention (don't drive any further). If you see one, stop driving your car until you can address the issue. Otherwise damage to your car (most likely the engine) can occur.

Amber warning lights indicate a problem that needs to be serviced soon. This was my tire light that came on. You can drive your car with low tire pressure to some degree, but don’t prolong it.  

If you see a green or blue light, this normally indicates that a certain car function is on or currently in use. Bottom line there? All good.

I put air in my tire and the light is gone. To prepare for the winter, I added a bit more air to compensate for the cold.

So, I got my jackets, beanies and air in my tires. I am now ready for a Washington Winter.

All My Best,

The JimShow

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