What Warning Lights Have you Witnessed?

Kinja'd!!! by "2Fast2Furious - Now with 100% more Hyundai Excel" (2furious2befast)
Published 01/04/2017 at 23:41

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Kinja'd!!!

We all love the Christmas tree that awaits us on the dash, waiting for a problem to arise so that it can fulfill its life purpose of warning you about a condition or problem your metal deathtrap may have.

Now the question is- in your current vehicle or vehicles (give models) what warning lights have you experienced and what warning light are you afraid of most?

For me in my ‘05 LeSabre all I’ve had to deal with is a single abs light for a harness that connects the hub with abs to the cars computer system. The warning light I’m most afraid of is low oil pressure as I’m not trying to kill an engine here, so I keep track of oil levels in between changes to prevent this kind of distress

Now it’s time to hear about yours!


Replies (25)

Kinja'd!!! "OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars" (jakeauern)
01/04/2017 at 23:44, STARS: 0

The check engine light comes on occasionally in my LS400 but then it fixes itself because Lexus. After 305,000 miles we replaced one of the Catalytic Converters for the first time.

Kinja'd!!! "G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3" (gbodyman)
01/04/2017 at 23:48, STARS: 0

A vacuum line developed a slight split the other day, which caused a CEL. I temporarily fixed this using electrical tape (on the vacuum line, not the cluster). Oh, and the ABS light once lit up because my ABS module spontaneously and randomly decided not to work. The one I’m most afraid of is a flashing CEL, as I have gauges for everything else.

Kinja'd!!! "Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
01/04/2017 at 23:48, STARS: 0

On the various trucks in the delivery fleet I’ve seen 2-12, 14, 18, 23, 21-31, and 33, along with a few others ( “you dropped your ice cream in the ocean and now you’re crying” )

Kinja'd!!! "V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches" (jbv12)
01/04/2017 at 23:52, STARS: 1

I own a W220 S600. Let me tell you about warning lights. In the last year I’ve seen a menagerie of ABC warnings, a PSE pump failure notice, a few low coolant warnings, and a pile of TPMS warnings. That coupled with the omnipresent SRS warning means that there’s never a dull day in an S600.

Kinja'd!!! "V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches" (jbv12)
01/04/2017 at 23:52, STARS: 0

Thanks dusty! The sticker arrived today!

Kinja'd!!! "gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
01/04/2017 at 23:54, STARS: 0

The MJ has an oil pressure gauge, so no worries there. I think the one I’m most alarmed by is the check engine light, cause it usually doesn’t come on unless something is severely wrong, even if a malfunction code is logged.

On the Niva I guess it would probably be the low oil pressure light I’m afraid of most. The check engine light comes on so frequently because the speed sensor was shattered when I got it that I just started ignoring it. It starts out off but comes on and stays on any time a code is logged. The other warning lights are mostly for fun stuff, like the diff-lock engaged light, so they’re not scary, lol. I suppose the worst one I’ve experienced is the brake failure light, except it didn’t actually come on until I had already figured that one out for myself, thanks! cause it’s more of a low-fluid-level light than anything else.

Kinja'd!!! "Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
01/04/2017 at 23:56, STARS: 1

E60 M5; all of them. ABS, wheel speed, steering position, reduced breaking, increased emissions, increased voltage discharge... To the innocuous but highly determined low gas, slightly low oil, chance of freezing outside...

I’m getting my money’s worth. Every warning I know about works perfectly. Many, frequently. Talk about getting good car for the money.

Kinja'd!!! "FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
01/04/2017 at 23:57, STARS: 1

The oil pressure light comes on a lot in my Forester. It basically means “you’ve driven 1500 miles which means I’ve drank another quart of 0W-20.”

Kinja'd!!! "Phatboyphil" (justphil)
01/05/2017 at 00:21, STARS: 0

Not many. Because OBD1 tell no tell

Kinja'd!!! "Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition" (realasabass)
01/05/2017 at 00:42, STARS: 0

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!! "pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
01/05/2017 at 00:48, STARS: 0

my car has currently illuminated the ‘SRS’ (has been for 2 years.)

i’ve had the CEL come on once in the 13 years of ownership.

Kinja'd!!! "Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
01/05/2017 at 01:03, STARS: 0

Quite a few of them in one go, actually, although I’d be hard pressed to tell you what they were. I wondered why everyone on the freeway were being such pussies and avoiding that flooded part of the road. I drove through it and the car choked and wheezed and went into limp-home mode with a ton of miscellaneous lights illuminating my embarrassed face for the rest of the drive home.

The fix was an easy recipe. Remove air filter, bake at 170 degrees for 8 hours and then reinstall. With the exception of the horn, there has been no lasting damage. The horn was just a little anemic, probably from ingesting a few gallons of water, and then it stopped functioning altogether. It did start working again for a few days but then resumed the silent treatment. I assume that it’s rusted out internally and needs to be replaced, but I don’t feel like tearing off the front of the car to get to it.

Kinja'd!!! "sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
01/05/2017 at 01:34, STARS: 0

Check engine, change brake pads, check self-leveling function on headlamps, brake light out, low tire pressure, SERVICE NOW, washer fluid level low, and god knows what else.

Kinja'd!!! "awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/05/2017 at 01:50, STARS: 0

Perks of driving an early 2000s vehicle. Only ever seen the regular ass check engine light, and it was an o2 sensor. Easy peasy.

Kinja'd!!! "bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
01/05/2017 at 02:38, STARS: 0

2000 Miata: Worst thing I’ve experienced is a check engine light, which illuminated when the engine died due to the fuel pump crapping out. I’m not really worried about any of those lights (the Miata doesn’t have many anyway - it’s basically airbag, charging system, brake fluid, check engine light), but of those, I’d be most worried about brake fluid... really, I’m more worried about the coolant temperature gauge and oil pressure “gauge”.

2016 Prius: TRAC intervention light, because traction control, ABS, and/or stability control were intervening. That’s literally the worst warning light I’ve gotten on it. I’m not really worried about any lights coming up on it - the most worrying thing would be a CEL combined with master warning, and a message on the display saying “Hybrid System Malfunction - Visit Your Dealer”... but that could really be anything throwing a powertrain code, so even that wouldn’t worry me that much until I pulled the code.

Kinja'd!!! "Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
01/05/2017 at 04:34, STARS: 0

Low windscreen washer water, about once a year.

Low oil, every few months because high mileage car.

Kinja'd!!! "Land_Yacht_225" (nadenator)
01/05/2017 at 06:28, STARS: 1

Kinja'd!!!

What a heart attack looks like...

Kinja'd!!! "twochevrons" (twochevrons)
01/05/2017 at 07:31, STARS: 0

I drive (amongst other things) a 2002 Audi Allroad. So I see this one a lot:

Kinja'd!!!

Thankfully the suspension doesn’t seem to have any leaks, just a tired air compressor that struggles a bit in cold weather and causes a timeout fault code. It’s on the ever-growing list of things to do on my many cars.

My GTI occasionally gives me a traction control warning light when I start it, which is slightly disappointing for a two-year-old car, but it always goes away as soon as I move off, and the dealer tells me (not like I believe them) that there’s nothing they can do about it until they see it themselves.

Kinja'd!!! "Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
01/05/2017 at 07:45, STARS: 0

TPMS.

Kinja'd!!! "OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
01/05/2017 at 08:09, STARS: 1

HA, I had one that isn;t on your list. what do I win?

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!! "diplodicus" (diplodicus)
01/05/2017 at 08:16, STARS: 0

My E39 540i currently has ABS/DSC/Brake lights. And Check engine light, throwing codes for advanced timing. It does not sound good either, 80% sure timing chain is stretched, or jumped a couple of teeth. Sometimes the airbag light will show up. I’m going to open up the engine once I get my E30 control arms done. Probably going to have to replace timing guides and chain.

I’m kind of ok with this since the engine leaks oil like a sieve, so I’ll be able to replace a lot of gaskets and hopefully won’t leak once its reassembled.

Kinja'd!!! "twochevrons" (twochevrons)
01/05/2017 at 12:39, STARS: 0

Ha. Came here to post this. I’ve got one right now. The recent cold snap left the tired old compressor unable to keep up. On the other hand, it seemed to get rid of a lot of the bad lines in my cluster LCD, so now I can actually see how inhumanly cold it actually is.

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!! "OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
01/05/2017 at 13:20, STARS: 0

learn from my experience,. fix the leak before you roast the compressor

Kinja'd!!! "twochevrons" (twochevrons)
01/05/2017 at 13:43, STARS: 0

Yeah, I bought the car with completely shot front bags. Replaced those, and it seemed that the compressor had survived the ordeal, but the cold looks to have done it in. It still works, but it’s really noisy and slow. I’m going to have a go at rebuilding it.

My condolences on your loss. Your Allroad looked in much better shape than mine - I’m always slightly terrified at the prospect of something going wrong.

Kinja'd!!! "OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
01/05/2017 at 16:01, STARS: 0

yea, something went and I was losing about a quart of oil a day, then on the way home from having that fixed the compressor went.

I miss the car, especially now that i’m stuck with an auto Focus, but I did give me huge anxiety thinking that any day I could be stuck somewhere. At least now I know that I’ll get to work, given that I don’t fall asleep on the way.