What are the warning lights on your dash trying to tell you?  Did you know that the lights are color coded?  Similar to traffic lights, red means stop and amber means proceed with caution.  

If a red warning lamp comes on, we recommend stopping the car as soon as it’s practical to do so, when stopping won’t put you or your car in danger of an accident.

Amber means getting the vehicle in for service as soon as possible. Continued operation will lead to reduced performance and may lead to additional repair expenses.

Critical Warning Lights

 Brake Light. Make sure you are not driving with hand brake on. Check brake-fluid level. Top off brake fluid if low and make appointment to check brakes. Driving with brake light can be dangerous; deal with this soon.

 ABS (antilock brake system) Light. Indicates either low brake-fluid level, stuck brake caliper or faulty ABS. Check brake fluid and make appointment to get brakes checked.

 Oil Light. Either engine is very low on oil or there is no oil pressure. Pull over and turn off engine immediately. Check oil level and add oil if low. Turn engine back on to see if light has gone off. If oil light is still on, bad oil pump (no oil pressure) is likely.

Maintenance Lights

 Check Engine Light. The vehicle's computer monitors many different operations. If one of these operations is malfunctioning, it will turn on this light. The difference in performance may not be noticeable, but make appointment to have car diagnosed. Because the light is amber in color, it's telling you OK to drive. If problem is serious, computer may switch to limp-home (low-power) mode and you won't have option of waiting to bring the car into a shop.

 Air Bag Light. Get the air bag system tested. Problem could prevent them from activating in accident. OK to drive, but most likely the air bags won't deploy in an accident.

 Battery Charge Light. Alternator is not charging. OK to drive, but turn off any unneeded electrical devices (radio, heater, defroster) and avoid starting engine more than necessary. The battery won't last more than an hour or 2, so bring the car in as soon as possible to avoid getting stranded. When alternator is not charging, battery loses charge and car stops working. This happens very fast.

 Emissions Lights (O2 sensor, EGR, check emissions). Depending on car model, these lights may indicate problem with emissions sensor or may light up at certain mileage, usually 60,000 miles (100,000 km). Have the computer system tested. OK to drive. If problem exists, car might get poor gas mileage, cause more damage to other circuits of the computer system, or damage emissions regulating equipment on the vehicle such as the catalytic converter.