Imagine you are on a nice long ride with your peers, enjoying the coastal scape around and all of a sudden, you hear a weird beep noise and notice a small sign starting to blink on your dashboard. What happens? You would start to wonder, “what is wrong with my car? Is this all happening because I bought a second hand car.
But here is the thing, used or brand new, cars usually give off warning signs to inform the driver that there are issues with it that need to be rectified
Warning signs blink in three different colour schemes. Each colour on your dashboard indicates a unique concern.
- Green or blue lights simply points to the fact that your system is in operation.
- Orange/yellow warning lights usually denote that your vehicle needs to be serviced soon.
- Red lights are the ones that are of great concern and calls for immediate action or help. They usually indicate mechanical issues or safety warnings that might require of the driver to pull over right away and call for help.
Now that you are aware about the warning lights and their colour significance, lets go through some warning lights that may pop-up in your good condition used cars.
1.Tyre pressure warning light:
The tyre pressure monitoring system keeps a check on issues related to the pressure present in the tyres of your car. When one or more tyres have got high or low pressure than the other, this warning symbol starts signalling the driver to take immediate action. Tyre pressure is sensitive to heat and cold weather conditions. It is important to have regular checks on the pressure levels of your tyres and inflate or deflate them to the correct pressure according to your current conditions.
2. Engine temperature warning light:
This symbol pops up when the car engine starts overheating. It may cause irreparable damage to the whole of your vehicle’s working conditions. It warns the driver that he/she needs to call for assistance immediately to prevent from more damage being caused. Engine overheating can be caused due to various factors like a damaged cooling system, a faulty radiator or even dirt or debris blocking the radiator airflow. A buyer always needs to check on the coolant levels of the engine while purchasing used cars. Also, cooling the engine down by turning it off as soon as you detect hints of overheating and staying consistent and updated on coolant service flushes are important to maintain a well-groomed car.
3. Check Engine Warning Light:
Were you aware of the fact that your car has a computer called the ECU? Yes, that’s right, this computer guy does all the math regarding the efficient and smooth operations of your car and also does the job of detecting faults in your engine. If these lights start blinking, the car must be towed or taken to a professional for immediate assistance. If not done so , a lot of damage would be caused to certain expensive parts of the car, which you might not come economical to you. A faulty oxygen sensor is the prime aspect responsible for a check engine light to start blinking. If the previous owner had a poorly maintained vehicle with faulty converters or a loose gas cap, this warning light has a lot on its plate.
4.Battery Alert Warning Light:
Have you noticed how a small battery light symbol lights up when you turn on your car? Well, that’s pretty normal if it turns off few seconds after. But if it stays on whilst you’re on the road, it can say a number of things about your car’s charging system and battery life. It can mean that there can either be a faulty wiring in the charging system, a damaged alternator, loose battery cable etc. Once you purchase a used vehicle, its mandatory that you examine the battery and its charging system. One must also take efforts to clean the battery terminals and tighten cable clamps that might’ve been loosened due to prior usage by the previous owner for hassle free experience and durable battery life.
5.Seatbelt warning light:
Isn’t it annoying when the lights start blinking and the sensor goes off making those beep noises repeatedly unless you put on your seatbelts? Well, this is probably that one warning which comes off with the easiest solution. All you got to do is fasten your seatbelts! Sometimes in the case of used cars, the retractor in the belts might be locked making it hard to extend or pull out. All you got to do is create a slack by feeding the belt back into the retractor and try pulling it out again. Due to prior usage, the belt and buckle could be stiff and not so easy to work with and at times like that, lubricators come handy.
6. Car door open warning light:
Your car’s ECU monitors the switch and alerts you when it thinks one of the doors isn’t closed all the way through. This is a safety measure to prevent any of the doors from opening while you are driving second hand cars might have issues of rusted latches, bent and jammed door handles or poorly adjusted door anchors which might keep the doors from closing properly. Lubricants may help you in such situations.
Different cars have got different set of icons displayed according to its capacity and range. All details regarding your car are always provided in the owner’s manual when they sell used cars.