Get behind the wheel of a car, and there's
a whole gallery of strange little colored icons staring
back at you from the dashboard.
It's important to know what they mean because it could
be a warning sign that something's
not right with your car and should be checked out
right away.
So we hit the streets to ask regular drivers what they
thought those symbols mean.
Um, I'm stumped, honestly.
I'm stumped.
I don't know what that is.
Then Jen Stockburger, Director of Auto Operations
for Consumer Reports, is going to talk me through them.
My brakes-- they're locking.
ABS-- anti-brake system.
So this is actually an icon you don't want to see,
because it means there's a malfunction
with your anti-lock braking system.
So your anti-lock brakes are a system
that pulses your brakes to keep them
from locking up and skidding.
So you'll feel it or hear it in very hard braking
or when it's slippery.
You'll hear that er-er-er-er pulse.
And you'll feel it in your brake pedal.
Mm-hmm.
You need to get to a mechanic as soon as possible,
find out what's wrong, and get it repaired.
[LAUGH] It looks like a water--
like the hose, when you turn it.
You know the hose from the house?
That's what it looks like.
A transmission?
Check engine.
Oh, no-- oil, check oil, right?
This is your Check Engine light.
Right.
And this is an indicator you don't want to see.
But the thing with this indicator
is it can mean so many things.
It can be as simple as your gas cap
isn't put on fully tight to some major engine trouble.
So you don't want to risk continuing
to drive with this light on until you find out.
Turn on your lights.
The lights are on.
Turning signal, like, left side?
My lights need to be replaced?
What is this?
This is your headlights?
It's close.
But this squiggle means it's actually your fog lights.
So many vehicles-- you have your main headlight.
And then there's a set of lower lights that are your fog lamps.
So when you see this light on, it means your fogs are on--
great advantage in foggy weather because they're very low.
They cut underneath the fog to illuminate the road ahead.
But you shouldn't really leave them
on when conditions are clear.
The fluid level of some type is low.
It has something to do with tires?
What exactly is this?
I can't tell.
So this is your tire pressure monitoring system,
telling you that your tire inflation pressure is too low.
Tire pressure is critically important to the life
of the tire.
The more a tire flexes--
which it does when it's under-inflated--
the more heat it builds up.
It can lead to damage.
Low tire pressure actually relates to fuel economy.
You get better fuel economy when your tire's correctly inflated.
And it also relates, obviously, to the performance
of the tire, your handling.
What people also don't realize is when the temperature drops,
for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit the temperature drops,
your tire pressure drops one pound per square inch, one PSI.
You're good to accelerate.
The gas pedal's working.
Put the brake on, maybe?
You're not in Park?
Hit the gas!
It's a shoe in a circle.
A shoe in a circle.
This is actually a shift interlock or a brake interlock.
What is that?
So they originally were mandated for the protection of children.
It makes starting your car or shifting your car
a 2-step motion, in that you have
to have your foot on the brake to get your car started
or to shift it out of Park.
So it particularly is important.
A lot of us do it automatically.
We just hit the brake before we hit the ignition.
But if you're in a car that's not familiar-- a rental car,
perhaps--
and you see this symbol, it means
you need to be on the brake to perform
the action you're trying to do.
Great protection for kids, because they can't typically
do both.
Jen, why do you think there's so much confusion
around these icons?
And is there anything we can do about it?
Yes, so the first thing is, there's more and more of them
that you have to learn.
And as more and more technology comes into the cars,
more and more lights are appearing on the dash.
And it's worth opening that owner's manual
and figuring out what they are.
I wish us humans had these icons on our bodies.
There you go-- got a little heart trouble!
[LAUGHTER]
Got to go to the doctor.