Electric and Hybrid Dashboard Symbols

With more and more folks opting for EVs and hybrids, it’s important that you know about warning lights in case one illuminates on your dashboard while on the road, especially as they vary from those on traditional combustion-powered vehicles.

No idea where to start? No problem, that’s exactly what this guide is all about! Plus, at the end, you can test what you’ve learned with our very own interactive quiz.

Colour coding for hybrid and EV symbols

Much like ICEs, dashboard symbols for EVs and hybrids are categorised by three colours to help drivers identify the severity of the issue.

Red

Red symbols, as you might expect, are used to signal serious warnings or issues. If it pops up whilst you’re driving, you should pull over somewhere safe to address the issue – this may even mean calling your recovery company.

Amber/yellow

If you see an amber/yellow signal, this means that there is an imminent issue that needs to be addressed as soon as possible but isn’t severe enough that you need to pull over immediately.

Green/blue/white/black

When it comes to green/blue symbols, these aren’t warnings at all but used to highlight helpful vehicle information.

Electric car dashboard symbols

Ready To Drive

Electric cars don’t make as much noise when they start up as conventional cars. Instead, symbols illuminate to indicate to the driver that the car is ready to drive.

What To Do: If no symbol shows when trying to start your car, call your dealer.

Eco-Mode

When a car is in Eco-Mode, the car adapts to act in a way that’ll get you as many miles as possible out of the battery charge available. While this isn’t anything to worry about, it is worth noting as acceleration and overall performance are reduced to ensure greater efficiency.

What To Do: Continue driving normally.

General Fault

Electric cars are rather complex vehicles. Due to this, some manufacturers group a range of warnings under one warning light, such as this spanner symbol. Errors under this general warning may include faults with the traction system, pedal sensors and the charging system.

What To Do: Follow display screen instructions.

General Electrical Fault

This symbol indicates an issue with the car’s electrical system. This could involve various errors such as with the motors, wiring or batteries. This symbol could appear in amber or red depending on how severe the fault is.

What To Do: Take your car to be inspected by an approved dealer/recovery service.

Limited Power

Don’t let this cute little tortoise symbol fool you, it actually indicates that your car potentially has quite a serious issue. Similar to the spanner symbol, this warning light could be caused by various faults that are hampering the car’s performance, such as extreme battery temperatures or other electrical issues. As a result, it’s best to head straight to an approved dealer to determine the issue and fix it.

What To Do: Take your car to an approved dealer.

Pedestrian Alert

As electric cars don’t make much noise, they come with an electronic sound that’s broadcast at slow speeds, giving pedestrians an audible warning to avoid collisions. If this indicator lights up at any other time, it means this feature is faulty.

What To Do: Take your car to an approved dealer.

Low Battery

An electric car will usually tell you that you need more charge once you have around 12% left and then again at 5%.

What To Do: Recharge the battery as soon as possible.

Hybrid car dashboard symbols

EV Operation Indicator

A hybrid-specific dashboard light, this illuminates when you’re running solely in electric-only mode.

What To Do: Continue driving normally.

E-Mode

This symbol indicates that the electric driving mode is temporarily unavailable. This happens when hybrid cars are driven more aggressively, and electric power can’t recharge fast enough.

What To Do: Continue driving at lower speeds and wait for electric power to be restored.

Auto-Glide Control Indicator

Also referred to as ACG, this feature reduces deceleration force, allowing the vehicle to coast, enhancing fuel economy.

What To Do: Continue driving normally.

Battery Charge Level

In hybrid vehicles, this symbol indicates that the battery is nearly empty and will need charging soon, otherwise your car will only be powered by petrol until the charge is restored.

What To Do: The battery needs charging soon or power will run out.

Battery Temperature Warning

While also appearing on conventional cars, on hybrid or electric-powered cars a battery symbol (rather than an engine) will light up if the traction battery temperature is too high, or if the engine is too hot.

What To Do: Stop/pull over immediately.

Pedestrian Warning

Much like the pedestrian alert on EVs, the pedestrian warning system on hybrids helps to prevent accidents occurring and alerts the driver of imminent danger of a collision. If no action is taken by the driver, automatic braking will kick in.

What To Do: Brake immediately.

Interactive quiz: Test your knowledge on electric and hybrid warning symbols

Now that you’re all clued up, we thought it would be a good opportunity to test out your electric and hybrid car knowledge by challenging you to a dashboard warning light quiz!

The quiz will not only tell you what the warning light is but also what to do when one appears, so you know whether it’s a simple case of restarting the car or if you need to pull over and get the fault fixed immediately.

So, take the quiz and put your electric and hybrid knowledge to the test, and once you’re done, why not share it with your friends to see who knows the most?

For those with business leases, being aware of what the dashboard is showing you and overall maintenance is particularly important as it could negatively impact company credit or lease agreements if not addressed accordingly.

Found this helpful? Be sure to check out our other electric and hybrid guides:

• Guide to leasing an electric car
• How much are EVs?
• Benefits of electric cars for businesses
• What is a hybrid?
• Hybrid vs electric cars