Your car's dashboard lights will let you know if there is a fault in your vehicle and when they do, they should never be ignored. There are different warning lights and your owner’s manual will contain an explanation of these symbols and what they mean.

There are many different warning lights and combinations of different warning lights that can light up on your dashboard. The best place to get an explanation for all of them is in your users manual.  A few that you might see include:

Master Warning Light – This is a red triangle with an exclamation mark – and can signal a number of different faults. You should bring your vehicle in to Blackwood Dyno Tune & Service so we can look at the issue and remedy the situation.

Brake System Warning Light – This is an exclamation mark in a circle which lights up to let you know when the parking brake is on. It should turn off when the parking brake is released but if it doesn’t – it could be dangerous to continue driving. If you find yourself with a brake warning lights that’s not switching off please call Blackwood Dyno Tune & Service.

Oil Pressure Warning Light – This is a red oil can symbol. This light will come on briefly during start up and then switch off – this is normal. However – if this light comes on when you are driving you should take immediate action:  stop driving and switch off the engine. Do not restart your vehicle as you could damage your engine and call Blackwood Dyno Tune & Service to discuss the situation.  

This is the master warning light – and can signal several different faults. You should bring your vehicle in to Blackwood Dyno Tune & Service so we can look at the issue and remedy the situation.

There can be so many reasons why a vehicle starts using more fuel than normal. Sometimes it can be a system fault as experienced with this case study and sometimes it can be about how you are using your vehicle.

Have you changed the way you use your vehicle? Heavier loads can increase the amount of fuel you use, so consider what you might be carrying around unnecessarily.  

Change of weather? Using the car air conditioning will increase the amount of petrol you use and in the hot Adelaide summers it can be necessary to use the air con a lot!

Checked your tyres? The air pressure in your tyres should be maintained for many reasons and fuel consumption is one of them, properly inflated tyres will use less fuel.

If you feel your vehicle is using more fuel than normal, and you haven’t changed the way you use your vehicle you should discuss this with Blackwood Dyno Tune & Service before your next service – we may be able to diagnose the issue and get your fuel use back on track.