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Warning and status lights, and the colour convention that tells you how urgent they are.
Colour does most of the work. Red generally means stop safely as soon as you can; amber means something needs attention but is not immediately dangerous; green and blue are status rather than warning. The shapes themselves are largely standardised through ISO and reproduced across manufacturers, so a symbol learned in one car usually transfers.
These records say so themselves — the setting appears in the symbol's own reviewed description or in one of its documented meanings.
An amber dashboard icon reading 'ABS' inside an oval, warning of a fault in the anti-lock braking system.
Its description places it there: “An amber dashboard icon reading 'ABS' inside an oval, warning of…”
An amber droplet or tank: the exhaust fluid is low.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “An amber tell-tale indicating that the diesel exhaust fluid — marketed…”
A dashboard icon of a seated figure with an airbag outline in front of them, warning of a fault in the airbag/supplemental restraint system.
Its description places it there: “A dashboard icon of a seated figure with an airbag outline…”
A letter A inside a circular arrow.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A tell-tale showing the letter A within a circular arrow…”
A red battery-shaped dashboard icon warning that the vehicle's charging system, not necessarily the battery itself, has a fault.
Its description places it there: “A red battery-shaped dashboard icon warning that the vehicle's charging system…”
A red circle-and-exclamation-mark dashboard icon, often flanked by curved brackets, warning of a parking-brake or hydraulic brake-system fault.
Its description places it there: “A red circle-and-exclamation-mark dashboard icon, often flanked by curved brackets, warning…”
An amber lamp outline with radiating lines and a fault mark.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “…invisible to the driver, which is the reason the tell-tale exists”
An amber or red dashboard icon shaped like an engine block, indicating a detected vehicle malfunction.
Its description places it there: “An amber or red dashboard icon shaped like an engine block, indicating…”
A thermometer-in-liquid dashboard icon, red for overheating and (on some vehicles) blue for an engine that is still too cold.
Its description places it there: “A thermometer-in-liquid dashboard icon, red for overheating and (on some vehicles)…”
A speedometer outline with an arrow, or the word SET.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A tell-tale indicating that cruise control is switched on…”
Red, amber, green — the part of a dashboard that generalises across every car.
Its description places it there: “Red, amber, green — the part of a dashboard that generalises across every car”
An amber box with dots inside: the soot filter is clogging.
Its summary places it there: “…a filter full of trapped soot. It is the one dashboard warning whose remedy is usually to drive further…”
A green headlamp with rays angled downward: normal headlights.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A green tell-tale showing a headlamp with lines projecting downward…”
A flashing green arrow — and a fast flash means a bulb has failed.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A green tell-tale in the form of an arrow, flashing in time with…”
A car seen from above with its doors swung out.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A red tell-tale showing a car in plan view with one or more doors…”
A plug, a battery or a car with a cable: the state of charging.
Its summary places it there: “The newest family of tell-tales and the least standardised. A plug means connected…”
An amber dashboard icon of a car with skid lines beneath it, warning of a fault in the vehicle's electronic stability or traction control system.
Its description places it there: “An amber dashboard icon of a car with skid lines beneath it, warning…”
An oil can with a wavy line under it: the level is low, not the pressure.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “An amber tell-tale showing an oil can above a wavy line, indicating…”
A green lamp with a wavy line cutting across its straight rays.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A green tell-tale showing a lamp projecting straight lines with…”
An amber fuel-pump-nozzle dashboard icon, sometimes with a small arrow, warning that fuel level is low.
Its description places it there: “An amber fuel-pump-nozzle dashboard icon, sometimes with a small arrow, warning that…”
An amber coiled spring: a diesel is preheating, wait before starting.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “An amber tell-tale shaped like a coiled filament, indicating that…”
A red triangle outline: both indicators at once.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “Distinguished from every warning tell-tale by being a control the driver operates rather…”
A car with a key or padlock inside it: the vehicle does not recognise the key.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A tell-tale showing a car containing a key or a padlock…”
A car between two lane lines, one of them broken or highlighted.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A tell-tale showing a car between two lane markings, indicating…”
A blue headlamp with straight horizontal rays: high beam is on.
Its summary places it there: “The one blue lamp on the dashboard. Straight rays mean main beam; the same shape…”
A red oil-can-shaped dashboard icon warning of critically low engine oil pressure or level.
Its description places it there: “A red oil-can-shaped dashboard icon warning of critically low engine oil pressure…”
A circle with a P inside, in brackets: the handbrake is on.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A red tell-tale showing the letter P within a circle flanked…”
A steering-wheel dashboard icon, sometimes marked 'EPS' or with an exclamation mark, warning of reduced or lost power-steering assistance.
Its description places it there: “A steering-wheel dashboard icon, sometimes marked 'EPS' or with an exclamation…”
An amber lamp with rays angled the other way, crossed by a wave.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “An amber tell-tale showing a lamp projecting lines crossed by a…”
A red or amber dashboard icon of a seated figure wearing a diagonal belt line, reminding an occupant to fasten their seatbelt.
Its description places it there: “A red or amber dashboard icon of a seated figure wearing a diagonal belt…”
A spanner: a scheduled service is due, not a fault.
Its summary places it there: “…which makes it the least alarming lamp on the dashboard”
A green pair of lamps facing outward: position lights only.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “A green tell-tale showing two lamps projecting short rays outward…”
A car with skid marks, with OFF beneath: the electronic safety net is disabled.
Its a documented meaning places it there: “An amber tell-tale showing a car above two wavy lines, indicating…”
An amber dashboard icon shaped like a tyre's cross-section with an exclamation mark, warning of significantly low tyre pressure.
Its description places it there: “An amber dashboard icon shaped like a tyre's cross-section with…”
An amber dashboard icon of a windscreen with spray dots, warning that windscreen washer fluid is low.
Its description places it there: “An amber dashboard icon of a windscreen with spray dots, warning…”
These carry an editorial context assigned during review that places them here.
A letter E in a circle with a country number, marking a type-approved part.
An outline of a plug's pin pattern, identifying a charging connector type.
A circle, square or diamond on a pump and filler flap identifying the fuel.
A code such as 5W-30 giving an oil's cold and hot viscosity behaviour.
A hook symbol or removable cover marking a vehicle's rated recovery point.
A small triangle or letters on the shoulder, pointing at a moulded wear bar.
Four digits in an oval giving the week and year a tyre was manufactured.
A number keyed to a table of maximum loads.
A number and a letter after the size, giving load capacity and maximum speed.
A coded string on a sidewall giving width, profile, construction and rim size.
A letter naming a maximum sustained speed.
These belong to a system or a curated family that lives here. A laundry care symbol is met on a clothing label whether or not its own wording happens to say so.
A car in profile with an arrow curling round inside it.
Coloured arcs around an airspeed dial.
A miniature aircraft against a split brown and blue disc.
A horizontal needle showing position above or below the approach path.
A straight-sided rectangle with three wavy arrows: the heated rear window.
A battery or arrow display showing energy recovered.
A car outline above two wavy skid lines.
A miniature aircraft with a ball in a curved tube below.
A dial reading feet per minute up or down from a centre zero.
A curved rectangle with three wavy arrows rising through it.
If you can describe what you saw as well as where, say both: “winged skull on a gravestone” narrows a list of 56 to a handful.