Tesla Dashboard Warning Lights and Symbols Explained

ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) Fault

This light means a problem is found in the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). Use an ABS scan tool to read the stored faults on Tesla’s computer. The brakes will remain functional, but the ABS will no longer work. Service the ABS for the warning indicator to go off.

Common ABS system faults:

• Faulty ABS wheel speed sensor
• Broken ABS wheel ring

Airbag Warning Indicator

The airbag warning indicator will remain lit if there is a fault with the airbag system. Use a professional OBD-II airbag scanner to read the stored codes for the occurring faults. This symbol should only light up briefly when the ignition is turned ON.

Common causes of airbag faults:

• Dead battery
• Faulty clock spring
• A damaged passenger weight sensor

Tire Pressure Warning 

This light means there might be a problem with the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), or the tire pressure is underinflated. Check the touchscreen display for which tire position is giving the fault. Check if the tire is aired up to the pressure listed on the driver’s side door jam. If the tire is aired up and the light remains on after driving, there is a fault with a sensor or the control module.

Common causes of TPMS failure:

• One or more underinflated tires.
• A faulty tire pressure monitor system sensor
• A bad TPMS control module

Brake Booster Fault

This light means that there is a problem with the brake booster. A greater force will be required to stop. Hydraulic booster compensation will engage in case of brake booster failure. Use a steady force behind the brake pedal to stop with hydraulic compensation.

Common causes of brake booster failure:

• Ruptured brake booster diaphragm 
• Vacuum leaks

Brake System Fault

This light means that a brake system fault has occurred. Pull the vehicle over when it is safe to do so. Have the vehicle towed to a safe location. It is dangerous to drive with a brake system failure. Under the hood, check the brake fluid level. Have the brake system serviced.

Common causes of brake system indicator:

• Brake system malfunction
• Low brake fluid level
• The parking brake is on (light may illuminate yellow instead of red in this case)

Auto High Beam

This light means that the auto high beam is activated. The high beams will turn on automatically when there is no oncoming traffic. The high beam switch and automatic high beam button must be on for this to work. Turning either off will turn off the system.

Autosteer

This light means that the autosteer is available but not active. To engage autosteer push, the driver stalks down two times in quick succession. This will activate Autosteer, and the icon will display on the touchscreen blue. The detected lane markers will also display blue. To disengage the autosteer, push the driver stalk upwards.

Bluetooth

This light means that you can connect a Bluetooth device to the vehicle. Refer to the owner’s manual to learn how to connect various Bluetooth devices. Turn Bluetooth off in the touchscreen settings. This will turn off the Bluetooth indicator.

Calendar

The calendar is located in the apps on the touchscreen display. Touch the calendar icon to pull up all events/dates scheduled on the calendar. The Teslas calendar app can be synced with smartphone calendars if this option is enabled.

Call

The icon for the call app is located on the touchscreen display in the apps section. This app can make hands-free calls from Tesla if a phone is connected via Bluetooth. Navigate to the call app, and any contacts on the phone will be displayed, as well as a dial to input numbers to make calls. 

Camera

This icon is for the camera app, which can be navigated to on the touchscreen in the apps section. The camera app shows a live feed from the rear and side-view cameras. If the car is put in reverse, the camera app will automatically display the rear camera feed.

Cellular Network

This indicator shows the cellular network of a connected phone. The phone must be connected via Bluetooth for this indicator to show. Disconnect the phone via Bluetooth to turn off this indicator.

Charging

This icon is for the charging app located on Tesla’s touchscreen display. Open this app to display charging information, such as how many miles can be driven on the current charge and how long the Tesla needs to set. The charge port door can also be opened from this app.

Cold Battery

This indicator appears when some of the stored energy is unavailable due to low hybrid battery temperature. The battery can be heated in climate control settings. The snowflake icon will disappear when the battery has warmed up. 

Controls

The controls app is anchored on the bottom of the touchscreen display. It is an important app that lets the driver control all the vehicle’s features. There are many features to adjust, such as sunroof, suspension, driving modes, trips, and parking brakes. 

Current Driving Speed 

This indicator shows the current speed of the vehicle. It only appears when traffic-aware cruise control is active. When traffic-aware cruise control speed is set, this indicator will change to blue and show the maximum speed at which it was set.

Dashcam

This icon displays when a supported flash drive with sufficient memory has been inserted into the USB port. It means the dashcam is ready to use. The dash cam will automatically record when driving, and a red circle will display on top of the icon. To pause the recording, touch and hold the icon. To save a recording, tap the icon. While the vehicle is in the park, touch the icon to view saved dashcam recordings.

Door Ajar

This door-ajar indicator means a door is open or not properly closed on the vehicle. If all doors are shut properly, and this warning lamp is still on, it may be caused by a malfunction.

Common faults causing the door ajar indicator: 

• Worn-out door latches/ strikers
• Faulty door ajar sensor

Driver’s Profile

Touch the driver’s profile icon to add, switch, or configure driver profiles. Driver profiles allow subsets of settings adjusted in the controls menu to be saved for individual drivers. Driver profiles can also be linked to individual keys and will automatically swap when the driver’s key is used. 

Electronic Stability Control System OFF

This light means that the Electronic Stability Control System is not active anymore. It will display until the traction control is enabled again. The vehicle can be put in slip start mode, where traction control will be turned off to allow the wheel to slip deliberately. This allows the wheels to spin at a set speed to try and get a start on slippery surfaces.

Electronic Stability Control System

This light means the Electronic Stability Control System reduces wheel speed by controlling brake pressure and motor power. It will flash when the stability control is actively working. If this light stays on, the system has detected a fault, and the traction control system will be disabled.

Common causes of electronic stability control system failure:

• Faulty steering angle or wheel speed sensors/contaminated sensors
• Faulty ABS
• Faulty power steering system
• Engine problems such as misfiring cylinders

Emergency Braking in Progress

The emergency braking indicator displays when automatic emergency braking is engaging. Braking is applied when the vehicle’s front sonar sensors detect a forward collision. An audible chime will also be heard, and the brake pedal will move downward. Emergency braking will disengage if the brakes are tapped or the steering wheel is turned. Emergency braking can be disabled in the autopilot controls.

Energy

The energy app shows real-time and projected energy usage of the vehicle. The consumption is calculated over a range of miles. It can also be estimated on the trip menu if navigation is used.

Entertainment

This app can access a library of games and video streaming services. Depending on the region of the vehicle, it may not be available. 

Front Fog Lights

This light means that the front fog lights are activated. The fog lights can be turned on or off in the controls > lights section on the touchscreen display.

High Beam Headlights

This light means that the high beam headlights are active, and auto high beam is not enabled. High-beam headlights can be turned on by pushing the turn signal stalk forward. They can be disabled by pulling the turn signal stalk backward. 

 Auto High Beam Headlights

This light means that Auto High Beam Headlights are on. The auto beam headlights will turn on the high beam headlights automatically when the vehicle does not sense oncoming traffic. They will turn off if oncoming traffic is detected. The auto high beam headlights can be enabled and disabled in the controls > lights settings on the touchscreen display.

Hold

This light means that the vehicle hold is activating the brakes. If the hold is enabled in the control settings, the vehicle will automatically apply the brakes on hills even if the foot is removed from the brake. This can also be disabled in the control settings.

HomeLink

The HomeLink app uses a wireless universal transceiver that can be set to control radio frequency (RF) devices in the home. RF devices like garage door openers, lights, and security systems can be controlled through this app. Navigate to this app on the touchscreen display to use it.

Information

The Tesla “T” information app can access specific vehicle information. The odometer, VIN, vehicle name, and more will be displayed. The customer support number for Tesla is also on this menu.

Low Beam Headlights

This light means that the low-beam headlights are active. The headlights can be controlled in the control> lights menu. Low beam headlights can be set to automatically be turned on here, or they can also manually be enabled in this menu.

Notifications

The notification warning will display any faults that have occurred with the vehicle. Systems may become unavailable, and troubleshooting will be needed. It will appear on the touchscreen display and can be tapped to display more information. Any stored notifications and information about them will be displayed when tapped.

Parking Brake Fault

This light means that there is a problem with the parking brake. A fault has been detected and stored in the vehicle’s park brake module. A professional OBDII scan tool will be needed to retrieve the stored diagnostic codes. 

Common causes of parking brake faults:

• Park brake module failure
• Improper cable adjustment
• Worn-out/low park brake shoes
• Greater electrical/wiring failure

Parking Brake

This light means that the parking brakes have been manually activated. It will stay on until the parking brake has been disengaged. This alerts the driver not to leave the parking brake on while driving. 

Parking Lights

This light means that the parking lights are active. The parking lights can be enabled/disabled in the controls>lights menu. Turn the parking lights off to remove the indicator from the touchscreen display.

Paused

Press and hold the Dashcam icon when recording to pause the recording. Tap the dashcam icon again to resume recording.

Saved

Tap the Dashcam icon when recording to archive the most recent ten minutes of video. The video will be saved to the portable flash drive plugged into the USB port.

Recording

The dashcam recording icon will begin when the vehicle is driven as long as the dashcam is enabled. If enabled, a dashcam icon will be displayed on the touchscreen before driving.

Rear Window Defroster 

The rear window defroster icon is in the climate controls. Tap this icon to enable/disable the rear window defrost. The icon will turn blue once enabled. Once disabled, it will turn back to gray.

Seat Belt Reminder

This light means the driver or any other passenger seat belt is not fastened. The warning will turn on with an audible repeating chime until the unbuckled seatbelt is fastened for all passengers. There is a fault if the warning still happens even after all seatbelts are fastened.

Common causes of seatbelt malfunction:

• Faulty seat belt sensor
• Faulty seat pressure sensor
• Seatbelt not fastened

Sentry Mode

This light means that sentry mode is enabled. It can be set in the controls>safety & security> sentry mode settings menu. Sentry mode will keep the car cameras and motion sensors active to monitor any activity around the vehicle while parked. This mode comes at the cost of increased battery consumption for more safety.

Software Updates

This light will display when the vehicle has an available software update. The vehicle must be connected to a secure WiFi to download and install the update. Once the update has been applied, the software update indicator will go off. 

The Set Cruising Speed

This light means that Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is cruising at a speed. It is the maximum speed at which the vehicle will go. If the vehicle slows down from traffic, it will return to this speed if possible. To disengage, tap the breaks or turn off the cruise control. 

Toybox

The Toybox app will display all unlocked “Easter Eggs.” For more information about these easter eggs, refer to the owner’s manual. 

Turn Signals

The turn signal indicators will be displayed on the vehicle’s touchscreen display. Each turn signal can be enabled by pushing the turn signal stalk on the left side of the steering wheel up or down. If a problem happens with the turn signals, a fault may be displayed on the touchscreen display.

Common turn signal faults:

• The turn signal switch is faulty. 
• Busted turn signal bulb

Unlock Doors

This icon at the top of the touchscreen display can be tapped to unlock/lock all doors and trunks.

Vehicle Power

This light means that the vehicle’s power is limited because the battery’s energy might be low or the vehicle’s systems are being cooled down or heated. The light will be amber if it is due to overheating. Pull over immediately in case of a temperature problem and let the vehicle cool down. If possible, get to a charging station in case of a low battery. If this problem persists, the vehicle will need to be serviced.

Web

The web app can access the internet browser if internet connectivity is available.  

WiFi Network

This icon means that the vehicle is connected to WiFi.

Front Windshield Defroster

The front window defroster icon is in the climate controls. Tap this icon to enable/disable the front window defrost. The icon will turn blue once enabled. Once disabled, it will turn back to gray.

OFF

This option means the exterior lights are off until the drivers turn them back on.

ON

This option means that the exterior lights are active.

AUTO

This option means the exterior lights will automatically turn on if the vehicle finds low lighting conditions.

PARKING

This option means that all Parking lights (the exterior side marker lights, parking lights, taillights, and license plate lights) are active.