Finally Get Your First Car? Here's 3 Indicator Lights You Should Know About

Now that you have your first car, there's something you should know. When those annoying indicator lights come on in your car, you should have them checked out as soon as possible. That's one thing you usually don't hear about when you're learning to drive. Those indicator lights actually do more than just blink off and on at an irritating speed. They're designed to let you know that your car needs some attention. Here's what a couple of those lights are trying to tell you.

Tire Pressure Light

This light may look like a lit up tire, or it may look like a tire with an exclamation point in it. Regardless of what it looks like, it's telling that one of your tires needs some air. Now, you might be tempted to keep driving once you discover that none of your tires are actually flat. That is not a smart thing to do.

Driving your car without properly inflated tires can cause uneven wear on your tires, which means that one or two of your tires will wear out faster than the rest. Not only that, but you're gas mileage will suffer while your tires are underinflated. When your tire pressure light comes on, take it to a tire shop. They'll check your tire pressure and get you back on the road.

Oil Change Light

If you have an oil change light on your car, it will light up when it's time for an oil change. While you could continue to drive for another few thousand miles, that's not a good idea. The purpose of the oil is to keep your engine properly lubricated.

Over time, the engine oil gets dirty. If you continue to drive your car with dirty oil, the oil will begin to burn. Once that happens, your car will no longer be properly lubricated. To prevent serious engine damage, take your car in for an oil change as soon as the light comes on.

Check Engine Light

Don't panic. The check engine light doesn't necessarily mean that there is something wrong with your engine. If this light comes on, the first thing you should do is check your gas cap. It might be loose or not on all the way. A loose gas cap can cause excess fumes to build up in the gas tank, which can cause your indicator light to think something is wrong with the catalytic converter.

Take your gas cap off and then place it back on. Drive your car around for about 10 minutes to see if the light goes off. If it does, great! If it doesn't, take your car to a local repair shop, such as Lynwood Firestone. They'll run a quick diagnostic test on it, and let you know what the problem is.

Now that you know what some of the indicator lights mean, you're good to go. Keep track of your lights, and your car should get you where you need to go for a very long time.