If you have a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and wonder what the warning lights on its dashboard means, this quick guide will answer all your questions!
In this electronic information age, many car manufacturers have replaced traditional gauges with warning lights. These save on cost and complexity and warn the driver if a fault occurs or when something requires attention from the driver. In most modern cars, a display of primary warning lights will activate when the ignition is switched on, but most of these will extinguish after a second or two.
If you find yourself searching for a new or used Mitsubishi Pajero Sport on AutoTrader and is considering selling your car quickly and easily with our Instant Offer tool. Here are what the warning lights on a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport mean. Some might be concerning while others are quick fixes.
About the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
The latest Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is a highly complex but capable machine in its latest guise. Introduced to the South African market in late-2017, it is an excellent example of combining electronic aids with excellent off-road-orientated engineering to provide a unique blend of abilities. It can tackle the roughest off-road situations yet still double as a smooth, plush SUV in urban environs.
There are an astounding number of driver-aid systems on offer here, which will have been covered by the salesman when taking delivery of a new Pajero Sport. Many of these systems will be indicated by lights on the dashboard when they are in operation. We suggest you read the very comprehensive owner’s manual to familiarise yourself with the car as soon as possible after taking delivery.
However, if you’ve forgotten what a warning light means, this quick guide will help you out. Most of the dashboard lights will disappear a few seconds after starting, but some require the driver to ensure that all is well and the vehicle is in good working order.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport warning lights explained
1. Seat-belt warning light
This light will glow red until the driver and/or the front seat passenger have correctly fastened their seatbelts. A warning chime will also sound if the driver attempts to proceed without slotting home the seatbelt tab in its retainer. The same light will glow (and the chime will sound) if sensors detect that a front-seat passenger is present and the seat belt has not been fastened.
2. Parking brake warning light (yellow).
This yellow light, with an exclamation mark surrounded by a circle, will glow if there is a fault with the electronic parking brake system. If this continues to glow after you’ve switched the car off and on again a few times, you must consult your friendly Mitsubishi service agent to rectify the fault. Driving it with the parking brake system malfunctioning could cause serious problems, so if the light continues to glow, stop the car and call for assistance.
3. Parking brake warning light (red)
This light will glow red when the parking brake is activated. To release the parking brake, you must depress the brake pedal with your foot and then depress the electronic parking brake button on the console to release the brake. To prevent the vehicle from rolling forwards or backwards if you are on a slope, you should have the vehicle in Park, or in gear, before releasing the brake. Once you depress the park brake switch, the light will switch off.
4. Safety restraint system (airbag and seat belt tensioner) malfunction warning light
This light comes on every time you activate the ignition (power button) and will glow for a second or two before disappearing. This is quite normal and indicates that the system is operating correctly. If there is a problem with one or more systems, the light will come on, and stay on. Airbag release systems are extremely powerful, and you don’t want them malfunctioning, so if this light glows and stays on, consult your dealer immediately.
5. The Active Stability and Traction Control system is off
This logo shows a vehicle with skid marks behind it and with the legend “off” below it. When this light glows, it means that the traction and stability control system has been switched off. This can be achieved by using the switch on the dashboard to the right of the steering column. The system is also switched off automatically when the drive mode rotary switch is turned to the 4LLc position. In this low-range, off-road mode, the electronic traction control system can interfere with the operation of the central and rear differential systems, used for extreme off-road slippery conditions.
The reason why the traction control can be switched off manually (even in other drive modes) is that, in extremely slippery conditions, such as on ice or mud, some wheel spin may be preferable for maintaining forward momentum rather than having the system taking away engine power and applying the brakes as soon as any of the four wheels spin.
6. Active Stability and Traction Control in operation
This light will flash when the operational ASTC system is brought into action when the sensors detect that one or more wheels are starting to spin. The system automatically brakes the wheel that is starting to spin, thus maintaining traction on all four wheels. This light may glow momentarily on a dirt road or slippery wet tar road when wheel spin or skidding is detected on one or more wheels. In this case, the driver should slow down as the vehicle is travelling too fast for the prevailing traction conditions.
7. ABS Braking warning light
If this light glows and continues to glow in normal driving, it means there is a fault with the anti-lock braking system. Anti-lock braking systems prevent wheels from locking up in emergency braking. However, in off-road conditions on extremely slippery surfaces, where the rear differential lock has been activated, both ABS and ASTC operations will be suspended to enable the mechanical traction systems to operate effectively. These two lights ( see Number 5) will then glow, and this does not indicate a fault with the system. Once the rear differential lock is deactivated, these will go out on the dashboard.
8. Hill-descent control
This light will glow once the driver has activated hill descent control, to be used in extreme descents in an off-road environment. It will only be able to be activated at a speed of less than 20 km/h. The system is designed to automatically brake the vehicle to a desired, slow speed when going downhill on very uneven terrain. If the driver forgets that the system has been activated and later increases speed to over 80 km/h on more favourable roads, the system will turn itself off automatically.
9. Rear differential lock (This light will glow in the tachometer dial when activated)
This light will glow when the rear differential lock is activated to provide ultimate traction in slippery off-road conditions. This differential lock should only be used at very low speeds on slippery surfaces, such as gravel or rocky terrain. Activating the diff lock, it will make turning the vehicle difficult, so this device should never be used except at crawl speeds to extricate a vehicle from a situation where rocks or ditches of soft sand are preventing its forward progress.
* Note: There are many more warning- and information lights that may be activated when operating a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, some of them very important regards the mechanical condition of the vehicle. We have only detailed the primary ones that Mitsubishi activates on the vehicle on start-up. Please consult the owner’s operation manual, as reading it thoroughly will enrich your ownership experience.
Keyword: Warning light identification - Mitsubishi Pajero Sport