Warning lights

Traction control and stability control light

The yellow symbol of a car with wavy skid lines belongs to electronic stability control, which includes traction control on most cars. What it means depends entirely on whether it flashes, stays on or says OFF.

Can I keep driving with this light on?

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Traction control light: flashing while driving

Low: fix when convenient

The system is working: a wheel is slipping. Ease off and drive for the road.

  1. Reduce speed on snow, rain or gravel.
  2. Nothing to repair if it stops once traction returns.

49 CFR 571.101 Table 1 and 571.126 S5.3: yellow ESC malfunction telltale; the same symbol may show traction control faults and may flash while the system is working. Your owner's manual prevails for your car.

Electronic stability control has been required on new passenger cars and light trucks by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 126 since the 2012 model year, and the standard requires a telltale that warns of a malfunction (49 CFR 571.126). The symbol, a car with two skid lines, or the letters "ESC", is set by the table of FMVSS 101, which also requires it to be yellow. The same table lets makers flash that telltale while the system is working, and use it to show a traction control fault. So a flashing light during a slippery start or a fast corner means the system is braking individual wheels or reducing power to keep you on course, which is normal: ease off. A light that stays on means the system has a fault and is off, and the car drives like one without it. The same symbol with "OFF" means the system was switched off by a button or menu. A fault often shares a cause with the ABS, such as a wheel speed sensor.

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Three states, three meanings

  • Flashing while driving: the system is intervening. Reduce speed and steering effort; the road is slippery or you are near the limit of grip.
  • Steady on: a fault has switched the system off. Drive carefully and have the stored code read.
  • "OFF" or a separate symbol with OFF: the system has been switched off. Press the button again, or restart the car.

The check at the top of this page gives the urgency for each state, and for symptoms such as a brake warning lit at the same time.

Common causes of a steady light

Wheel speed sensors sit near the brakes, where water, road salt and brake dust attack them and their wiring. A damaged tone ring, a sensor knocked during brake work, a steering angle sensor that needs recalibration after an alignment, or a weak battery can all switch off stability control. On some cars, an engine fault that lights the check engine light also disables traction control, because the system needs to reduce engine power to work.

Tires matter too

Stability control compares wheel speeds. Tires of different sizes or very different wear, a spare of another size, or one tire badly underinflated can confuse it. If the light came on after new tires or a tire change, check that all four match and are at the placard pressure; the tire pressure page has the calculation.

What a shop does

Codes from the brake and stability modules are not engine codes, so a basic engine code reader will not see them. A shop with a scanner that reads the ABS module identifies the sensor or circuit, tests it, and replaces the sensor or repairs the wiring. A steering angle sensor reset takes a few minutes with the right tool. The ABS light page covers the related brake telltales.

Questions drivers ask

Is it safe to drive with the traction control light on?

Usually yes, carefully. With the system off, the car behaves like an older vehicle without stability control: it brakes and steers normally, but will not correct a skid. Leave more room, slow down in rain and snow, and have it checked soon, as it is an important safety system.

Why do the traction control and ABS lights come on together?

Both systems read the same wheel speed sensors and often share a control module. A failed sensor, a damaged sensor ring or a low battery voltage can switch off both, and the car lights both telltales. The stored ABS code usually points to the wheel concerned.

When should I turn traction control off?

Rarely, and only as the owner’s manual allows. The usual case is a car stuck in snow, mud or sand, where some wheel spin helps to rock it free. Switch it back on once moving; many cars re-enable it automatically at the next start or above a set speed.

Check next

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Find a dashboard symbol by its shape: the federal meaning, its color, and how urgent it is.

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Rules and official pages behind this page

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