Door open light
A door, the boot or tailgate, or the bonnet is not fully closed. The symbol is usually the car seen from above with the open part drawn out of line.
Red
Not defined by regulation: a maker convention
What to do
Stop where you can do so safely and close the door, boot or bonnet properly until it latches. If the light stays on with everything shut, a latch switch may be faulty: have it checked.
Makes differ: what this light means on your car, the other colours it may use for the symbol and what the car wants you to do are set by the manufacturer, so your car's owner's manual is the authority.
- Symbol
- Car seen from above with a door open
- Colour
- Red
- Standard
- None — a maker convention, described here from 3 makers: Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai
Where makes differ
Volkswagen has separate red lamps for the doors, the bonnet and the boot lid. Kia uses a red door-ajar light plus a separate tailgate-open light. Hyundai's single door-open indicator covers every door and the liftgate.
Not defined by regulation: a maker convention
Neither US FMVSS 101 (Tables 1 and 2) nor UN Regulation No. 121 lists this light, so no rule fixes its symbol or its colour. What follows is what the makers cited below say; other makes, and other model years of the same make, may draw it differently.
Neither FMVSS 101 nor UN R121 lists a door or bonnet tell-tale.
Other red maker lights
Sources
No regulation defines this light, so it is described from 3 carmakers' own manuals or owner pages, each fetched and checked on the date shown:
- Volkswagen: Volkswagen UK — Doors (red lamp) — A red door light means stop the car as soon as it is safe and check that all doors are closed properly; if it stays on, contact a repairer. checked 2026-09-24
- Volkswagen: Volkswagen UK — Bonnet (red lamp) — A red bonnet light means stop the car as soon as it is safe and check that the bonnet is closed properly. checked 2026-09-24
- Kia: Kia UK — Dashboard warning and indicator icons (PDF) (Door Ajar Warning Light; Tailgate Open Warning Light) — Comes on in red if a door is not securely closed and stays on until it is; a separate light shows the tailgate open. checked 2026-09-24
- Hyundai: Hyundai owner's manual, 2026 Palisade (US) — Warning and indicator lights ((35) Door open indicator light) — Lights when any door or the liftgate is left open; confirm they are fully closed before driving. checked 2026-09-24
Written in our own words; the makers' pages cover their own models only.