Forward collision warning light
The forward collision warning and emergency braking system (Volkswagen: Front Assist; Hyundai: Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist). Red, usually with a chime: the system has detected a risk of hitting something ahead. Amber/yellow: the system is switched off, blocked or faulty and will not warn you or brake for you.
RedYellow / amber
Not defined by regulation: a maker convention
What to do
Red: brake or steer round the obstacle at once — it is a live warning, not a fault (Volkswagen: 'brake immediately or take evasive action'). Amber/yellow: drive with extra care because the car will not warn you; clean the radar and camera areas (front badge or grille, windscreen) and see whether it clears. If it stays on, 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 behind with radar arcs around it
- Colour
- Red or Yellow / amber
- Standard
- None — a maker convention, described here from 2 makers: Volkswagen, Hyundai
Where makes differ
Both makers use red for the live warning and amber/yellow for 'off or unavailable', but they draw it differently. Hyundai's red lamp blinks while the system is acting, and its yellow lamp also covers the driver switching the function off in settings. Hyundai adds a separate emergency-steering warning light on some models.
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 collision-warning tell-tale.
Other red maker lights
Other yellow / amber maker lights
All yellow / amber dashboard lights, regulated ones included
Sources
No regulation defines this light, so it is described from 2 carmakers' own manuals or owner pages, each fetched and checked on the date shown:
- Volkswagen: Volkswagen UK — Front Assist (red) (red lamp) — Front Assist has detected a risk of collision: brake immediately or take evasive action; the light goes out when the risk has passed. checked 2026-09-24
- Volkswagen: Volkswagen UK — Front Assist (amber) (amber lamp) — Front Assist is deactivated and will not alert you to possible collision risks; drive with extra caution. checked 2026-09-24
- Hyundai: Hyundai owner's manual, 2025 Tucson (general market) — Warning and indicator lights (Forward Safety warning light) — Yellow: Forward Safety deselected, disabled or faulty; red, blinking: Forward Safety is operating. checked 2026-09-24
Written in our own words; the makers' pages cover their own models only.