READY light (electric and hybrid cars)

An electric or hybrid car is switched on and will move when you select a gear and press the accelerator. With no engine running there is no sound or vibration to tell you, so this lamp does it. It is information, not a warning.

Green

Not defined by regulation: a maker convention

What to do

Nothing to fix. Treat READY as 'engine running': before getting out, select P or apply the parking brake and switch off. If READY will not come on, check that the charging cable is unplugged — Nissan and Peugeot both block driving while it is connected — and follow the start procedure in your manual.

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: The word READY
Also called: Ready to drive light; EV ready indicator
Colour: Green
Standard: None — a maker convention, described here from 2 makers: Peugeot, Nissan

Where makes differ

Peugeot's lamp is green, sounds a tone when it comes on, goes out above about 5 km/h (3 mph) and comes back when you stop. Nissan's LEAF lamp stays on while the system is powered, and goes out just before the drive battery is completely flat or for certain system faults.

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 ready-to-drive tell-tale.

Other green maker lights

Lane assist (lane keeping) lightLane markings running away from you, dashed line in the middle · also yellow / amber · maker convention Adaptive cruise control (ACC) lightSpeedometer dial with a needle · also yellow / amber · maker convention Auto Hold lightThe words AUTO HOLD · also yellow / amber · maker convention Hill descent control lightCar pointing down a slope · also yellow / amber, red · maker convention Auto stop-start lightLetter A inside a circular arrow · also yellow / amber · maker convention

All green 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:

Peugeot: Peugeot handbook, 3008 and 5008 (UK English, 2024 edition, PDF) (Dashboard instruments — Green warning/indicator lamps: Vehicle ready to drive) — Fixed, with a tone when it comes on: the vehicle is ready to drive; goes out at about 3 mph (5 km/h) and lights again when the car stops. checked 2026-09-28
Nissan: Nissan UK owner's manual, 2023 LEAF — READY to drive indicator light (READY to drive indicator light) — Lights when the electric vehicle system is powered and ready to be driven; turns off for certain system malfunctions and just before the battery is completely discharged. checked 2026-09-28

Written in our own words; the makers' pages cover their own models only.