Tortoise Car Warning Light Explained
The tortoise warning light (often confused with a turtle) is commonly used with hybrid and fully electric vehicles and illuminates on your car’s dashboard to warn that the vehicle has reduced or limited power.
Adverse Temperature Conditions
A common reason for the tortoise warning light to illuminate is when the battery either becomes too hot or too cold. All electric and hybrid car batteries have an optimal running temperature. Temperatures vary depending on the make and model of vehicle, but the optimal temperature for a car’s battery is 21 degrees Celsius.
If your car’s battery is too hot or too cold, not only will your range be affected, but also the lifespan of the battery. To reduce the risk of damage to the battery and prolong its lifespan, your car may enter reduced power mode. Reduced power mode is often signified by the yellow tortoise symbol and prevents the driver or advises the driver to avoid forceful acceleration.
Battery temperatures fluctuate due to outside temperatures and vehicle workload such as aggressive driving or towing heavy loads. If none of these circumstances apply, it’s recommended that you have your vehicle checked for faults.
Electrical Faults
If the battery charge isn’t low and there are no temperature issues, the tortoise warning light may indicate an electrical fault with the vehicle. Depending on the vehicle, you may have a message providing you with more information, or additional warning lights such as a wrench / spanner symbol or if it’s a hybrid, the engine warning light.
The only way round this is to have a diagnostics scan. Essentially, this is a scanner that plugs into the vehicles’ OBD-II (On-Board Diagnostics II) port. All cars from traditional fossil fuel burners, to hybrids and fully electric cars have an OBD-II port.
When there’s a fault with your car, the car’s computer usually generate and stores a fault code. Plug a scanner into the OBD-II port and it’ll scan and read the codes, providing you with more detailed information about the problem. Pretty much all vehicle workshops have these scanners, or if you prefer, you can purchase your own.
Low Battery Charge
If you’re hybrid vehicle, the internal combustion engine kicks in when the hybrid battery runs low. If you’re driving a full EV, your car will likely enter reduced power mode.
To help increase the remaining mileage, reduced power mode typically cuts non-essential power consumers such as air conditioning systems and limits the power output of the vehicle. The tortoise warning light will typically illuminate when there’s around 10% battery charge remaining and start flashing at around 5%
Diesel Engines
Certain models of Honda, Euro 6 diesel Cr-v, Civic and HR-V have what’s called a ‘Diesel Run-Out Prevention system’, or ‘tortoise mode’. When the remaining fuel reaches 0km, a tortoise symbol appears and the engine speed is restricted to 2000 rpm.
When the fuel tank is almost empty, the tortoise symbol flashes and the engine speed is further restricted to 1250 rpm. Just prior to the fuel running out, the engine will stop. Diesel fuel is also a lubricant and the Diesel Run-Out Prevention system is used to prevent damage to the engine.