Renault TWINGO Dashboard Warning Lights
The popular, small hatchback the Renault TWINGO was first manufactured in 1992 and is now on its third generation. Though cars are becoming increasingly reliable, a fault may occur and will often signal a warning symbol on the dashboard.
Symbols range from simply an indication that a particular function has been initialised, to a serious issue that requires immediate attention. It’s advisable to never ignore warning lights as some, particularity red symbols may represent a potential hazard to safety, or vehicle damage. Listed below are the Renault TWINGO dashboard warning lights, along with each symbols meaning and recommended action to take.
Symbol name: Malfunction (Spanner)
Urgency: High
Description: The spanner symbol on the Renault TWINGO indicates an engine malfunction. It is a generic symbol with no specific meaning, but may light up along with another symbol.
Action: As soon as possible, take your vehicle for diagnosis and repair. Drive vehicle carefully.
Symbol name: STOP
Urgency: High
Description: The STOP light indicates that a malfunction has occurred on the TWINGO that could result in risk to driver and passenger safety. Symbol may illuminate alongside another warning light.
Action: As soon as it is safe to do so, pull over and switch off the engine. Do not restart the engine. Arrangements will need to be made to have the vehicle towed to a repair station.
Symbol name: Airbag
Urgency: High
Description: Under normal operation, the airbag warning light comes on with the ignition and goes out after a short period. If the light does not come on at all, or comes on when driving, there’s a fault with the airbag system. The Renault TWINGO airbags may not be deployed during an accident.
Action: Occasionally The SRS and airbag component wires can become lose under the passenger seat. Check connections are secure. Seat belt fasteners can also trigger the warning light. Check there’s no debris in the buckle.
Symbol name: Power Steering
Urgency: Medium
Description: Variable Power-assisted Steering aids the driver in turning the steering wheel. The presence of the dashboard symbol indicates a fault in the system.
Action: The failure of Variable Power-assisted Steering will not affect the safety of the vehicle. A noticeable increase in force required to steer, particularly at slow speeds will be noticed. Have system checked.
Symbol name: Electronic Fault
Urgency: Medium
Description: Under normal operating, this symbol should come on with the ignition and go out shortly after. If the light come son while driving, there is a fault with the injection computer.
Action: There are many components that may be at fault. Have vehicle booked in where diagnostic equipment is required to locate the fault.
Symbol name: ECO Mode
Urgency: Low
Description: The light comes on indicating that ECO Mode has been activated.
Action: ECO mode is a Renault TWINGO function which improves fuel consumption by analyzing driving style and other functions such as heating and air conditioning that also consume fuel. An overall score rating is displayed from 0 -100 allowing you to improve your ECO-driving skills.
Symbol name: Handbrake / Brake Circuit
Urgency: High
Description: The red exclamation mark in a circle symbol has three meanings.
- The handbrake is on. If symbol illuminates with the
symbol, it indicates. - Insufficient brake fluid.
- Brake system fault.
Action: Ensure handbrake is fully released. If symbol illuminates with the warning light, check brake fluid levels. Top up if necessary. If reservoir tank requires frequent top ups, there’s likely a leak in the brake circuit system. If neither of those are the issue, have vehicle checked.
Symbol name: Battery Charge
Urgency: High
Description: In normal use, symbol comes on with ignition and shortly after goes out. If the battery warning light comes on the Renault TWINGO dashboard along with the warning light, it indicates an overload or discharge in the electrical circuit.
Action: Turn off any electrical equipment that is running in the car (utilities such as the heater / air con etc) and make your way immediately to a repair station.
Symbol name: Oil Pressure
Urgency: High
Description: Having appropriate oil pressure is critical for keeping engine components lubricated. If the low oil pressure light comes on along with the symbol, stop as soon as safe to do so and turn off the engine.
Action: Check oil levels and top up if necessary. If oil levels do not require topping up, do not start the engine. Critical engine damage may result in continual driving. Contact a tow / repair centre
Symbol name: Toxic Fume Filter
Urgency: Medium
Description: The Renault TWINGO is equipped with an exhaust emissions monitoring system. It detects any operating faults within the antipollution system. If there’s a fault with the system, toxic substances can be released into the atmosphere. Vehicle damage (catalytic converter) many also occur.
Action: The toxic fume indicator lights up if there’s a fault in the antipollution system. If the light stays on continuously, have the vehicle checked as soon as possible. If the symbol flashes, reduce engine speed and drive carefully until the light stops flashing.
Symbol name: Tyre Pressure Monitor
Urgency: Medium
Description: The Renault TWINGO tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) detects a loss of pressure in one of the tyres by measuring the wheel speed while driving. The symbol illuminates when approximately 25% loss of pressure is detected from the set values.
Action: Stop as soon as possible and check all wheels for deflation. After inflation, a TPMS reset must be done with a pressure equal to that on the type pressure label (see inside driver door panel). If a reset is not completed with the correct inflation pressures, the system may not operate correctly.
Symbol name: Coolant Temperature
Urgency: High
Description: Light comes on with ignition and shortly goes out as normal process. Overheated and boiling engine coolant can damage engine components. Always use the correct anti-freeze for the Renault TWINGO as anti-freeze highers the boiling temperature.
Action: If the light comes on (red) when driving, stop as soon as possible, switch off the engine or let the engine idle for a few minutes. This should allow coolant temperature to reduce and the red warning light should go blue.
Symbol name: Anti-lock Brakes
Urgency: Medium
Description: What is ABS? ABS stands for anti-lock braking system and as the name suggests, it stop the wheels from locking. Under heaving braking, when wheels lock the driver cannot steer and stopping distances are increased.
Action: On the Renault TWINGO, ABS is a separate system to normal brakes. If the ABS light comes on when driving, a fault has occurred and ABS is no longer operational. Normal brakes remain function. Have vehicle checked as soon as possible.
Symbol name: Stability Control
Urgency: Medium
Description: This system uses electronic stability control which helps you to keep control of the vehicle in critical driving conditions such as loss of grip on a bend or avoiding obstacles. Traction control is also used to help avoid wheel spin. Light may flash indicating that system is in operation.
Action: Under normal driving conditions, if the light comes on and is accompanied by the malfunction spanner 
the system will be deactivated. Drive carefully and have vehicle inspected if light remains on.
Symbol name: Lane Departure
Urgency: Medium
Description: This lane departure warning system notifies the driver when they accidentally cross a continuous or broken line. The system uses a camera attached to the windscreen, behind the rear-view mirror.
Action: The symbol along with is used to notify of a fault. Keep with windscreen clean where the camera is located to avoid faults. System deactivation can occur when there’s poor visibility, tight bends, closely following vehicles in the same lane, worn road markings.
On my 62 plate Twingo rev counter are 2 arrows (up and down) are they supposed to be gear change indicators? If so never worked. Any ideas??
Hi Peter,
If it’s an up / down arrow along with a gear stick icon, then yes it’s the gear shift indicator. They don’t always seem to sync up too well with realistic driving styles so most people tend to ignore them.
I get a car with a spanner in front of it, on my dashboard. Is this very serious?
Hi Stan,
I think it sounds like the service interval reminder light. Is your Renault due a service? If it’s recently had a service, sometimes the engineers for get to reset the service interval reminder. You can do this yourself. To reset the Renault Twingo service light:
1. Turn the ignition key to the on position, but don’t start the engine.
2. Press the trip button on the end of the right-side stalk until service interval appears on the display.
3. Press and hold the trip button until the service interval is flashing.
4. Keep pressing for around 10 seconds until the new service interval appears.
5. Release button when service interval stops flashing.
Got a A crossed out only comes on sometimes
Hi Marilyn,
Does the symbol look like this:
If it’s that, then it’s the engine start / stop system unavailable. There are quite a few reasons why the start stop system becomes unavailable, but the most common is due to the battery having insufficient charge – particularly in winter.
Hi I have got amber light which is almost like a mirror image of the green “lights on” symbol it comes on faintly then disappears when I start to break
Hi Sarah,
As a guess, I would think it’s bulb fault warning light. Perhaps as it’s a little inconsistent in your case, it could be a connection issue with a bulb with wiring in the unit, a bulb not securely fitted or a bulb that’s nearing the end of its life. Have a check of all your bulbs, not forgetting brake lights and number plate lights.
My tyre inflation light has just appeared, checked all of them at the garage for pressure. Then when within about 20 minutes the stop light came on? So I pulled over checked the engine and front of the car made sure everything was fine. Got back in the car set off and hasn’t come back on. Anyone any ideas?
Hi hope your well, I’ve just purchased a second hand Renault Twingo 62 plate and I’ve noticed an amber colour spanner along with the airbag symbol. Am wondering the issue as the cars just been serviced.
Hi Jaksan,
Is it possible that you deactivated the front passenger airbag without first turning off the ignition? If so, it can trigger the airbag fault light. First turn off the ignition, then switch the lock to the off position (see diagram).
The switch is inside the driver’s door. Try enabling and disabling it, see if that helps.
If the spanner and airbag light still remain lit, it means there’s a fault somewhere. Check to ensure all cables under front seats are connected. check to see there’s no debris stuck in seat belt buckles, this can sometime trigger an airbag fault. Other than that, it’s possibly a sensor fault. A slight impact may be enough to cause damage to a crash sensor. Airbag clock spring inside steering column can wear out. If after all those checks, it’s probably worth having diagnostics to see if there’s any airbag fault codes. If there is, the diagnostic tool will hopefully let you know where the problem is. Pretty much all vehicle workshops have diagnostic fault code readers.
I have had my 62 plate twingo for a couple years now and haven’t had any issues however, today while driving an amber spanner came up on the dash board. Do you know of any common causes for this? Thanks
Hi Bryony,
There is a spanner light that comes on due to engine service interval being due. This can be reset by operating the button on the right steering wheel stalk until you get to the service interval. Holding the end button down until it flashes. This resets the service interval. If the spanner light is staying on, then it’s a generic fault. It usually comes on with another fault light giving you an idea what it is. If it comes on, on its own, it’s impossible to know why without a code reader. You should have fault codes that have been stored and a code reader is used to read the fault codes and help you locate the fault.
I have 64 plate twingo an it’s started showing multiple faults together an putting car in limp mode then just turn off an all is normal again. Battery is 12.4v but on diagnostic it shows its as high as 15.2 an low as 11.4 also has code DF083. Car has no trouble starting.
Hi I have a 1999 twingo. There is a red light flashing when the engine is not working. I would be grateful for any help you can provide!
Best,
Mantha
Hello Mantha,
When you say the engine is not working, do you mean that it’s switched off? If so, it’s likely an alarm / immobiliser light telling you that the system is armed. These can ofen be generic dots that just slowly flash. Id it a symbol or just a light?
Hi there,
I have a 15 plate Renault twingo.
Today when driving the “STOP” light flashed but only briefly when driving but wasn’t accompanied by any other lights and only stayed for maybe 2 seconds at most. Surely this is just a bit of a flicker in the system and not anything serious else it would stay and be accompanied by another light.
Thanks.
Hi team
This morning on my Renault twingo dash board, the spanner light came on, but it’s not due for a service yet. Then an hour later the oil light came on too.
I checked the oil level and it was ok but the car was still warm. I’ll recheck it in the morning but I’m supposed to be going on holiday at 6am.
Any help appreciated
Hi Kari,
If it’s the low oil pressure symbol, it might be a problem. If the pressure is fine, it might be the oil pressure sensor. Low oil pressure can be related to the oil filter, old oil, oil pump etc. If the stop light doesn’t come on, you should be fine. As you say, check the oil level in the morning and ensure it’s topped up to the max mark.
I have a 62 plate Twingo Pzaz. I inherited it from my gran.
Today a little “car arrow spanner” 🚗 ➡️🔧 light came on by the fuel gauge. No other lights. It was serviced and MOT’d in November.
I turned the car off and turned just the battery on and the handbrake light was illuminated (handbrake was on) but the steering light was also illuminated as was the engine (I think).
I haven’t been back out to check but just trying to work out of this is normal and the car thinks it’s due a service? Or if I’m away to face a hefty bill?
Thanks in advance
Hi Nic,
After a service, it’s quite common for the engineer to forget to reset the service interval. You can do this yourself:
1. Turn on the ignition (don’t turn on the engine)
2. On the right steering wheel stalk, press the button on the end and scroll through the options until you reach the service icon
3. Hold the button in until the service icon flashes
4. Keep holding it in until it stops flashing
5. That’s it, you’re done. The new service schedule will be displayed.
As for engine and steering warning lights remaining lit, they should go off when the engine starts.