Headlight levelling symbol
The headlight levelling control or warning: it sets how high the headlight beams point, which changes with the load in the car.
Easily confused with
How to read it
The symbol is a headlamp with lines of light slanting downwards, crossed by an arrow pointing up and down. UN Regulation No. 121 lists it as the control symbol for headlamp levelling, with no tell-tale. Mazda’s Mazda3 manual says the number of passengers and the weight of cargo change the angle of the headlights.
Also searched as: headlamp levelling warning light, headlight adjustment symbol, headlight leveling symbol, headlight range adjustment.
Dashboard symbols vary by manufacturer. The vehicle's owner's manual or a qualified mechanic can say what a light means for a particular vehicle.
Manual and automatic levelling
Mazda describes two kinds. With the manual type, a levelling switch sets the angle by hand, using a chart of switch positions for who is in the car and whether there is a load. With the auto type, the angle is set automatically when the headlights come on, and a warning light comes on when the system has a malfunction.
As a warning light
Volkswagen lists an amber light for a headlight range adjustment malfunction.
Look-alikes
The low beam indicator is the same lamp and lines without the arrow.
Read next
- Next in Dashboard warning lightsExterior light fault warning lightAn amber warning that an outside light has failed: a burned-out bulb, or a fault in an LED headlight.
- The same shape in Road signsTwo-way left-turn laneA centre lane edged on each side by a solid yellow line and a broken yellow line, with the broken lines facing the centre lane. Traffic from either direction uses it for left turns.
More dashboard warning lights
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with arrows, curves and waves or lines.
Sources
- Regulation No. 121: Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to the location and identification of hand controls, tell-tales and indicators, UN Regulation No. 121, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (text published by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), Table 1, item 40
- Mazda3 Owner’s Manual: Headlight Levelling, Mazda Motor Corporation, Switches and Controls: Headlight Levelling (Some Models)
- Volkswagen: Dashboard Warning and Indicator Lights, Volkswagen of America, Amber warning lights
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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