Low beam indicator
A green headlamp symbol with its lines of light slanting down: the low (dipped) beam headlights are on.
Easily confused with
- High beam indicatorThe same headlamp; the high beam’s lines are level, the low beam’s slant downwards
- Front fog light indicatorA green light that shows the front fog lights are on.
- Headlight levelling symbolThe headlight levelling control or warning: it sets how high the headlight beams point, which changes with the load in the car.
How to read it
The symbol is a headlamp seen from the left side, giving out straight, parallel lines of light that slant downwards; Canada’s Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations give it for the headlamp lower beam. UN Regulation No. 121 calls the low beam the passing beam and sets its tell-tale as green, where the main (high) beam’s is blue. Both rules allow the symbol with four lines or five.
Also searched as: dipped beam indicator, headlight indicator, low beam light, low beam symbol.
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.
High beam or low beam
The high beam indicator has the same lamp with its lines straight and level, and it shows blue. Nissan’s 2024 Rogue manual says its high beam light goes out when the low beam is selected.
On the switch as well as the dashboard
Canada’s regulations don’t require a separate symbol for the low beam control when it is part of the master lighting switch, and UN Regulation No. 121 says the same. In Toyota’s 2024 RAV4 manual the symbol marks a position on the light switch: the one where the headlights come on along with the parking, tail and side marker lights.
Dipped, passing or low
UN regulations say passing beam. In the UK, the Highway Code says dipped headlights, and says drivers should use them at night in built-up areas and in dull daytime weather.
Look-alikes
The front fog light indicator has the same slanting lines with a wavy line drawn through them. The headlight levelling symbol has a vertical arrow through them.
Read next
- Next in Dashboard warning lightsFront fog light indicatorA green light that shows the front fog lights are on.
- The same shape in Accessibility symbolsAssistive listening symbol (ear)An ear with a diagonal bar across it is the International Symbol of Access for Hearing Loss. It marks an assistive listening system: a loop, infrared or FM system that sends sound to hearing aids or headsets.
More dashboard warning lights
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves or lines.
Sources
- Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1038): Identification of Controls, Tell-tales and Indicators, C.R.C., c. 1038, Schedule IV, s. 101, Government of Canada, Justice Laws Website, s. 101, Table; s. 101(c)
- 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, items 2 and 3a, notes 6 and 13
- 2024 Toyota RAV4 Owner’s Manual, OM0R147U, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., 4-3. Headlight switch, p. 219
- 2024 Nissan Rogue Owner’s Manual, Nissan North America, Warning lights, indicator lights and audible reminders
- The Highway Code: General rules, techniques and advice for all drivers and riders (103 to 158), Department for Transport (GOV.UK), Rule 115
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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