[SoftTalker]

> bad icons are far worse than no icons

Yes. Cars used to have words like "OIL" or "TEMP" or "BRAKE" or "SEAT BELT" in the dashboad warning lights. That switched to icons, probably as a cost-savings so they could use the same parts worldwide. But at a cost in clarity.

Now that most new car dashboards have programmable LCD displays or at least a message area, better/more descriptive fault descriptions have returned.

[dheera]

They also picked really bad designs for the icons. The flat tire warning looks like a boiling cauldron. Even I could have designed a 10X better icon.

[Ancapistani]

I’ve always thought it looked… well, obscene.