Is it safe to drive with the door ajar light on?

There will be times when you leave the door ajar. The word ajar simply means "slightly ajar". It also often doesn't take long to compromise the latch on your door. Sometimes just a little tangled fabric can cause your car door to not close properly. Or it could be corrosion in the locking mechanism. If you are in a safe place to stop the vehicle and identify an open door, you should close that door as soon as possible to avoid potential door opening.

However, is this always the case? Oh no. Here are things that can cause the door ajar light to come on for no apparent reason:

• The door switch could be stuck in the closed position.
• The anti-theft system may have shorted out.
• The dome lamp may have shorted out.
• Possible short circuit in any of the door switches leading to the indicator light.
• Exposed wires may cause the light to fail.

While these options are much less likely, the above reasons may explain why the light is on if you cannot identify an open door. But in most cases, the likely reason that the door ajar light is on is because your door is ajar. Is it safe to drive like this?

If you drive with the doors ajar, the following may happen:

• You can fall out of your car and get stuck in traffic, losing control of the car and causing serious injury to yourself and others.

• Your passengers may fall out of the vehicle.

• The door can swing open at the most inopportune moment and hit a pedestrian, cyclist or other vehicle.

Obviously, driving with the door ajar light on is not safe, and we can't talk about it too often. However, if you are sure that your doors are properly closed, the problem is most likely a malfunction.