ABS and brakes light

The red "brake" warning light turns on for one of three reasons. The brake fluid level is low in the reservoir, there is a leak in part of the system, or the parking brake is not fully released. If the fluid level is low, just add a little until the red light turns off. If you fill the reservoir, there will be a huge mess later. Low fluid level occurs when the front brake pads wear down to the point of needing to be replaced, or when there is a leak. Both conditions warrant a standard brake system inspection.

When the red "brake" light is on, the anti-lock brake computer will turn that system off, and will turn on the yellow "ABS" light to tell you. The computer knows there is something wrong with the base brake system. It does not know what, but it could be something that prevents it from functioning properly, so it shuts down. In most cases, fix the base brake system problem, then the ABS system will start working again.