How to Clear the Maintenance Reminder on a Car?
2 Answers
To clear the maintenance reminder light on a car, follow these steps: 1. Turn off the ignition switch; 2. Press and hold the trip meter reset button on the instrument cluster; 3. Turn on the ignition switch; 4. The odometer display will start counting down, and when it shows 0000.0, release the button to clear the maintenance reminder light. The purpose of the maintenance reminder light is to alert the car owner that the vehicle requires maintenance. Car maintenance refers to the preventive work of regularly inspecting, cleaning, replenishing, lubricating, adjusting, or replacing certain parts of the vehicle, also known as vehicle servicing.
Last time my car showed a maintenance reminder, which was quite annoying, but actually, I could handle it myself. The operation varies for different cars, but mainstream vehicles generally have three methods: the first is to simply press and hold the instrument button on the steering wheel for 10 seconds to reset the mileage; the second requires plugging into the diagnostic port and entering commands, like Volkswagen where you need to access the engineering menu to reset; the third is the most troublesome, as older American cars require disconnecting the battery negative terminal to clear the data before reconnecting. I recommend checking the manual first—the maintenance reset section explains it clearly. If that doesn’t work, you can record a video and ask the dealership. Remember to recheck the maintenance items after resetting, and don’t neglect replacing the engine oil and filter if needed, or else the effort is wasted. This reminder light is mainly based on mileage—turning it off early won’t affect the car but might cause you to miss the maintenance cycle.
