Toyota Corollas have a handy feature where they’ll let you know about maintenance. Every so often, a little light will turn on inside of your dashboard. This light indicates its time for you to take the vehicle in for service.
Usually, it’ll turn off after you’ve serviced it. However, if you’re doing things yourself, it might stay on. Turning it off isn’t all that difficult, thankfully.
You’ve just got to follow the steps listed below. As long as you follow them correctly, it should reset the maintenance light. Then, it won’t turn back on until you need service again.
How Do You Reset the Maintenance Light on a Toyota Corolla?
Normally, the maintenance light will turn off every 4,500 miles. Then, it will flash for about 15 seconds, letting you know it’s time for service. But if you continue driving past 5,000 miles, it’ll stay on permanently.
Thankfully, turning it off isn’t too complicated!
Follow these steps to reset the maintenance light on a Toyota Corolla.
- Bring your vehicle to a stop.
- Then, locate the engine start button.
- Turn the vehicle’s instrument cluster on while leaving the engine off.
- On your steering wheel, there should be a button labeled trip reset. Navigate your trip menu to Trip A.
- You should be able to do that by simply tapping the trip button a few times. Once you’re on Trip A, hold onto the reset button.
- With the button held, press the engine start button near the center of the car.
If you’ve done everything correctly, it should reset the maintenance light!
You’ll know you’ve held the reset button long enough once you see the number 00000 flashes on the screen. That’s when you should press the engine start button again.
Once the instruments turn off, leave the car alone for a couple of moments. After that, you can turn the car back on again. The maintenance light should remain off this time, though.
You can also take your Toyota to a service technician. They’ll know how to reset the maintenance light for you. Resetting the maintenance light is part of their job.
Should I Reset the Maintenance Light After An Oil Change?
Typically, the maintenance light comes on whenever it’s time for an oil change. So, if you’ve changed the oil, you might want to turn it off.
Simply follow the steps above in order to do that. Most of the time, your service technician will take care of it for you. However, they might forget about it sometimes.
If they do, you can bring the car back to them. Then, ask them about the maintenance light.
Or, you could just take care of it yourself. Make sure your Toyota is on the Trip A screen. Then, hold onto the tripe reset button for about 15 seconds.
The number ‘00000’ should flash on the screen after you’ve held the button long enough. Once you’ve seen that number, you can turn the engine off again.
After you’ve turned off the engine, leave it alone for about a minute. Then, turn it back on. At that point, the maintenance light should’ve been reset.
If it’s still on, then you probably didn’t hold down the maintenance light long enough. Go through the steps again, but hold the button a little longer this time. Make sure you see the number ‘00000’ flash on the screen before turning off the engine.
As long as you’ve done that properly, it’ll reset the maintenance light. Turn the engine back on, and you’ll be good to go.
Why Is the Maintenance Light Important?
The maintenance light lets you know whenever you need to change the oil. It’ll turn off after you’ve gone 4,500 miles. Then, it’ll flash for around 15 seconds. Usually, it’s hard to ignore a flashing light on the dashboard!
If you continue driving for another 500 miles, it’ll stay on permanently. Sometimes, drivers might use synthetic oil in their cars. These last a lot longer than conventional oils. So, you might not need to replace the oil at 4,500 miles. It’s still a good idea to take your Toyota in for a service, though.
There are plenty of other things that might need to be done. For example, you might need to refill the washer fluid. Or, you might need to top off the transmission fluid as well.
Get somebody to check on your brake pads. The longer you’ve been driving, the more things you might need to maintain. A professional technician will know which things need attention. And, they’ll turn off the maintenance light for you once they’re done.
Another good idea would be to rotate the tires. Most of the time, your front tires will wear out a little faster than the ones in the rear. That’s because they’re the ones that rotate while turning.
When they’re turned, it puts more pressure on them. So, they’ll lose tread a lot faster. If you don’t rotate them to the rear, you’ll need to replace them sooner.
Rotating your tires frequently could help them last a lot longer overall. You might ask how much tread they’ve got left while you’re at it. That way, you’ll be able to plan for when you need replacements.
You can also have someone look at your brake pads, too. These tend to last about 60,000 miles, usually. If you’re a heavy breaker, they might not last as long. Replacing the pads can help to protect your rotors.
When your pads go bad, you’ll rub metal on the rotors. Rubbing metal on them can cause them to warp. Then, you’ll have to replace them as well.
How Does the Maintenance Light Work on a Toyota Corolla?
A Toyota’s maintenance light turns on after you’ve driven a certain distance. It’s supposed to let you know when you should stop for service. Typically, you’ll just need to get an oil change. But, you might need additional service as well.
Stopping whenever the maintenance light turns on is always a good idea. Regular maintenance is key whenever you own a vehicle. Otherwise, you might break some of its mechanical components.
Usually, the maintenance light turns on every 4,500 miles. But, it’s not going to stay on permanently. It’ll turn on for a few seconds, flashing in the dash. Then, it’ll turn back off.
If you continue driving without resetting it, it’ll turn on permanently. This happens once you’ve gone more than 5,000 miles without stopping for service.
Resetting it is pretty easy, though. Most of the time, your technician will take care of it once you’ve stopped for service. But, they might forget to reset it.
Or, you might handle all the service yourself. If that’s the case, you’ve got to reset it manually.
Resetting it manually is relatively straightforward. Just turn the trip menu onto the Trip A screen. Then, hold onto the trip reset button for a little while. After a bit, you’ll see the number 00000 flash on the screen. Then, you can press the engine start button on a push-start vehicle.
For other vehicles, you’ll have to rotate the ignition key. Try turning it so the vehicle is all the way off. Then, turn the key again to see what happens. If you’ve done everything correctly, the maintenance light won’t come on.
Some vehicles have a multimedia display screen. On them, you’ll reset the maintenance light differently. Using the touchscreen, navigate to the settings menu.
From there, look around for the word maintenance. Once you spot that, click on the button. It should take you to a menu with a bunch of different options.
Search for something that says maintenance. Then, enter that menu. You’ll see a list of options on the screen. Look for the one that says reset. Press on it for a couple of seconds. If you’ve held it long enough, the maintenance light should turn off.
The Maintenance Light on a Toyota Corolla
The maintenance light is different from the check engine light. Your maintenance light only turns on whenever you need to stop for service.
The check engine light turns on whenever something is wrong with the vehicle. For example, your alternator might not be charging the battery.
The maintenance light doesn’t mean anything is wrong with your Toyota. It just reminds you to stop for regular maintenance.
