Maintenance procedure · Written to ASD-STE100 Issue 9 · Formatted to ANSI Z535

Reset the Service Reminder Light After the Service Is Done

Passenger cars, trucks and SUVs — clear the maintenance counter without confusing it with the check engine light, and find the exact method in this vehicle's own documentation
ApplicabilityPassenger cars, trucks and SUVs with a manufacturer maintenance reminder or service interval indicator
Task time10 min to 22 min editorial estimate, not a measurement
PersonnelOne
Revisionv1 · 2026-08-04
BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Before you begin. This procedure is general reference information, not professional advice. Equipment varies by manufacturer, model, and year. Always follow the documentation supplied with your equipment — where it differs from this page, follow the manufacturer. Verify that you have the tools, the working conditions, and the ability to do this task safely. If anything is unclear, if the equipment is damaged, or if the task exceeds your experience, stop and use a qualified professional. You are responsible for your own safety and for the outcome. This site accepts no liability for any loss, damage, or injury arising from the use of this information.

Specifications marked unverified could not be traced to a manufacturer source. Do not rely on them — obtain the value from your equipment documentation.

Summary

Most cars, trucks and SUVs carry a maintenance reminder — a wrench symbol, or a message such as Maintenance Required, Service Due, or Oil Life — that turns on once a preset mileage or a preset number of days has passed. Once the service is actually done, the reminder does not clear itself. An owner or a shop has to reset it, and the method is different for nearly every manufacturer and often for every model year. Some vehicles clear it with a button held through an ignition cycle, some from a menu on the instrument display, and some with the accelerator pedal pressed a set number of times. On a few vehicles, the manufacturer's own documentation asks for a repair shop to do it.

This page will not give a single button sequence that works on every vehicle, because none exists: a sequence correct for one manufacturer can do nothing at all on another. What generalizes across every vehicle is one distinction that matters more than any button press: this reminder is a counter, not a fault check, and it is not the malfunction indicator lamp, commonly called the check engine light. Resetting the counter changes nothing mechanical and does not clear or examine the check engine light. Read the vehicle documentation for the exact sequence for this vehicle, and confirm the reset worked before you consider the job finished.

Necessary equipment

ItemNote
Vehicle documentationThe documentation gives the reset method for this vehicle.
Pen and paper optionalWrite the date and the distance on the odometer after the reset.

Identify the indicator

Estimated 2 min to 5 min

NOTEThis indicator is different from the malfunction indicator lamp.
WARNING

SET THE PARKING BRAKE AND MAKE SURE THE TRANSMISSION IS IN PARK BEFORE YOU START.
Some reset methods ask for a fully pressed accelerator pedal. Movement of the vehicle can injure you or a bystander.

  1. Sit in the driver seat with the vehicle in park.
    <1m
  2. Set the parking brake.
    <1m
NOTICE

DO NOT START THE ENGINE UNLESS THE VEHICLE DOCUMENTATION ASKS FOR IT.
Some reset methods need the ignition on with the engine off. The reset can fail if the engine starts.

  1. Set the ignition to the on position.
    • Many reset methods need the ignition on and the engine off.
    <1m
NOTICE

DO NOT CONFUSE THIS INDICATOR WITH THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP.
The malfunction indicator lamp shows an engine or emission fault. A reset of this indicator does not find that fault.

  1. Look at the instrument panel.
    <1m
  2. Find the wrench symbol or the maintenance message on the display.
    • The exact symbol or words are different for each manufacturer.
    <1m
  3. Read the vehicle documentation for the name of this indicator on this vehicle.
    • This name is different for each manufacturer, such as Maintenance Required or Service Due.
    1m
  4. Make sure this indicator is separate from the malfunction indicator lamp.
    • Mazda's documentation states the malfunction indicator lamp shows an engine or emission problem.
    <1m

Make sure the service is complete

Estimated under a minute

  1. Make sure the service for this indicator is complete.
    • A reset does not do a check of the vehicle.
    <1m

Find the reset method for this vehicle

Estimated 2 min to 6 min

NOTEThe method is different for each manufacturer and often for each model.
Exact button, pedal or menu sequence for the reset
Unverified — do not rely on this value
CONSULT THE VEHICLE DOCUMENTATION FOR THIS VEHICLE

No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.

Whether a repair shop must do the reset on this vehicle
Unverified — do not rely on this value
CONSULT THE VEHICLE DOCUMENTATION FOR THIS VEHICLE

No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.

Example: minimum button hold time for the Mazda Maintenance Monitor reset (2020 CX-3, Type A audio)
Manufacturer or standard verified
5 seconds

Source: Maintenance Monitor (Type A audio) — 2020 Mazda CX-3 Owner's Manual · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-04

Example: number of accelerator pedal presses for the Stellantis TSB reset (2023-2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale, Dodge Hornet)
Manufacturer or standard verified
3 presses

Source: Technical Service Bulletin 01-001-24 — Oil Change Monitor Displaying Prematurely (2023–2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale, Dodge Hornet) · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-04

Example: time window for the accelerator pedal presses in the Stellantis TSB reset (2023-2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale, Dodge Hornet)
Manufacturer or standard verified
10 seconds

Source: Technical Service Bulletin 01-001-24 — Oil Change Monitor Displaying Prematurely (2023–2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale, Dodge Hornet) · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-04

  1. Read the vehicle documentation for the reset method for this vehicle.
    • The method is different for each manufacturer and often for each model year.
    1m
  2. Read the documentation to find whether a repair shop must do the reset.
    • Mazda's documentation asks for an Authorized Mazda Dealer to do this reset on some models.
    <1m
  3. If the documentation asks for a repair shop, contact the repair shop instead of this procedure.
    <1m
  4. Recognize the family of method in the documentation for this vehicle.
    • Some vehicles use a button held during an ignition cycle, as Mazda documents for some models.
    • Some vehicles use a menu on the instrument display, as Ford documents for some models.
    • Some vehicles use the accelerator pedal pressed a set number of times, as Stellantis documents for some models.
    <1m

Do the reset

Estimated 2 min to 5 min

NOTICE

DO NOT RESET THE INDICATOR BEFORE THE SERVICE IS COMPLETE.
A reset removes the reminder from the display. The reset does not do a check of the vehicle.

  1. Complete the exact sequence from the vehicle documentation.
    • An interruption can stop the reset before it finishes.
    1m
  2. Watch the display for a message about the progress of the reset.
    • Ford's documentation shows a Reset Successful message, or a Not Reset message if the sequence needs to repeat.
    <1m
  3. Set the ignition to the off position.
    <1m

Make sure the reset worked

Estimated 2 min to 4 min

  1. Start the engine.
    <1m
  2. Look at the instrument panel for the indicator.
    <1m
  3. Make sure the indicator is off, or shows a full interval.
    • Some vehicles show a percentage such as 100 percent for a full interval.
    <1m
  4. If the indicator is still on, repeat the exact sequence from the vehicle documentation.
    • Stellantis directs a repeat of the procedure if the indicator does not clear.
    1m
  5. If the indicator stays on after two attempts, contact a repair shop.
    <1m

Record the service

Estimated 1 min

  1. Write the date and the distance on the odometer.
    <1m
  2. Write the service that you completed.
    <1m
  3. Keep this record with the vehicle documentation.
    <1m

Terminology

This page uses one term for each item and holds it throughout, as ASD-STE100 requires. Equipment sellers and other guides use the names below for the same parts.

maintenance reminder
Also called: service reminder light, service due light, maintenance required light, oil change light, oil life light, wrench light, service light
malfunction indicator lamp
Also called: check engine light, MIL, engine light, service engine soon light
vehicle documentation
Also called: owner's manual, owners manual, car manual, the book in the glovebox

When to use a professional

This page does not give the exact reset method for any vehicle. Read the vehicle documentation for the exact sequence.

Contact a repair shop if the vehicle documentation asks for a repair shop. Contact a repair shop if the indicator stays on after two attempts.

This procedure has no effect on the malfunction indicator lamp. Consult a qualified technician for an engine or emission fault.

Common questions

How do I reset the service light on my car?

There is no single sequence that works on every vehicle, and any page that gives you one number of seconds or one button and calls it universal is guessing. Mazda documents a button held for more than 5 seconds through an ignition cycle on some models; Ford documents a menu on the instrument display on some models; a Stellantis service bulletin documents the accelerator pedal pressed three times within 10 seconds on others. Your own vehicle documentation is the only source that knows which family applies to your car, and often to your specific model year within that manufacturer's own range.

What does the oil change light or maintenance required light actually mean?

It means a counter built into the vehicle has reached a preset mileage or a preset number of days, not that anything has been checked or found faulty. Mazda's manual describes the wrench indicator light coming on when remaining oil life becomes less than 1,000 km (600 mile), or remaining days are less than 15, whichever comes first. The light is a scheduling reminder. It carries no diagnosis and no fault information at all.

Is the service reminder light the same as the check engine light?

No, and mixing the two up is the single most common way this task goes wrong. The check engine light is the malfunction indicator lamp, a federally defined system that a vehicle illuminates when its onboard diagnostics detect an emission or engine fault, under 40 CFR 85.2207. The maintenance reminder is an unregulated, manufacturer-specific counter for a mileage or a time interval. In Mazda's own documentation the two are described on entirely separate pages, with separate causes and separate responses.

I reset the light but I did not actually change the oil. Is that a problem?

Yes. The reset only clears the reminder from the display; it does not inspect anything, and it does not know whether the oil was actually changed. Doing the reset without doing the service leaves you with a dark dashboard and old oil, which is worse than a lit dashboard and old oil, because the one honest signal you had is now gone. Do the service first, confirm it is complete, and only then do the reset.

My vehicle's manual says to take it to a dealer. Can I still do it myself?

Read what the manual actually says before you decide. Mazda's own documentation for some models asks for an Authorized Mazda Dealer to perform the reset after an oil change, and warns that if the recorded value is not correctly initialized, the wrench indicator light may not turn off, or may turn on earlier than normal the next time. The manual then documents the button sequence anyway, so a dealer visit there is a recommendation rather than a lock. Follow whichever instruction the documentation for your own vehicle actually gives.

I did the reset sequence and the light is still on. What now?

Repeat the exact sequence once, because an interrupted attempt is a common cause. A Stellantis service bulletin tells its own dealers exactly this: if the indicator illuminates again after the procedure, repeat it, and if it still fails, use a scan tool to complete the reset. If a second attempt from the vehicle documentation still leaves the light on, stop guessing at sequences and contact a repair shop.

Sources

Every specification on this page is traced to one of these sources. Tier 1 is a manufacturer document, a published standard, or a government safety authority. See Standards for the full tiering rule.

  1. Tier 1Maintenance Monitor (Type A audio) — 2020 Mazda CX-3 Owner's ManualMazda North American Operations · accessed 2026-08-04 · re-verification due 2027-01-31
  2. Tier 1Vehicle Engine Control Unit Reset Procedure — 2018 Mazda CX-3 Owner's ManualMazda North American Operations · accessed 2026-08-04 · re-verification due 2027-01-31
  3. Tier 1Wrench Indicator Light — 2021 Mazda CX-5 Owner's ManualMazda North American Operations · accessed 2026-08-04 · re-verification due 2027-01-31
  4. Tier 1Oil Change Indicator Reset — 2014 Ford Fusion Hybrid, Fusion Energi Owner's ManualFord Motor Company · accessed 2026-08-04 · re-verification due 2027-01-31
  5. Tier 1Technical Service Bulletin 01-001-24 — Oil Change Monitor Displaying Prematurely (2023–2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale, Dodge Hornet)FCA US LLC (Stellantis) · accessed 2026-08-04 · re-verification due 2027-01-31
  6. Tier 1Check Engine Indication/Light — 2022 Mazda CX-30 Owner's ManualMazda North American Operations · accessed 2026-07-29 · re-verification due 2027-01-25
  7. Tier 140 CFR 85.2207 — Onboard diagnostic test standardsOffice of the Federal Register (eCFR) · accessed 2026-07-29 · re-verification due 2027-01-25

Revision history

Current version 1 · updated 2026-08-04 · next review due 2027-08-04

  1. v1 · 2026-08-04First draft. Built from three manufacturer documents read directly rather than through any competitor or aggregator page: Mazda's 2020 CX-3 and 2018 CX-3 owner's manuals (button-and-ignition-cycle reset family, and the dealer-recommended variant), Ford's 2014 Fusion Hybrid/Energi owner's manual (menu-navigation reset family), and a Stellantis technical service bulletin for the 2023-2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale and Dodge Hornet (accelerator-pedal-press reset family). No universal button sequence is published: the exact method and whether a repair shop is required both publish as consult-the-vehicle-documentation, and every family described on the page is explicitly attributed to the one manufacturer whose document was actually read. The malfunction-indicator-lamp distinction rests on the existing registered federal source (40 CFR 85.2207) and on Mazda's own check-engine-light page, already in the registry, read alongside the new wrench-indicator-light page from the same manufacturer's manual family so the contrast is drawn from one publisher's own documentation rather than assembled across unrelated sources.

Corrections to this page are listed in the public corrections log. Reports that are credible and not yet verified are listed in the public errata register, and an open one renders above the step it concerns.

Comments and corrections

Found an error? A correction with a manufacturer source is applied and logged publicly. You can also write to corrections@fixchecklist.com.

Every step above carries its own report control, which tags the report with that step so a correction reaches the right place. For anything about the procedure as a whole — the order of the sections, a step that is missing, something that did not match your equipment — use this: report something about this whole procedure.

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