How to Reset a Maintenance Light on a Toyota Camry
This warning tells you it's time to tend to your Toyota sedan.
Austin Lott | Capital One
QuickTakes:
If you see a light on your vehicle's dashboard or a message on its gauge cluster that says something like "maintenance required," don't panic. Maintenance reminders are meant to keep you on schedule when dealing with the little jobs that help your car, truck, or SUV live a long and healthy life. Here's a look at the late-model Toyota Camry sedan's maintenance light and how to reset it once you've taken care of the fluid swap — or any other work — it suggests.
What Is a Maintenance Light?
Keeping track of a vehicle's maintenance — whether it be oil changes, tire rotations, or filter swaps — can feel overwhelming for some owners. Fortunately, automakers have long been assisting in this department with maintenance minders that electronically keep track of the interval for the most important items on the schedule.
Sometimes, these systems rely on sensors that measure things such as oil quality by considering the temperature, engine speeds, and environment in which it has been operating. At the same time, other reminders are simple mileage markers, triggered simply when a preset interval has been reached.
Maintenance monitoring systems communicate with vehicle owners by showing them an alert that lets them know they're getting close to or need to schedule a specific type of maintenance for their car. Often, this message is specific and displayed on a vehicle's gauge cluster screen, while others rely on a small icon that illuminates a corner of the cluster. Depending on the model year, the Camry can have either indicator.
Do I Need Special Tools to Reset a Maintenance Light?
Resetting the maintenance light in a recent Toyota Camry requires no special tools. The procedure uses the car's steering wheel and dashboard controls.
There are two ways to turn off the Toyota's maintenance light. The first is to turn your Camry's key to the first position. This should be the accessory position that turns on the radio but not the air conditioning. Then, push the trip reset button down while turning the key to the next position, the one before starting the car. After 10 seconds, the light should flash and disappear.
If your Camry has a multi-information display, you can access the scheduled maintenance menu item through the Camry's gauge cluster display, if so equipped. This menu, which looks like a cog or gear, offers a reset option; the menu can be navigated using the steering wheel buttons when the vehicle is on.
How Do I Know the Maintenance Light Reset Worked?
To verify whether the maintenance light reset worked, turn your Camry on and see if the warning or light reappears. If it does, you'll likely have to perform the procedure again.
Whether you own a late-model Toyota Camry or any other vehicle, it's important to remember that you should only ever reset a vehicle's maintenance light after the required work has been performed. Otherwise, you risk potentially causing issues, such as using engine oil past the point it can best protect your engine from damage.
