Modern cars have lights for everything channeled through sophisticated computers full of reminders. When you first get a newer car, it’s typically under warranty and the dealer turns off the reminders when you go in for the services. As your new car ages, you might decide to postpone a scheduled service, or do some maintenance in your own garage. But how do you get those pesky lights to turn off?
Image: Flickr
First, take a look at your owner’s manual and make sure you aren’t doing any damage by turning off the service reminder light without performing the service - there is a reason these lights are on! Some cars have an oil change reminder light, a service that many people choose to perform in their own driveway. Other cars have a service light that comes on at specific mileages (30K, 60K, 90K, etc.), reminding the owner to take care of these big service intervals. Most cars have other service lights as well, alerting you to high coolant temperatures, high or low oil pressure, engine concerns, and more.
If the service light you’d like to turn off is for a simple procedure you’ve done at home, such as an oil change, first review your manual and look for the instructions to turn off the light. As onboard computers become more sophisticated, there are many more options available to a vehicle owner without using additional tools. Sometimes turning off a light can be as simple as cycling through a few menus or hitting a button to reset a mileage tracker.
Sometimes, however, turning off service lights is a more complex task, requiring the use of a code scanner and a cable that hooks up to your onboard computer through a jack under the dashboard. Some home mechanics choose to have their own scanners, and the scanner should have instructions for disabling reminder lights. If you do not have a scanner, and you require one to turn off a service light, contact Convoy Auto Repair! We can identify what is making the light turn on and are happy to give you a quote for the required service, or turn off the light as appropriate.