Many of today’s cars have a service reset or oil reset warning on the dashboard.
Once it starts flashing, it’s probably time to visit a mechanic and make a check up.
But what if you did some DIY maintenance (changed engine oil or otherwise) and the warning continues to flash?
Well, in this article we’ll show you what to do and explain the basic principle of how to make a service reset and oil reset.
I say basic principle as the example is done on a Skoda Fabia mk1 but taking a look at this article will perhaps help with other car models.
This is an easy task and one that you can certainly do on your own. It will take only minutes of your time and a bit of patience.
WHY DOES THE SERVICE AND OIL INTERVAL WARNING APPEAR?
Obviously, every car has a service interval of its own. The life span of the engine highly depends on it.
But the sad truth is that many drivers out there are not aware of this. They simply neglect this fact and this can spell doom for the car engine.
Because of this, most car manufacturers, since the beginning of the ˝electronic era˝ have a found a convenient way of telling the driver when it’s time to pay more attention to these service intervals.
The car computer combines various metrics from the car and gives the warning when the time comes.
Two of the most common ways that a service or oil interval warning displayed is:
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Dashboard warning light
This option is pretty outdated and is present mostly on older car models. The warning light will be incorporated, in most cases, among other warning lights on the dashboard
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Warning on the dashboard info-display
Almost all modern cars have some sort of information display. From the old-school, rudimentary ones (like on the Fabia) to modern LCD displays.
Most common messages are: ˝SERVICE˝, ˝SERVICE NOW˝, ˝OIL CHANGE AND INSPECTION SOON˝ etc.
On the Skoda Fabia it’s ˝INSP˝and ˝OIL˝.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESET BUTTON ON THE SPEEDOMETER
This part is very important as the reset button is key for performing this task.
Many drivers don’t know that the trip reset button has a dual purpose. Doing a certain procedure which involves pushing the reset button, holding it down and turning it activates other hidden functions and menus on the info screen.
This is not only the case on the Skoda Fabia but also on many other cars.
For the Skoda:
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Pressing it down while turning the ignition key at the same time activates the service reset and oil reset menu. Once activated the messages in the menu are switched by pushing the button.
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Turning the button to the right (clockwise) will activate reset functions for both the service and oil interval.
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Besides this, turning the set button while the ignition is off (left or right side) sets the car clock.
(If you want to see in more detail how to set the clock on a Skoda Fabia mk1 or other same generation VW group cars, click here for a separate article or watch a video tutorial on our You Tube channel).
This system resembles the one on older digital watches with dual functions.
HOW TO MAKE AN OIL RESET?
This is the first message that will appear once you press the set button so we’ll go in this order.
The message that will appear on the info-screen is ˝OIL˝.
This is how the procedure goes:
1. Before you start, make sure the ignition is switched off and that all the doors are closed.
2. Press and hold the reset button on the speedometer while simultaneously turning the ignition key to first position (don’t start the engine).
3. The ˝OIL¨warning sign should appear.
4. Turn the reset button to the right (clockwise).
5. Three small hyphens will appear looking like this ˝- – -˝ which is a sign that you did the procedure right.
6. Switch off the ignition.
7. Turn the ignition back on, the ˝OIL˝ message should be gone.
HOW TO MAKE A SERVICE RESET?
The service reset warning looks like this:
It’s indicated with a small spanner and the letters ˝INSP˝ blinking on the info-screen.
The service reset warning goes away after you drive a couple of minutes but the spanner sign stays on all the time.
Now for the procedure:
1. Before you start, make sure the ignition is switched off and that all the doors are closed.
2. Press the reset button on the speedometer while simultaneously turning the ignition key to first position (don’t start the engine).
3. The ˝OIL¨warning sign should appear first. Press the reset button again to reach the ˝INSP˝ message.
4. Turn the reset button to the right (clockwise).
5. Three small hyphens will appear looking like this ˝- – -˝.which is a sign that you did the procedure correctly.
6. Switch off the ignition.
7. Turn on the ignition again, the ˝INSP˝ message should be gone together with the spanner.
OTHER WAYS TO MAKE A SERVICE OR OIL INTERVAL RESET
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OBD diagnostic tool
If you have an OBD tool, you can use it as well. Bit more complicated but efficient nevertheless.
Both dealerships and most independent mechanics will use OBD tools to make a service reset or oil reset.
This way they can also make more precise future settings for these intervals.
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Laptop with OBD II cable
Same as with the OBD tool. Most important thing here is to have a matching software and OBD connection cable for your car.
Needless to say, on this part, that the upper mentioned, ˝no-tools-needed˝procedure is less complicated, less time-consuming and cheaper.
But the choice is up to you.
CAN YOU CONTINUE DRIVING WITH THE SERVICE RESET OR OIL RESET WARNING ON?
In most cases, yes.
If, for some reason you can’t make a service reset or oil reset, you’ll be fine for some time
Most car manufacturers have set the warning to appear well before a problem can occur. This way they protect both their product from serious neglect and ultimately your safety.
On most cars, service reset warning and oil reset warning will appear up to even a couple of thousand kilometers before service is due.
Nevertheless, once it does appear, don’t neglect it. Look at your maintenance book and see what kind of inspections and changes are due.
All in all, tend to the problems a soon as possible, especially with the oil reset warning.
SHOULD YOU VISIT A DEALERSHIP OR MECHANIC TO MAKE A SERVICE RESET OR OIL RESET?
If you’re reluctant to do this procedure (although I don’t see why you should be) then you always have one more option.
That is to visit a dealership or a good and trustworthy independent mechanic.
Both options are good and they will surely get the job done. They will either use an OBD tool, laptop or do the same procedure as explained above.
Of course, there may be a small fee involved (especially in licensed dealerships) and some lost time (rarely can you get anything done without an appointment).
This might not be always the case, especially if you’re a regular customer.
On this part I would advise the independent mechanic option. There is a better possibility you can get this job done for free and without prior notice.
At least that’s the case in my country as the job is so simple that being a regular customer implies that the service reset or oil reset is free.
HOW DO YOU MAKE A RESET ON OTHER CARS?
Well, the system we’ve shown here is more or less the same on all mass-produced cars, at least from what I’ve seen.
It’s based on intuitive using, again like on older digital watches.
The main difference may be in the type and location of the reset button and the exact procedure (like how long you have to hold the button down, direction of turning, numbers of pressing and so on).
Upper class cars, luxury cars, performance cars and other ones with more complicated electronic systems are an exception. Here you’ll probably need a diagnostic tools or some sort of computer software or you won’t perhaps be able to do it at all without visiting a dealership.
My advice for finding the exact procedure for your car model:
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Google the service reset and oil reset for your car model specifically. The internet is full of written and video information on this topic so your bound to find it.
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Take a look at the maintenance book.
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Ask someone who has the same car, maybe they’ve had some previous experience.
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Use your intuition and work around it using the same basic principle you saw here.
Written by: Sibin Spasojevic
Former car technician, life-long car and DIY enthusiast, author for Despairrepair.com
