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Your maintenance light just popped on in
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your Toyota Highlander and you're
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wondering what the heck it means. Hey,
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I'm Tom from Car Justify and today I'm
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going to walk you through what it
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actually is, why it shows up, and how
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you can reset it yourself without
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heading to the shop. First off, that
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maintenance required light, not the
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check engine light, different thing, is
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just a reminder. It's Toyota's way of
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saying, "Hey, time for an oil change,
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usually every 5,000 mi. So, if it comes
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on, don't panic. Your car isn't about to
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explode." But let's talk about why it
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stays on even after you've changed the
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oil. Happens all the time. Shops forget
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to reset it or you did the oil yourself
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and didn't know there's a reset trick.
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I've seen people drive around for months
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thinking something's seriously wrong.
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Here's the simple fix. On most
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Highlanders, you turn the key to on but
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don't start it. Or in newer ones, just
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hit the start button without pressing
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the brake. Look for the trip meter
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button, hold it down, keep holding while
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turning the key back to off, then on
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again. Wait for it to flash and reset to
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zeros. That's it. Don't worry, it's
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easier than it sounds. Now, some models
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have a slightly different routine, like
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you might need to cycle the ignition
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twice while holding the trip button, or
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use the odometer display instead of trip
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A or B. Check your owner's manual if you
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get stuck. Or honestly, just try both.
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I've helped folks figure this out over
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the phone in under a minute. Another
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thing, if your light keeps coming back
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even after resetting, you might have
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skipped the actual maintenance. I know
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sounds obvious, but people reset it
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thinking it'll go away forever. It's
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just a timer. If you didn't change the
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oil or filter, it'll keep reminding you.
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So, make sure you actually did the
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service. Also, be careful if you just
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bought the car used. Sometimes sellers
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reset it before selling, but the oil
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might be ancient. I had a friend pick up
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a Highlander last week and the light
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didn't come on for months because the
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last owner had cleared it. When it
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finally did, the oil was basically
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sludge. Worth checking right away.
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Another cause that trips people up, if
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you had service done at a quick lube
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shop, they sometimes forget to reset it.
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Not malicious, just busy. So, you pay
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for the change and still see that light
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on the dash. Don't freak out or drive
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back angry. Just do the reset at home.
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If you want to check for anything more
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serious, you can always use an OBD
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scanner. That's onboard diagnostics.
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Plug it in under the dash. But remember,
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the maintenance light doesn't throw
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codes like the check engine light does.
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It won't show anything. It's really just
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that mileage timer. So, to recap, the
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maintenance light is a reminder, not a
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warning. Resetting it is a simple trick
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with the trip button and ignition. Make
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sure you actually did the oil change.
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Double check if you just bought the car
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used. And don't let a shop forgetting to
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reset it stress you out. If this helped
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you out, don't forget to like and
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subscribe. I post these kinds of easy
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fixes all the time. And if you're still
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stuck, drop a comment. I'm happy to help
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you figure it out. Thanks for watching
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Car Justify. Stay safe out there.
