The general car owners may not believe that they don’t really know how to reset oil life on Honda CRV, but that’s the most common mistake that most people make. Whether you are like it or not, you should know the basic facts about your car’s parts and elements, and how to care for them properly. You may know how to do the reset in theory, but that’s even better than not knowing anything at all. If you want to prolong your car’s life and make sure that it runs well, then changing the oil and resetting the oil indicator should be a part of it.
The Importance of Oil Indicator Reset
If you want to care for your CRV, you will have to perform a regular service, and that’s changing the oil regularly. In most cases, you can have it cared at the dealer or garage, but it’s also possible to do it on your own. If you choose the latter, then you are the one performing the indicator resetting, leading to knowing how to reset oil life on Honda CRV.
A lot of car owners believe that they need to buy only the best type of engine oil so their car will run just perfectly. This can be true, but not 100%. You see, the key to proper care and maintenance of the vehicle is to make sure that you maintain solid record and regular care when doing the oil change. If you are able to combine regular (and discipline) change time and high-quality oil, you may get impeccable result. But you can still have smoothly running vehicle with regular oil change even without you having to spend a fortune for the premium oil products.
The Specialty of the Oil Life Indicator
Today’s cars are packed with advanced technologies and sophisticated features. Most of them are meant to provide information for the owners, making sure that they can detect issues from the early stage. The information can also provide a sense of ‘warranty’ for the owners that they can keep track of their maintenance history. And oil life feature is definitely included one of those care and maintenance.
The indicator for the oil life holds very crucial role in the car’s maintenance. The indicator light doesn’t only give you information about how much oil is left, but also about the oil’s quality. The indicator would give you estimation when to replace your oil. Whenever you replace the oil, the technician would reset the indicator back to 100% to show you that it’s fresh and new. When the oil condition is poor or slowly deteriorating, that’s when you see the percentage is getting low. When it’s around 20% or 30%, it would light up. When it does, it means that you need to change your oil right away.
Today’s (oil) products are better than before. They are more long lasting. It affects the vehicles too. When compared to the older year models, the new cars don’t need more frequent changing than before. After all, there’s no good in changing the engine oil more frequently if it is still in good state. And this is how the feature is quite handy – and how it’s crucial to know how to reset oil life on Honda CRV.
How the Indicator Works
There are basically 2 different oil life indicators types. The first one uses the car’s data set to generate the decision about the oil’s quality. The second one uses a direct type of measurement. These kinds of systems don’t really have (actual) oil sensors or measurements, but they would take and use data from different sources and components, such as (powertrain) control module to make quality estimation.
In models like CRV, the system uses a direct measurement that basically utilizes sensors. Those sensors ‘sample’ the oil on its water presence, soot concentration, mechanical properties, and conductivity. These are the factors believed to affect oil’s functionality and quality.
Managing the Reset
As you can see, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of regular oil change. And you also need to reset the indicator if you want everything to run perfectly. The knowledge on how to reset oil life on Honda CRV can be useful if you prefer changing the oil on your own. If you have the newer models, like the 2017 to 2021 model, you can do the change. Keep in mind that you will see orange wrench symbol light up when it needs servicing. It’s your sign that you need to change the oil.
- Find the proper display
- If you have EX model (or above models), you will need to access the main display. If you have the lower models, access the button located close to the dashboard to navigate it
- Choose the button ‘Home’ and then go with ‘Settings’
- Choose the setting’ Vehicle’
- Find the section ‘Maintenance Info’ and click it
- Choose the bottom button that states ‘System Reset’
- Choose the button ‘A:Engine Oil’
- You would be required to confirm the engine oil reset
By doing this step, you should return the oil life indicator to around 100%. From this percentage, it would begin the countdown as you use the vehicle. You should always reset the indicator if you do other types maintenance, like replacement and removal for spark p lugs, tire rotation, and air filters. You can find other info within the Maintenance Minder system.
Word of Caution
Never reset the indicator if your car doesn’t just change the oil. If you just add up the oil, don’t perform the reset. ONLY reset it when you change the oil, which means that the old oil should be completely drained and then refilled with the new and clean oil. If you don’t really know how to do it, consult your manual. If you hesitate, and you are completely clueless, don’t do the procedure on your own. You should take your car to the professional service, such as trusted garage or the official dealership. They definitely know how to reset oil life on Honda CRV and they can lend you a hand about it.