In this article, we are going to learn how to reset oil life on a Honda Civic. The process is not very hard; in fact, everybody could do it at home without too much hassle.
But before moving on to the actual guide, we will try to understand what an oil life reset is and how it works.
Why do these issues occur more commonly on some cars and less commonly on others? These, as well, are questions that will need to be answered.
So without further ado, let’s understand what an oil life reset is.
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What Is Oil Life Reset?
An oil life reset is a simple procedure that needs to be done on some cars after changing the oil.
The oil indicator light will still be on after replacing the oil, meaning that you need to reset it manually.
Usually, the car mechanic who will change the oil in the car should do this, but not always.
Also, if you are accustomed to the oil on your own, then you need to follow this procedure and follow the steps in the guide below.
OK, but what happens if you don’t reset the oil life on your car?
Why Oil Life Resetting Is Necessary
An oil life reset is necessary because you need to know when the oil life is actually running low.
If you change the oil but you forget to reset the oil life indicator, your car won’t be able to tell you when the oil life is running low.
It’s also upsetting to see an indicator light that is always flashing. It is unaesthetic and gives you the impression that there’s something wrong with your car.
Resetting the oil life indicator is not entirely necessary, as long as you change the oil regularly, but it’s perfectly understandable why you would want to do this little procedure.
Benefits And Drawbacks Of Oil Life Resetting
So why should you reset the oil life and why shouldn’t you? In short, there isn’t really a reason not to do it: it’s extremely easy to do it and it doesn’t cost you anything.
Where do you add that you won’t need any tools, nor do you need to have any previous experience with car technology?
Lastly, this entire process won’t last for more than two to three minutes, meaning that you have every reason to do it, and no reason at all not to do it.
However, you will soon understand that the process is somewhat different depending on your Civic. What this means is that you need to figure out what procedure needs to be applied to your Honda Civic.
The good part is that we’ve got a different tutorial on each type, and you can find all of them in the following section!
How To Reset Oil Life On Honda Civic Step By Step Guide
Here you can find the actual guides. We say “guides” instead of “guides” because, in fact, the process is quite different depending on the model you have.
Not all Honda Civics are the same. As you might know, the year plays a huge role, since there are huge differences between a 2006 Civic and a Civic from 2019, for instance.
Luckily for all of us, the process is very easy to follow regardless of the car’s year and model.
In terms of tools, you’ll be happy to find out that you won’t need any tools for this procedure, except your car, of course.
01. Honda Civic 2006-2011
Step 1: Turning the ignition key.
If you own a Honda Civic made in either of these years, the first step will be to hop into the car.
For this procedure, you will only need to sit in the driver’s seat.
You will not need tools or even lift the hood of the car.
Insert the ignition key and then turn it until it reaches the second position. Don’t start the car.
Now you should be able to hear some beeping noises, and you’ll see the wrench light turned on. That is the light maintenance that will stop flashing after resetting the oil life.
Step 2: Hold the SEL RESET button.
To the left of the steering wheel you’ll find a few buttons. One of them reads “SEL RESET”.
Press and hold that button for about 10 seconds, until you see “SERVICE” blinking behind the steering wheel. Now let the button go, because that’s what you want to see.
Step 3: Repeat step 2.
For step 3 you want to do the same thing. Hold the SEL RESET button for about 10 seconds, or until the screen reads “Oil life 100%” instead of “Service”.
Step 4: Stop the car.
The procedure is practically done. However, if you want to make sure that you’ve done everything correctly, you could stop the car then turn the ignition key again to see if the maintenance light still shows. It should not.
02. Honda Civic 2016-2024 (With Multi-Information Screen)
Step 1: Push the ignition button twice.
This procedure works for Honda Civics made in 2016, 2017, and so on, up to the present day. However, make sure you have a multi-information screen.
For models without a multi-information screen, you’ll have to apply a few different steps, which you can find after this guide.
If you do have a multi-information Civic screen, push the start button twice. Don’t start the car though.
Step 2: Press the Info button.
After pressing the start button twice, you should see “Maintenance Due Now” popping up on the dashboard.
For the next step, press the Info button until you see the oil life percentage on the screen.
The Info button is located on the left side of the steering wheel, and you will probably have to press it twice in order to see the oil life.
Step 3: Hold Enter.
Press and hold Enter for 10 seconds or until you see “Maintenance Reset” on the screen. After this you will be able to scroll through different items, such as “Item 1” or “Item A”.
To navigate through these items, use the arrows located on the wheel’s left side.
Among them, you will find the option “All due items”.
Normally, “Item A” corresponds to the oil indicator, but you can choose “All due items” which will also accomplish what you’re trying to do.
Step 4: Select the desired item.
As we said, some people will tell you to select “All due items”, while others will tell you to only reset “Item A”. Either of these will work just fine and will make the oil life indicator work as it should.
If you want to improve the riding comfort on your Honda Civic then this article is for you.
Step 5: Hold Enter again.
Finally, after choosing either Item A or “All due items”, press and hold Enter for about 10 seconds again, or until you see “Oil life 100%” on the screen.
03. Honda Civic 2016-2024 (Without Multi-Information Screen)
Step 1: Press the start button twice.
If your Civic doesn’t have a multi-information screen, here’s what you need to do:
Press the start button twice, but don’t start the car. If you start the car, you won’t be able to finish this procedure.
Step 2: Select the oil life option.
For step number two, you’ll need to press the trip knob as many times as you need in order to have the oil life option displayed on the screen. It should be among the first available options.
Step 3: Hold the trip knob.
Press and hold the same trip knob that you used in the previous step. Hold it for about 10 seconds or until the percentage of oil life starts blinking.
Step 4: Finishing the procedure.
While the oil life percentage is flashing on the screen, finish the resetting procedure by pressing the trip knob until the screen indicates 100% oil life.
So there you have it! As you can see, the procedure is slightly different depending on the year your Civic was manufactured in.
Luckily for you, resetting the oil life indicator has always been pretty easy.
So, whether you have an older Civic or a newer generation one, you’ll be able to get it done without a problem.
One last tip regarding the oil life reset is that you should always stop the car then start it again in order to see whether the oil life has indeed been reset or not.
In case it didn’t work, make sure you did all this without starting the car.
As you can see, although the process is not always the same, you always need to turn the ignition key into the second position or to push the start button twice.
Finally, if our in-depth guide didn’t prove to be very useful, we have something else for you: at the end of this article, you can find two visual tutorials.
Sometimes, explanations are much easier to understand when you have somebody show you the actual process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do you reset the oil life on a 2016 Honda Civic?
A: It depends whether your Civic has a multi-information screen. If it does, press the start button twice, press the Info button, hold Enter for 10 seconds. After that, select either Item A or All Due Items, then hold Enter again.
If your Honda Civic doesn’t have a multi-information screen, you can find the process in our article, so make sure to read it.
Q: How long will 15% oil life last?
A: If the screen shows a 15% oil life, you should probably go and change your oil as soon as you get the chance.
Don’t let the percentage drop to 5 or even 0, as you might encounter more and more problems with your car.
Theoretically, you will be able to drive your car even if the oil life reaches 0, but that doesn’t mean that you should. It’s just the same if you’re on 15% oil life.
Q: How to reset oil life on Honda cars?
A: The process is slightly different depending on the model and year of your Honda. In our article, you can find an in-depth guide on how to reset the oil life indicator on every Honda Civic model.
The process is very easy to follow, so make sure to give the entire article a read. Next time you need to reset the oil life, you’ll know exactly what to do.
Q: What does oil life reset do?
A: By resetting the oil life indicator on your car’s screen, you will always know how much time you have before changing the oil again.
Unfortunately, the indicator does not reset by itself every time you change the car’s oil, meaning that you have to do it manually.
The good part, however, is that it’s a very easy process and requires no experience whatsoever.
Q: What happens if I don’t reset the oil life?
A: Not changing the car’s oil is bad. The oil will turn into a sludgy substance, meaning that it won’t be able to lubricate certain components.
However, not resetting the oil life on the dashboard won’t do any damage to the car… It simply means that the maintenance indicator will always be present, which could be a real pain for most drivers.
Q: Why won’t the oil light go off?
A: It might mean that you didn’t follow the steps correctly. Make sure you don’t start the car and that you follow your car’s specific procedure.
In this article, you can find an in-depth guide on how to reset the oil life indicator on every Honda Civic model from 2006 all the way to 2024.
https://engines.honda.com/support-and-service/fuel-recommendations#fueltype
Final Say
We hope our tutorial on how to reset oil life on a Honda Civic proved to be worthy. After all, the process is not complicated at all, and we’re sure anybody could do it.
From now on, if the mechanic somehow forgets to reset the oil life indicator after changing your car’s oil, you’ll know exactly what to do to get rid of that annoying light in your car.