How To Reset The Maintenance Light On The Honda Accord

When the maintenance light of your Honda Accord turns on, it’s not a cause for concern.  The older generation Accord kept track of your mileage and reminded you to change the oil in set intervals, usually every 7,500 miles. The more recent models have an Oil Life Scale, which measures the quality of engine oil based on mileage, but also your driving habits to give you a more accurate reading.

The process of resetting maintenance life should take you less than a minute for any model, and provided that you’ve actually changed the oil, comes with no risks. Let’s go through all generations of Honda Accord, and find out how to reset the maintenance light.

Honda Accord Tenth Generation (2017 – Present)

The current Honda Accord, along with its 2021 update has a straightforward method of resetting maintenance light. Being a more modern system, maintenance light handles not only the oil change but also other maintenance cycles. You can use the following steps to reset any or all of them:

1. Turn on the ignition without starting the engine.
2. Press the Home button on the steering wheel to access the Main menu.
3. Using the Selector wheel below the Home button, navigate to the Maintenance menu.
4. Press and hold the Selector wheel for 10 seconds to access Reset mode.
5. Find the maintenance reminder you want to reset or reset all of them through All Due Items.

Honda Accord Ninth Generation (2012 – 2017)

Honda Accord models from the ninth generation still feature a dash-mounted knob, located on the right side. You will be using it through a few steps to reset the maintenance light:

1. Take your foot off the brake and push the ignition button twice to turn the ignition on without starting the engine.
2. Cycle through the menus located in the center of the dash by pressing the trip knob.
3. Once you’ve found Oil life, press and hold the trip knob until the menu starts blinking.
4. Release, then press and hold the trip knob again until Oil life resets to 100%.

Honda Accord Eighth Generation (2007 – 2012)

For the eighth generation Honda Accord, you will use the trip knob and the small rectangular screen on the bottom of the instrument panel to reset the maintenance light.

1. Set the ignition to On, but do not start the engine.
2. Navigate the menus located on the instrument panel screen until you’ve found the Oil menu.
3. Press and hold the trip knob until the Oil menu starts flashing.
4. Press and hold the trip knob again until the menu resets.

Honda Accord Seventh Generation (2002 – 2007)

The seventh-generation will flash MAINT REQ’D in the top left corner of the instrument panel to warn you about the oil change. Here’s how to reset it:

1. Turn the key to the second position in the ignition lock.
2. Press and hold the trip knob located on the instrument panel. Do not release the knob.
3. Wait 10 seconds, then turn the key to the Off position.
4. Turn the key back to the second position.
5. Wait another 10 seconds, then release the trip knob.

Honda Accord Sixth Generation (1998 – 2002)

The sixth-generation shares the process with its successor, with minor changes:

1. Place the key in the ignition lock.
2. Press and hold the SELECT/RESET button on the instrument panel.
3. Turn the key to the second (On) position.
4. Continue holding the button until the maintenance light resets.

Honda Accord Older Generations (1976 – 1998)

The vehicles of the past century didn’t incorporate many of the reminders and warning lights we see in cars today. Even when they did, the method of resetting them didn’t change through several generations. If you’re driving an older Honda Accord, here’s how to reset the maintenance light:

1. Locate the slot on the instrument panel where you could insert the ignition key.
2. Insert the key and push until the maintenance light changes from red to green.

Summary

Resetting the maintenance light on a Honda Accord is arguably one of the easiest tasks to perform. If your car is in the warranty period, I advise you to leave the resetting to authorized mechanics, along with the oil change. If you’re maintaining the car by yourself, you might not follow the manufacturer-specified maintenance cycles, which may not be a bad thing, as long as you keep your own records and reminders. In that case, the maintenance light will not be accurate and should be reset whenever it pops up.

Here are other Honda maintenance articles you might find useful:

Honda CRV Oil Life Reset

How To Reset The Honda Pilot Oil Life Maintenance Light

How To Reset The Honda Odyssey Oil Light