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Lexus IS: How to Reset Your Oil Light

Resetting your oil light indicator is a quick and simple task. Learn how to do so here.

By Tyler Brower - November 26, 2014

This article applies to the Lexus IS 250, IS 350 (2005-2014).

The change oil notification can be very helpful in gauging the oil life remaining in your crankcase. It accurately gauges the life left in your oil far more than the old system of changing it by mileage. When it's gauged by the computer, it can take into account your driving style and help with unnecessarily changing oil that has plenty of life left, or damaging the engine from stale oil. This effectively lengthens the life of your engine, saves you money, and cuts back the environmental impact from used oil. Whether or not you change it yourself, the light will not go away once the task is done, and the dealer may not reset it. This article provides easy, step-by-step instructions to refer to the next time your oil light needs to be reset.

Material Needed

  • Your hands

Step 1 - Turn the car on and set the odometer to lifetime miles

Pressing the odometer reset button on the dash will cycle through the data that can be displayed on your dashboard. This includes two trip meters and lifetime mileage (this is when you see things like 70,000 miles). Press the button until the odometer reads ODO and displays your vehicle's total mileage.

Figure 1. Press the left nub to cycle through the odometer settings.

Step 2 - Turn the car off

Turning your car off will allow you to perform the sequence in the following step, which tells the computer to reset the oil life meter.

Step 3 - Press and hold the odometer button as you press the start button twice

There are a few things to note here. You should keep your foot off the brake pedal. Do not release the odometer reset button once the dashboard cluster turns on. The dashboard will display a cycle of 3 little dashes on the odometer "counting down" until it displays a line of zeroes. Once this has completed, your oil life has been reset.

Figure 2. The odometer will count down while it resets your oil light.

Featured Video: How to Reset Oil Light in Lexus IS

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