How to Reset Oil Life on a Honda Civic

How to Reset Oil Life on a Honda Civic: Easy Steps

For those that aren’t mechanically minded, there’s nothing more anxiety inducing when an usual light appears on the dashboard. One of those would be the oil life indicator light on a Honda Civic which comes on to prompt you to change the oil. But once you’ve done that, how do you reset the oil life on a Honda Civic to make the indicator go off?

Here’s all you need to know, including instructions for all models ranging from the years 2006 through to the later models from 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 (video for 2022 lower down the page).

I will start with the most recent, then lower down the page you can find out how to reset the oil life light on Honda Civics from 2006, 2007, 2008 and so on. 

How to reset oil life on a Honda Civic with i-MID display

Steps for resetting the oil life Honda Civic indicator will depend on what type of display you have. The steps mentioned below are for the Civic models that were offered with an intelligent Multi-Information Display, also known as i-MID. 

  • Step 1: Turn to key to switch on the Civic.
  • Step 2: Using the steering-mounted controls on the left side, press ‘Menu’ to get access to a list of options on the i-MID.
  • Step 3: Scroll through the options using the ‘+’ button until you reach the ‘Vehicle Information’ option.
  • Step 4: Press the ‘SOURCE’ button twice to access the maintenance panel where you’ll see the engine oil life on the display. 
  • Step 5: Use the ‘-‘ button to choose the ‘Yes’ option and then press ‘SOURCE’. This should reset the Oil Life. 
  • Step 6: To confirm that the job is done, turn off and turn on the car to ensure that the orange wrench isn’t showing up anymore. 

As the years progressed, the user interface and menu options on the Honda Civic got simpler and as a result, you’ll find it easier to reset the oil life light on Honda Civic models that were manufactured after 2016. 

reset oil life Honda Civic
For the moment it’s fine, but you might have to perform a reset oil life on a Honda Civic when the percentage drops down and you change the oil.

I’ve listed the steps to reset the oil life on the newer models from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, below.

How to reset oil life on a Honda Civic with a Multi-Information Screen

  • Step 1: Turn on the car using the push-start button.  
  • Step 2: Use the steering mounted controls and press the ‘Info’ button. Do this until the ‘wrench’ icon shows up on the display.  
  • Step 3: Press and hold the ‘enter’ button for a few seconds. This will put it into ‘reset mode’.
  • Step 4: Toggle between the options using the ‘-‘ or ‘+’ buttons until the option ‘All Due Items’ is selected. Then press enter. 

Your Honda Civic oil life indicator is now reset. Just to confirm that the reset is done, you may switch off and switch on the car again. 

For the Honda Civic models that weren’t offered with a Multi-Information Screen, the steps are mentioned below. 

How to reset oil life on Honda Civic models without a Multi-Information Screen

  • Step 1: Turn on the ignition using the key or the push-start button. 
  • Step 2: Press the ‘trip’ knob repeatedly to scroll through the options in the menu and stop when you see the Engine Oil Life percentage.
  • Step 3: Make the Engine Oil Life percentage option blink by pressing and holding the ‘trip’ knob.
  • Step 4: Once the option blinks constantly, press and hold the ‘trip’ knob once again until the Engine Oil Life percentage resets. 

The oil life is now reset. You may switch off and switch on the Civic ignition again to confirm the reset.

Most online guides to resetting the oil filter light indicator for the Honda Civic would ask you to switch on the car without turning on the ignition. But, I wouldn’t recommend that as it could drain the car’s battery, just in case you took a little longer to go through the steps mentioned earlier. 

But now for older models.

How to reset the oil life on a Honda Civic 2007 & 2006

Typically, the following steps need to be followed for resetting oil life warning lights on Honda Civics that were made around 2006 and 2007. 

  • Step 1: Insert the key into the ignition and switch on the car. 
  • Step 2: Press the ‘SEL’ button on the steering until you see the option “Oil Life” on the display.
  • Step 3: Press and hold the ‘SEL’ button until “Oil Life’ starts blinking.
  • Step 4: Release the button.
  • Step 5: Press and hold the ‘SEL’ button again for five seconds until ‘Oil Life’ resets to 100 percent.
  • Step 6: Turn off and turn on your Civic to confirm the reset. 

Related questions 

I’m sure you might have some more related questions on your mind about the Honda Civic. Let me answer some of the more common queries below. 

How to reset the oil life light on a 2022 Honda Civic? 

The procedure to reset oil life on the latest Honda Civic from 2022 is slightly different compared to the models we mentioned earlier. It is very well explained in this video:

When you see the Honda Civic oil life, when to change?

The Honda Maintenance Minder System (explained below) will show a yellow wrench symbol when your Honda Civic oil life has reached the 15% threshold. Don’t panic as this does not mean you can’t drive your Civic. 

What it does mean though is that your oil has degraded so it’s not long until you need to get it changed. My advice is that you get your Civic booked in for an oil change as soon as possible.

How to reset the electric parking brake light on a Civic

This is often confusing too with new drivers of Civics, and I have written a more complete guide to dealing with the electric parking brake light which goes into detail.

What does the orange wrench light mean on a Honda Civic?

The orange light on a Honda Civic is the Maintenance Minder warning. You will see this orange wrench light when something in the Civic might need looking at due to how many miles you have driven or the time you’ve had the car.

They are timely reminders, and not cause for panic.

For example, the orange wrench light can come on when the oil has reached the end of its life and is due for replacement. To be specific, the system on the Honda is designed to flash the wrench sign when about 15% of the oil life is still left. 

What is the Maintenance Minder System in a Honda Civic? 

The Maintenance Minder System was introduced by Honda in 2006 in all its cars to help drivers know when their cars were due for service. 

The system is programmed in a way that constantly assesses how the car is being used and the rate at which oil life is being affected. When the scheduled maintenance time arrives, the orange wrench light comes on. 

The wrench light has turned on much earlier than the scheduled maintenance date. Is it erroneous?

Not really. The Honda Maintenance Minder System monitors oil life constantly through the additives in it. Factors like heat, excessive engine load, high vehicle speed, high engine speed, etc. can cause the oil to degrade faster. 

The Maintenance Minder System in such cases signals the wrench light if its senses a faster breakdown of additives in the oil and informs you of an earlier oil change.

Why is my Honda burning so much oil?

The engine oil in your Honda isn’t highly sensitive to the conditions the car is being driven in. However, if the car is being driven under the same conditions for a long time period, you may notice a change in the quality and consumption of engine oil than it would have been otherwise. 

For example, if you drive your Honda Civic through heavy traffic every day, chances are that the oil could reach the end of its life sooner than expected since it is put through higher temperatures and frequent gear changes – in simple terms, your Honda will be burning more oil than it should. 

The engine is forced to rev for a while before being idle again. This cycle causes more stress to the engine and the oil. 

On the other hand, when you drive your Civic on the highway every day (assuming that you’re not exceeding the speed limit), the engine is allowed to run freely at a constant speed. Fewer gear changes are made during the drive and as a result, the oil temperature is allowed to remain moderate and constant. Consequently, the oil is able to last longer than the oil that is driven through heat and traffic. 

Another by-product of this will be that you need to change the oil, and will then have to reset the oil life light on your Honda Civic, as is described in the above guide.

How much oil does a Honda Civic hold?

The petrol engine of a Honda Civic holds up to 3.5 liters of oil whereas the hybrid model of a Honda Civic holds 4.16 liters of oil. 

When should I change the oil on my 2022 Honda Civic? 

Honda recommends users replace the engine oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles if, they’re using conventional oil. If synthetic oil is being used, then Honda recommends it be replaced every 7,500-10,000 miles. 

Synthetic oil is what Honda recommends to be used for the 2021 and 2022 Civic models. 

When you change it will depend on whether you use standard or synthetic oil (here’s why). 

Conclusion

All modern cars like the Honda Civic are equipped with a feature that lets you know when the life of the engine oil is at its end. It tells you this by flashing an orange wrench light on the instrument cluster. Once the oil has been changed, service engineers reset the system so that the light switches off. 

However, if you’ve got the oil changed recently but are still seeing the orange wrench on your Civic’s Multi-Information Display (MID), chances are that you’ve got the oil changed by someone other than a Honda mechanic or, you’ve done it yourself. 

Either way, resetting the oil life indicator on a Honda Civic isn’t a complicated task. Just by following a few methods, you should be able to switch off the ‘warning’ in a few minutes. 

What’s better is that you require no tools or equipment to do this job, other than your mind and your hands. 

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