One of the most important things to do when you own any vehicle is stay on top of regular oil changes. Your engine needs oil to operate effectively and the longer your vehicle goes without an oil change, the more contaminated the oil becomes, which can cause damage to your engine and ultimately lead to costly repairs. Changing your oil when it’s recommended is one of the simplest and most effective ways to ensure the longevity of your Chevy vehicle, but there’s one little nuisance that you might have noticed.
A vast majority of modern Chevy vehicles have a feature called Oil Life Monitor, which is actually a super helpful built-in system that will monitor the condition of your oil. It’s capable of calculating the degradation of your oil by studying driving habits, temperature, mileage and more, and will notify you when it’s time to get an oil change. While this is incredibly useful, after you get said oil change you might have to reset the system yourself if it isn’t done by whoever changed your oil. Today we’re going to tell you why it’s important to change the system right away, before diving into a couple of methods for how to reset your Chevy’s Oil Life Monitor.
Why Reset the Oil Life Monitor?
While most people will want to reset the monitor as soon as possible simply to get rid of the warnings, if those things don’t bother you you might need different motivation. While the system is able to predict its status based on those indicators we mentioned, it isn’t actually capable of analyzing the oil or anything like that. This means that it won’t automatically recognize that you’ve replaced the oil and will, of course, continue to tell you you need to replace the oil. Resetting the monitor right after your oil change will ensure that its tracking is as accurate as possible, making sure you get the most out of your fresh oil while continuing to maintain the health of your engine.
Reset Via the Driver Information Center
There are two common ways to reset your Oil Life Monitor, and the first and easiest is by utilizing the Driver Information Center (DIC). Older Chevy vehicles and some newer entry-level trims won’t have such a display and will likely need to utilize the other method, but most modern models feature a DIC and can have their Oil Life Monitor reset by following these steps:
- You’ll want to make sure that your vehicle is on, but that the engine is not, so insert and turn your key or press the push-button starter – whichever your model requires – but ensure that the engine doesn’t turn on.
- Next you’ll need to locate the buttons or touchscreen controls that allow you to navigate through the DIC in your vehicle, and use them to find the option for “Oil Life” or “Remaining Oil Life.”
- Once you have the correct option selected, you’re going to hold down a button until the system completely resets to 100%. The button might vary from model to model, but you’re looking for something like “SET,” “RESET,” “OK” or the like. Some models might simply have a thumbwheel that needs to be pressed.
- As that step completes, you should see some sort of indicator that the Oil Life Monitor has been successfully reset. You might be given an option to confirm the reset, so be sure to press the confirm button if you are.
Reset Via the Gas Pedal
The second method completely bypasses the DIC, so it’s useful for those models that don’t have such a display, but it should be usable on any Chevy model if it seems like the better option for you.
- Once again, you’ll want your vehicle to be on but the engine to be off, so you’ll want to turn the key to the “Accessory” position or press your push-button start without depressing the brake pedal.
- Wait a few seconds after your vehicle is prepared, and then slowly but fully depress the gas pedal and release it. Do this three times within a five-second window and the system should reset.
- All that’s left is for you to wait to receive confirmation that the system has been reset, which you can do by checking the Oil Life Monitor to ensure that it reads 100%.
Whichever method you choose, make sure to turn your vehicle all the way off and then you can turn it back on again to make sure that the Oil Life Monitor has been properly reset. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call here at Jim Glover Chevrolet and we’ll be happy to walk you through or help in any way that we can.
