How To Reset The Maintenance Light On A Toyota Tacoma

The Tacoma is a midsize truck. It comes with a maintenance system that tracks the mileage age of the engine oil, and driving conditions.

After every 5,000 miles, the maintenance light will come on notifying you that your vehicle needs maintenance. 

After the maintenance, you need to reset the light so that the vehicle can go back to tracking distance, time, and other factors. 

But how do you reset the maintenance light on a Toyota Tacoma?

How To Reset The Maintenance Light On A Toyota Tacoma

On older models, you can reset the maintenance light by pressing the Trip stem button or the Trip/Odo button. Newer models have a more advanced display that controls the maintenance light, requiring a few more complicated steps to reset.

Below are some simple steps on how to reset the maintenance light on different models

How to Reset Maintenance Light on 2011 or Older Toyota Tacoma

Models from 2011 or earlier show Maint Reqd message on the instrument cluster display when it is time for an oil change. 

After the oil change, you can reset the light as follows:

  1. Turn the vehicle’s ignition OFF 
  2. Press the Trip stem button on the instrument panel and hold it in that position.
  3. While still holding the Trip stem button, turn the ignition to the ON position. Your engine should still be off. 
  4. Keep holding the Trip stem button for five more seconds. The odometer will blink and briefly display all zeros when the reset is complete. 
  5. Turn off the ignition and turn the vehicle on to see if the steps above worked. If the maintenance light still shows, try the step again from the first. 
How To Reset The Maintenance Light On A Toyota Tacoma 2 How To Reset The Maintenance Light On A Toyota Tacoma

How to Reset Maintenance Light on 2012 – 2017 Toyota Tacoma

Toyota Tacoma models from 2012 to 2017 are more advanced.

After driving for 4,500 miles, the maintenance light illuminates for about three seconds and then flashes for about 15 seconds. 

When you drive for 5,000 miles, the maintenance light illuminates and stays lit until you perform the necessary maintenance and reset it. 

You can reset the maintenance light as follows:

  1. Turn the vehicle’s ignition to the ON position, but do not start the engine. If your model has a push-button start, press the “Start” button, but keep your foot off the brake pedal. 
  2. When the ignition is ON, press the Odo/Trip button (also known as the display change button) so that the display changes to “Trip A.” 
  3. Turn your vehicle off and then press and hold the Odo/Trip button. 
  4. While still holding the Odo/Trip button, switch the vehicle ignition to ON, but do not start the engine. Release the Odo/Trip button when the meter reads all zeros. 
  5. Your maintenance light is already reset, and you can turn the vehicle on to test if the steps worked. 

How to Reset Maintenance Light on 2018 or Newer Toyota Tacoma

Newer Tacomas have an advanced display. You can do most of the vehicle settings from the display. 

Perform the reset as follows:

  1. Press and release the Power button, but do not hold the brake as that will activate the vehicle electronics. Do not start your vehicle’s engine. 
  2. Use the left and right arrow buttons to select the Gear Icon on the display
  3. Using the up and down arrow buttons, select Settings and confirm with the middle button. 
  4. Use the arrows to scroll to the section Maintenance Reset and press Yes to confirm. 
  5. Switch the ignition off and then turn on the vehicle to see if the process was successful. 

What Does the Toyota Tacoma Have to Offer?

The Tacoma is a midsize truck engineered to take you where you want to be on or off the road. 

It also comes with a host of modern amenities that make it compete with other midsize trucks in its category. 

You can rely on it for towing, driving off-road, and having the utilities you need for daily driving. 

The Tacoma sports a four-cylinder engine under its hood or the more powerful V6 engine for off-road trips.

You can have it as a two- or four-wheel drive either as a crew cab or extended cab. 

It may not offer the acceleration you need on the highway (it accelerates from 0-60 mph at 8.1 seconds), but the 4×4 can handle very rugged terrain. 

Toyota competes for the market with models, such as the Chevrolet Colorado, Honda Ridgeline, and the Ford Ranger. 

There are several creature comforts Toyota offers in Tacoma. 

Further, Tacoma has a host of off-road packages that introduce features, such as internal bypass shocks, advanced traction control systems, and hood-mounted snorkel intake. 

What are the Toyota Tacoma Models?

The Tacoma SR is the base trim, but it is bare-bones without major comfort features. 

You can have it as an extended cab (Access Cab) with a 6.1-foot bed or as a crew cab with a 5.0-foot bed. 

It is also available as a two- or as part-time four-wheel-drive fitted with a low-range transfer case. 

Under the hood, the SR has a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 159 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque.

This engine pairs with a six-speed automatic transmission. 

Some of the standard features on the SR include:

  • 16-inch steel wheels
  • sliding rear window fitted with privacy glass
  • tough composite bed that doesn’t need a Bedliner
  • heated and power-adjustable side mirrors 
  • movable cleat with a tie-down system 
  • backup camera in the tailgate release handle
  • four-way adjustable cloth seats
  • driver-side lumbar adjustment 
  • tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel 
  • 4.2-inch driver display 

Toyota also fits the Tacoma with a host of safety and driver-assistance features, including:

  • Forward collision warning 
  • Automatic emergency braking system
  • Lane departure alert adaptive cruise control 
  • Basic Entune stereo with Siri Eyes Voice Control, Bluetooth, and a USB Interface

If you want more comfort features, you can go for the SR5. 

It offers several other standard features on top of the features on the SR. 

You will get features, such as a longer wheelbase, chrome exterior trim, 16-inch alloy wheels, foglights, leather-wrapped steering wheel fitted with control buttons, and remote keyless entry. 

You will also get a more advanced Entune audio system that offers satellite radio and a smartphone integrated navigation system. 

Motorists who want to take their Tacoma off the road can go for the TRD Sport. 

This model has the same bed and cab configurations as the SR5, but it has a more powerful engine. 

Under its hood is a 3.5L V6 engine that generates 278 horsepower and 265 pound-feet of torque.

The rear-wheel-drive models of the TRD Sport mate with a six-speed automatic transmission while the four-wheel-drive models can have the six-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission. 

Some of the standard features offered in the TRD Sport include:

  • 17-inch alloy wheels
  • body-colored fender flares
  • power-sliding rear window
  • push-button start
  • turn signals in the mirror housings
  • hood scoop
  • 120-volt/400-watt bed power outlet
  • wireless smartphone charging pad
  • seven-inch touchscreen display with navigation

The TRD Off-Road is the ultimate Tacoma off-roader. 

It offers the same engine and many of the other features as the TRD Sport.

It offers several features to facilitate off-road driving, including extra skid plates, monotube shocks, traction control system, lockable rear differential, and crawl control among others.

Other models are the Limited and the TRD Pro. 

These two offer all the creature comforts you need for luxury driving. 

Closing Thoughts 

The Toyota Tacoma keeps advancing its features to stay on top of the competition. 

Its maintenance tracking system is also advanced and helps you know when to take care of your vehicle. 

Try the above methods and let us know how it goes.

If a method doesn’t work the first time, repeat the steps again. 

Note that failure to reset the maintenance light will affect the ability of the maintenance system to keep track of your maintenance schedule. 

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