On a Toyota Grand Highlander, you clear the “Maintenance Required” reminder from the instrument cluster menu, using the steering wheel controls, with the vehicle powered on. Do it only after the service has actually been done. The exact menu wording and layout can vary by trim, cluster type, and model year, so I’ll give you the general method and tell you what to confirm in your owner’s manual.
First, Make Sure It’s the Right Light
Three different things get lumped together, and only one of them is resettable by you.
- Maintenance Required reminder: a scheduled-service message in the cluster. It’s a reminder, not a fault. This is the one you can reset.
- Red oil-pressure warning: an oil can symbol in red means the engine may not be getting proper lubrication. Don’t reset anything. Pull over safely, shut the engine off, and check the oil level. If the light stays on, don’t keep driving and get the vehicle towed or inspected.
- Check engine light: this is a stored fault code. It won’t clear by resetting a maintenance reminder, and it needs diagnosis.
Resetting the reminder doesn’t change the oil, rotate the tires, or fix anything. It only restarts the countdown. Reset only the items you’ve actually completed, and let the rest stay flagged.
How to Reset the Maintenance Reminder
The Grand Highlander debuted as a 2024 model, so there’s no older-year version to worry about, and you won’t need the old Toyota trick of holding the trip button while turning the key. It’s a push-button start vehicle with a digital driver display. Gas, Hybrid, and Hybrid MAX versions may show the menus a little differently, and the 7-inch and 12.3-inch clusters are laid out differently, so match the steps below to what you see on your screen.
- Park on level ground and make sure the service has actually been done.
- Without touching the brake pedal, press the power button to put the vehicle in the ON position (engine off, or not in READY on a hybrid). Pressing it once typically gives accessory mode and twice gives ON, but check your manual for your vehicle.
- Use the steering wheel meter control buttons to open the settings area of the driver display. It is usually shown as a gear or wrench-style icon, but confirm in the manual.
- Navigate to the vehicle or maintenance section and look for the reset option for the maintenance reminder. The exact menu name is something to confirm in the maintenance section of your owner’s manual.
- Select the reset option and confirm if prompted.
- Expect the “Maintenance Required” message to disappear. Turn the vehicle off, power it back on, and check that it hasn’t returned.
The Toyota reminder is generally based on distance or time since the last reset, not on a sensor reading your oil condition. That’s why it can show up even if you drive very little. Your manual and maintenance schedule booklet list the correct intervals for your engine, so follow those rather than a number from a forum.
If the Reset Doesn’t Work
- Can’t find the menu: try again with the vehicle fully in the ON position. Some menus won’t appear in accessory mode, and some options may be locked while the vehicle is moving, so keep it in Park.
- Message returns after restart: repeat the steps and confirm the selection went through. If it keeps returning, check your manual for the reset procedure on your specific cluster.
- Different warning on the screen: a separate message such as a low oil or system fault isn’t cleared by this reset. Read what it says and deal with that issue first.
- Still stuck: a Toyota dealer service department can reset it quickly, and it’s worth asking them to confirm which service items are due.
Doing the Oil Change Yourself
You don’t need a scanner or any purchase to reset the reminder. If you plan to do your own oil changes, though, you’ll want basic tools, and our list of must-have tools for DIY car owners covers the essentials. Before you buy anything filter-specific, confirm the oil type, capacity, and filter style for your exact engine in the owner’s manual. A filter wrench only helps if your engine uses a spin-on filter, not a cartridge style.
If you do need one, a basic oil filter wrench set covers several filter sizes, but check fitment against your engine first.
Oil Filter Wrench Set
Useful for DIY oil changes only if your engine uses a spin-on filter, so confirm your filter style first.
FAQ
Can I just reset the light without doing the service?
You can, but you shouldn’t. The reminder only counts from the last reset, so clearing it without doing the work means you lose track of when service is actually due. Skipped oil changes are a bad thing to forget about, especially on a turbocharged engine.
Does the reset differ between the gas and hybrid Grand Highlander?
The idea is the same: power on, open the cluster settings with the steering wheel controls, and reset the maintenance reminder. Menu labels and layout may differ by powertrain, trim, and cluster. I can’t confirm exact wording for every version, so check the maintenance section of your owner’s manual.
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