If you see the wrench symbol on Honda’s dashboard Honda, it means your car needs basic service. It’s there to remind you of routine maintenance in order to keep your car in top working order.
It’s important to understand what wrench symbol on dashboard Honda mean and how to depart them so you know when to get your car serviced, prevent future mechanical problems, and extend the life of your car.
Here’s what this light means and ways to deal with it.
Topic Summary
What Does a Wrench Light Mean?
A wrench icon on your dashboard indicates a maintenance reminder or advice to have your car checked because of a routine service that’s due.
The wrench is part of the so called Maintenance Minder, or Service Due Reminder System, which Honda and many other modern automobile manufacturers install in their vehicles.
It offers estimates on anticipated maintenance tasks, such as oil changes, engine maintenance, tire rotations, and other routine observations of your vehicle.
Maintenance Minder systems also register mileage, engine conditions, and use patterns. When that wrench light goes on, you’re supposed to make an appointment to get your car serviced so it stays healthy, and you won’t have to face more expensive repairs later on.
Following service, a light reset is typically performed by the mechanic, and sometimes, the procedure is described in the owner’s manual so that you can perform it yourself so that it gets cleared to go to the next interval.
If you ignore a maintenance light, your vehicle won’t perform well, it will use more fuel, and ultimately, you could have very expensive repairs in the future.
Causes of Wrench Symbol on Dashboard Honda
The wrench symbol on the Honda instrument panel is part of the Honda Maintenance Minder system, which was developed to help owners keep their Honda in optimum operating condition.
The system automatically calculates, based on specific driving conditions, the life of the engine oil, transmission fluid, air and cabin filters, coolant, spark plugs, timing belts, and other crucial engine components.
Below, you can read about a host of reasons why your Honda’s Maintenance Minder system might sound an alarm:
Engine Oil Life
when the oil is considered worn out and should be replaced. The wrench symbol appears most frequently when this is indicated.
The oil life system integrates an oil life calculation that is not based solely on mileage but on the operating conditions of the engine.
Scheduled Maintenance
In addition to oil changes, the wrench symbol could mean that your car is due for maintenance service: tire rotations, air filter replacement, and brake checks, to name a few. All of these items serve to extend your vehicle’s safe and useful life.
Transmission Fluid
If your model includes monitoring transmission fluid life, the wrench icon may also beep for you to check or replace the fluid.
Replace Wear Items
In certain vehicles, the Maintenance Minder system might alert you to replace wear and tear items, such as the timing belt, spark plugs, or coolant, based on an estimated degradation of the component or an elapsed time since the last replacement.
System Error or Malfunction
In rare instances, this check engine symbol could point to a malfunction with the Maintenance Minder system itself.
If the warning light should come on at some unpredictable time and you feel it is a system error, I would recommend that you take the vehicle in for a diagnostic check.
When the wrench icon displays, check your Honda’s owner’s manual for a full explanation of the maintenance your Honda needs.
Maintenance Minder reminds you when your Honda needs the proper care to continue giving you the performance and dependability you’ve expected.
What To Do When You See the Wrench Icon?
Check Your Owner’s Manual: It is always best to consult the owner’s manual for your Honda, which will include specifics about what the wrench icon means in your model (and what’s likely to require servicing).
Schedule Service: Set an appointment for maintenance. Even though the wrench icon signals a ‘routine’ issue, it should still be addressed immediately. Delaying maintenance (as signified by this icon) can have far more serious consequences.
Maintenance Records: Record all service and maintenance items performed on your Honda. This not only allows you to track what’s been done to your vehicle, but it will also help you stay on top of maintenance recommended by Honda so that you can use the completed log to make sure your Honda is taken care of.
How To Reset Wrench Symbol on Dashboard Honda?
Suppose the wrench symbol appears on the dash panel of your Honda, signaling that its maintenance cycle is up. Here is what you should do:
1. Consult Your Owner’s Manual
The first thing you should do is look up your Honda’s owner’s manual. The wrench symbol will be defined there for your model, and the maintenance tasks it suggests are likely to be appropriate for your vehicle.
2. Perform or Schedule the Recommended Maintenance
You’ll know you need an oil change, tire rotation, or fluid replacement thanks to your owner’s manual and the Maintenance Minder system.
If you’re one of those competent DIYers who handles all of his or her maintenance tasks, just go ahead and carry out these basic services (like oil changes) in your garage or driveway.
If you want anything more complex done, you can schedule an appointment at the Honda dealership or take it to a trustworthy, independent mechanic.
3. Reset the Maintenance Minder System
After that maintenance has happened, the system then has to be reset so it can start tracking the condition of your car anew until the next service interval. Here’s how to reset it in just about any Honda:
Turn the Ignition To ON: Turn the key to ON. You can also press and release the start button once, then wait one second and press it again without depressing the brake pedal to enter ON mode.
The maintenance screen can be accessed at any time using the arrow buttons on the steering wheel to select it from the main menu on the digital dashboard display.
Select the Reset Option: Your particular model might require the setting for a specific maintenance item to be reset (e.g., oil life), or you might have to reset the entire maintenance system. Click on Confirm to reset.
4. Monitor the System
After a reset, you’ll want to watch the dashboard to see if the wrench prompt returns very soon without other causes.
If it does, or if your driving feels odd in other ways, it could indicate another problem, such as a failure of your vehicle’s Maintenance Minder system. One of the best reasons to reset it anyway is to ensure that it resets.
5. Consult a Professional if Unsure
If you’re not comfortable doing any of those things or if the Maintenance Minder keeps popping up when it’s not supposed to, have them look at it. There could be more serious symptoms at play that a pro can detect and diagnose.
Your car is now outfitted with a well maintained Honda that continually operates at peak performance levels, and you can rest assured that your Maintenance Minder system provides you with appropriate prompts to keep your vehicle in top shape.
Regular maintenance is important not only to the longevity of your car but also to your safety and that of the people around you on the road.
FAQs on Wrench Symbol on Dashboard Honda
What Does the Wrench Light On My Dashboard Mean?
Undoubtedly, you’ve experienced the wrench light in your car’s dash. This maintenance minded icon pops up when your car manufacturer has instructed your car to remind you that it’s time to pay attention to those routine intervals of service (oil changes, tire rotations, that sort of thing). It uses the operation’s data and informs the car and its owner of the approaching service intervals.
Is It Safe To Keep Driving When the Wrench Light is On?
And even though the wrench light isn’t an emergency light, you really should get it checked out. The transmission wrench light is not only your service reminder, it could also be a red flag for future problems. Driving a car with a wrench light could result in reduced fuel efficiency and engine issues or possibly even cause transmissions to fail altogether.
What Should I Do When the Wrench Light Turns On?
When the wrench light flashes, you must check your vehicle’s owner’s manual to see what maintenance your vehicle is designed to need at its current mileage or service interval. Then, you must schedule an appointment with your mechanic or dealership to have this work done.
How Do I Reset the Wrench Light?
The wrench light is usually set back to zero only when you’ve completed the maintenance and driven long enough to turn it off and reset the timer. A mechanic typically does that, or you can do it yourself if you know how, oh so often found in the owner’s manual if you have the foresight to keep it rather than a long recycled milk carton.
Can the Wrench Light Indicate Other Problems?
If the indicator appears prematurely or fails to reset itself after work is performed, it could indicate a problem with the vehicle’s monitoring system. In these cases, a computer diagnosis by a professional may be required.
Conclusion
That green wrench on your Honda’s dashboard is serving as a reminder about preventive maintenance. It exists to help you keep your car safe and reliable and perform better and longer by reminding you of the maintenance that needs to be done.
So, when that green wrench lights up, take it as an indication of what your car actually needs or what its future will benefit from. When ride comfort suffers, your car becomes less safe and economical in a multitude of ways.
Preventive maintenance is about considering what will most likely be needed, not what is currently needed. So don’t run your car into the ground before it needs to be.