Maintenance Light After 1 Month

[migurus]

I had oil chg at my local trustworthy mechanic (after being burnt by $182 oil change at the dealer. A month later (2,000 mi driven) I took car to dealer to check/repair on flat tire, as I happen to be right in the vicinity. A day later maintenance oil light came on. This looks very suspicious. Anybody knows what triggers the light?

Forgot to mention, this is 07 ES350 with 20,000 miles.

[AZ08LexusES]

Proximity to 5K miles since the last time the re-set was done triggers the light. When an oil change gets done, certain steps have to be done by your local trustworthy mechanic to re-set that count. It was discussed earlier this month. I'll post a link to it here.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=52612

If you look at my post I put a picture of the owner's do-it-yourself maintenance manual on how it needs to be re-set at every oil change and how to do it. This is stuff that local mechanics don't really care about but can get irritating when it happens. Is it worth the extra $120? To some people it is...

[migurus]

...<snip> how it needs to be re-set at every oil change and how to do it. This is stuff that local mechanics don't really care about but can get irritating when it happens. Is it worth the extra $120? To some people it is...

I believe he did reset it. The light was ON when I brought the car to ny mechanic and it was OFF afterwards.

The oil looks very clean, color of honey and no dark shades or particles on the paper towel.

I wander if there is an oil testing mechanism in the car that trips the oil light on and not simply mileage? So, for example, if the car is driven on a freeway vs. on unpaved dusty country roads - would the oil change light come on earlier in the case of bad driving conditions on the country roads?

[SW03ES]

Its just purely mileage, its not the condition of the oil.

If the light tripped, it means it wasn't reset properly.

[migurus]

Its just purely mileage, its not the condition of the oil.

If the light tripped, it means it wasn't reset properly.

What do you mean by "reset properly"? I thought it is either reset, or not. Am I missing something here?

[SW03ES]

I don't know, its purely a 5,000 mile on/off light, nothing fancy about it.

[migurus]

I don't know, its purely a 5,000 mile on/off light, nothing fancy about it.

Thanks, Steve

Then I see the only reason for the light is visit to the dealer. Was is a mistake on their side, or they did it on purpose to 'push' me to visit them for $$$ maintenance. Again, this is just my guess, but what else can I think of?

[SW03ES]

Its the only reason LOL. My ES doesn't have one, but our Prius does. I hate that light.

You can reset it yourself though.

I don't think they can do it on purpose, its just on or off and the only interval is 5,000 miles.

[Elan]

I had oil chg at my local trustworthy mechanic (after being burnt by $182 oil change at the dealer. A month later (2,000 mi driven) I took car to dealer to check/repair on flat tire, as I happen to be right in the vicinity. A day later maintenance oil light came on. This looks very suspicious. Anybody knows what triggers the light?

Forgot to mention, this is 07 ES350 with 20,000 miles.

I had my complimentry oil change at 5,000 miles. The maintenance schedule read-out indicated next change due 3,000 miles later. Why does my 2006 3 series BMW call for oil changes (computer calculated) in the 18,000-21,000 mile range? Same deal with the tire rotation. My 1997 5 series BMW manual said not to rotate the tires. I got 80,000 miles. My Lexus dealer wants to rotate my tires every 5ooo miles. I would think that cars of simular size and weight would get simular mileage using the same tire, driver and conditions.

[SW03ES]

Its every 5,000 miles per Lexus. The dealer may tell you 3,000, just do what the manufacturer says...5,000 miles.

As for your BMW, I would not consult your BMW manual for advice about maintaining your Lexus. Your Lexus comes with its own manual and maintenance schedule.

Personally I've always thought BMW oil change intervals were so long because they include maintenance during the warranty period under the warranty.