question about oil changes

[SuLLiVaN88]

my mom has an 06 corolla s and like the good son i am i do all the maintenance work but im just curious because i dont drive it very much she forgot to tell me when she hit 3000 miles so she drove until it hit 5000, and service engine light came on.

now i dont have a problem im just curious how this works because i know the light will come on at 5000 if the oil is not changed. how does the car kno the oil was or was not changed? since now i make sure i look to see when it hits 3000 when i change it and the light never comes on.

i like to know about how stuff works so thats why i am asking

[v8eaterWRX]

Originally Posted by SuLLiVaN88

my mom has an 06 corolla s and like the good son i am i do all the maintenance work but im just curious because i dont drive it very much she forgot to tell me when she hit 3000 miles so she drove until it hit 5000, and service engine light came on.

now i dont have a problem im just curious how this works because i know the light will come on at 5000 if the oil is not changed. how does the car kno the oil was or was not changed? since now i make sure i look to see when it hits 3000 when i change it and the light never comes on.

i like to know about how stuff works so thats why i am asking

Thats a nice thing for you to do for her!

The oil change interval is always 5000 miles on the 9th gen. It can be reset following the instructions in the manual, IIRC you turn the key on to the first click, press and hold the mileage reset, turn the key to the second click and continue holding. It shows little dashes all across the mileage and slowly drops them off. Once they are gone, the indicator is reset.

[SuLLiVaN88]

v8eater thanks for your response..
I actually know how to reset the light and all that jazz.

so will the light always come on at 5000 miles even if you replaced the oil at say 3000 miles?
because if i remember right the last time i changed the oil i didnt reset the anything and it hasnt come on... unless my mom happened to do it which is possible but im surprised she didnt say anything to me

[v8eaterWRX]

Originally Posted by SuLLiVaN88

v8eater thanks for your response..
I actually know how to reset the light and all that jazz.

so will the light always come on at 5000 miles even if you replaced the oil at say 3000 miles?
because if i remember right the last time i changed the oil i didnt reset the anything and it hasnt come on... unless my mom happened to do it which is possible but im surprised she didnt say anything to me

As I understand it, it is only a countdown to 5000. It does not actually take any information from any sensors, so in theory it should turn on every 5000.

[SuLLiVaN88]

oh right on like i said i just like to know how stuff works thanks again for the help

[v8eaterWRX]

No problem!

There is a little "Thanks!" button below my post if youd like to hit it