Will The Check Engine Light Reset Itself After Repair?

The first thing most people think when they see a check engine warning light on their car’s dashboard is that now it will get expensive. Unfortunately, that is also true in many cases

However, you may be wondering: is there a possibility that the check engine light will reset itself, or do I have to take it in for service?

In today’s blog post, you will discover if the check engine light will reset itself and what you can do if it won’t. Let’s go!

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Will the Check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light probably won’t reset itself unless you fix the problem. However, if you fix the problem, it may reset itself – but it may take some time. A car usually needs 10-20 successful cycles before it resets the check engine light.

A cycle is when you start your car cold and drive it until it is warm and then switch off the engine and are done with your driving.

If you are sure that you have fixed the problem causing the check engine light, the engine light will reset itself after 10-20 successful cycles, and as you can imagine, 10-20 successful cycles can take a lot of time. In this case, it’s much more convenient to reset the check engine light with an OBD2 scanner.

What if the check engine light won’t reset itself?

If you have been driving for a long time with many successful cycles after you fixed the issue without problems, but the engine control module still doesn’t reset the check light, you must understand that some car models will not reset the check light by itself; you need to reset it with a scanner.

Although a scanner may sound like an expensive tool, you can actually get a pretty good scanner for cheap these days that can save you a lot of money instead of going to a mechanic every time you need to see or reset the engine codes.

You can also go to a mechanic and ask if they can reset the codes for free, and many will happily do that because for them it will take 5 minutes and they may win a customer.

Why you should not ignore the check engine light

If there is a small problem with your car that causes the warning light to come on on the car’s dashboard, but it does not affect the performance of the engine, most people will just ignore it and keep driving.

However, this is a bad move. Even if it was only a small problem that caused the check light to come on, it means that you will not realize quickly enough if there is a more serious problem with your engine that causes the check light to come on.

For some problems – like bad camshaft timing – a check engine light might be the only symptom of something severe enough to eventually destroy your entire engine. Therefore, you should always fix the problem, even if it is only a small problem that caused the indicator light.

FAQs

How long does it take for the engine light to reset?

It usually takes between 10 to 20 successful cycles or starts before the check engine light resets. A successful cycle is a complete warm-up of the engine without problems. Therefore, it is much faster to reset the warning light with an OBD2 scanner.

How can I get my check engine light to go off?

The easiest way to reset the check engine light is with a scanner, which will give you an immediate result. Otherwise, you will have to wait a long time after repairing the problem, and it may reset itself. If you have an older car, you can also try disconnecting the negative battery cable.

Do car codes clear themselves?

Yes. The error codes clear themselves after a number of successful test cycles. The number of successful test cycles required depends on the car model and engine control module but is usually between 10 and 20 cycles.

How do you reset the check engine light with the gas pedal?

In most car models, you cannot reset the warning light with the accelerator pedal. However, you can try fully depressing the gas pedal and hold it, turning the ignition on, and depressing the brake pedal seven times, then turning the ignition off. This will reset the codes in some car models, but will not work in most of them.

Final Words

So you probably understood how the engine control module works along with the check engine light and the successful cycles. What you should remember is that any time you work on the engine control module and warning lights, it will help tremendously if you have a diagnostic scanner available.

I hope this article helped you with your car problems and that you now have the right knowledge to fix your check engine light problems.

Learn more:

Find more information in our list of all car dashboard symbols.