Honda Car Forum

...what needs to be done exactly...do i have to take it to a dealership or will any other mechanic do?

try auto zone for free check up

Take it to like Advance Auto or Auto Zone or someplace like that and have them check the lights in your car and they should be able to tell you why it came on.

if it is just the light...you can go to your local autozone sstore (if you have one near you) and they will hook up and check the problem for free....saving you a good penny at a shop....they can even shut the light off for you if it is something stupid....but if it is the honda that isn't a light...and just a little red flag then you have to take it to a dealer or shop to get it shut off...it could be anything from a sensor to a tuune up

read the owners manual to see what light it is. honda's come with a light system to tell the driver when basic oil changes are due, when 20, 30, 50,000 mile checks up are due, etc.or could be what most call the "dummy light" meaning something is majorly wrong and needs attention right away.if it is a maintance light, follow what honda recomends for this and either the dealership or any mechanic can do it as long as all is done. if it is dummy light issue, I would get it to Honda right away.

On my wife's 2000 Accord the maintenance required light is the light that tells you it's time to change the oil. Now, this may not be necessarly true. If you went to a Jiffy Lube type place to have your oil changed, they may not have reset your light (especially if it wasn't on), so you may not need an oil change. If you do need to change your oil, the Honda dealer (and most other places) will turn off the light when they change it. It's a simple procedure, but I can't think of it right now. Look in the index of your owners manual under "maitenance required light" and it will show you the procedure to turn it off if you don't need your oil changed. BTW, this light is different that the 'check engine' light. That light comes on when a sensor has sensed an irregularity in your engine performance. Most times it's actually the sensor going bad.

You can go to the Honda dealership or Auto Zone. Auto Zone will test it for free.

I'm not sure if this will help or not, but I have a 2003 Accord and, as some other answers have mentioned, the "Maintenance Required" light comes on every few thousand miles for routine maintainance. To reset the light, with the car off, press and hold the Odometer Reset button. Turn the key to ON (you don't have to start the engine) and hold the button in for 20 sec. Then turn the car off and release the button. Not sure if this will work for a 1997, but it works on my 2003.

Autozone can access your ECU and tell you what has to be done.

usually they are caused by millaige on the car, u can just do a regular tune up and you shuld be find or you can reset it with your eye by pressing on the tab at teh bottom on teh speedometer