How do you reset the check engine light on a Honda Accord?

Answer 1

Accord Check Engine LightThe proper way, of course, is to repair the problem that caused it to come on. Another way I read on a website was to bring your car to an Autozone who will diagnose the problem and reset the light for you (and hope you buy the part to fix the problem). The quick and dirty way is to remove one of the battery cables for about 10 seconds (when the engine is off of course) then reconnect it.

-It is actually illegal for Autozone employees to just erase the engine code because they did it before and got sued by several people because they erased the engine code and then something went wrong with the car and the people got hurt in accidents. so they arent actually supposed to. i only know because my boyfriend works there and he and his boss explained this to me one day when i was curious about this exact thing and started asking questions.

I just had the EGR valve replaced on our 98 Accord for the second time in two years. At least the price of the part has come down a huge amount in this time - from $300 to $70 - I suppose since it is a mass produced item since so many 98 Accords have this problem. The last time the car had under 80Kmi so was under warranty but this time I paid an independent mechanic $170 which included the part. He said it is a poor design since even a speck of carbon in the EGR valve can cause it to stay open and the check engine light to come on. And he expects it will happen more often as the car gets older.

An guy who is a mechanic where I work said he thought it was best to clean out the deposits and a good product to do this was Marvel Mystery Oil (at Walmart for about $2 per pint). He said to use 4 oz in the gas tank when filling once per month for a few months. Besides possibly preventing the valve from fouling as often, this should also allow the car to run longer without needing premium fuel, according to him.

Every Honda I have had (and all I have had is Hondas for well over 20 years) has required midgrade fuel at about 120Kmi then premium at around 160Kmi to prevent it from pinging, no matter how many times I had it tuned, the plugs replaced, and the valves adjusted. The guy said the Marvel Mystery Oil will fix this, too - use it once per month until the premium fuel is no longer needed, which will take 3 to 4 months. I have no idea if this will work (it's a Mystery to me! ) but I will give it a try since otherwise this is still an excellent car.

Here is more input from others:

• When I bought the 99 Accord the salesmen told me that the Check Engine Light would come on at about 7K miles and not to be alarmed. This would be freindly a reminder to bring it in for the 1st service he said. Well just as the guy said at aproximatly 7K the check engine light came on. I called the service department and he insisted on me bringing it in so that they would perform the normal oil/filter changes then reset the light. After a bit I convinced the guy to tell me how to reset the light.

• THIS IS HOW YOU RESET THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON THE 99 HONDA ACCORD. 1. With the Car Off, Press and hold down the Odometer Trip Reset Button. 2. While still pressing the Trip Reset Button, Turn the Ignition Key half way on where all your oil, check engine lights etc.. turn on. Don't turn it as far as you would to normally start the car. Wait a few seconds and the Check engine light will turn off. 3. Turn the key back to the Off position and you're done. What a scam Honda has with the BS Check Engine Light.

• In the repair book it says to remove the number 13 (clock back up) fuse on the passenger side while the ignition is off for 10 seconds. That should work according to the repair. If the light comes back on then u might have a problem.

• Two different things being addressed on this whole topic. 1. To reset the "Maint Rqrd" light, you push and hold the reset knob and then engage the accessories via the the ignition switch. 2. To reset the "Check Engine" light, you need to either pull the fuse already mentioned in previous answers or disconnect the negative battery cable for a while. (Then make sure you know the Radio Code to reset your radio unit so it works).

• The previous steps for resetting the service light and the check engine light also work on the 2000 Honda Accord. Excellent insights! Thank you! Just a note for the novice repairmen: the fuse panel is inside the passenger door on the side of the dash assembly (not under the hood).

• First you need to determine if it is a "check engine light" or a "maintainance required light" A check engine light is usually an amber light with the picture of an engine with a line through it. If this light is on you should take it to a QUALIFIED REPAIR TECHNICIAN who is capable of working on a Honda. They have all the tools needed to diagnose your repair.If it is a maint. required light new Honda"s are reset by holding the trip reset button down and turn the ignition switch to "on" while holding the button. wait until the light goes out (about 15 seconds) before releasing the button. This light will come on every 7500 miles.

• AS YOU KNOW THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. A DIAGNOSTIC WOULD NEED TO BE RUN TO SEE WHAT CODES ARE COMING UP. ASSUMING THAT YOU HAVE DONE THIS AND MADE THE NECESSARY REPAIRS AT A SHOP, THEN THE SHOP SHOULD HAVE RESET THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. IF YOU DID THE REPAIRS YOURSELF YOU CAN DISCONNECT THE BATTERY(BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE TERMINALS) LET IT SIT FOR ABOUT 15-30 MINUTES. IF YOU RECONNECT THE BATTERY AND START THE ENGINE AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES BACK ON, THEN ALL OF THE NECESSARY REPAIRS HAVE NOT BEEN DONE.

• All you have to do is disconnect the Negative battery terminal. It is not necessary to disconnect both. Once you've disconnected the terminal, let the car sit with no power for a few minutes, then reconnect the battery terminal. Your light should not come on, unless your engine sensors throw another code through your car's computer.

• You DO NOT need to disconnect the battery terminals. All you have to do is turn the key to the "on" position (not running, but so that the radio etc. come on) and hold the trip reset button for about 15-20 seconds. KEEP IN MIND - that the light could be an indication of needed service as opposed to just coming on based on mileage.

• To be clear, you must hold in the trip odometer reset button and THEN turn the key to the "on" position. If you prefer the battery disconnect method, be sure you have your radio code handy to re-initiate.

The best and only true way to reset a "check engine light" is not to go to Autozone or any where that has a scan tool or OBD II and have it turned off just fix the problem then a auto technican will turn it off or it will just come back on in a matter of time,

DON'T disconnect the battery your just going to reset your vehicles memory and reset all emission monitors and have to go through a drive cycle and by time it resets its going to trigger the "engine light" agian.

autozone employees are parts people. a code does not tell you what the problem is, it tells you where to look for the part, dont buy an egr when it says egr under par. look for a technical school around you, for a nominal lab fee (my school's is 12 dollars) they will do a professional diagnosis on your vehicle, and if you buy the part, they will replace it with free labor. disconnecting the battery cables and slapping them together is a terrible way to clear the code as it will only come back and it will also reset your vehicles eprom, which may decrease fuel economy.

*Holding in the odometer trip reset button in then turning on the ignition until the accessories come on only resets your maintenance required light. On a 98 Honda Accord LX under the hood left side right up against the fire wall there is a fuse box. Open the box and look for the ACC back up fuse. It's not your typical fuse, it is larger and square and on my car it is clear. Pull it out for 30 sec or so then stick it back in and go start your car. The light should go out. If it comes back on then you have a code that you need to get fix by a mechanic or something simple like a gas cap and fuel injector cleaner. When you do start your car you should have to reset your clock but everything else should be O.K. This is just to turn off that annoying light but you should get your car checked out or you might have more damage unless you know that your car is O.K. and the light just comes on......

1999 Honda Accord EX V6 Check Engine Light Comes On - Take to Autozone for Free Code Check. If the code reader diagnoses a code P1491, it indicates the EGR valve or port (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) Valve or port (located inside the driver side intake manifold on the top of the engine) has accumulations of fuel debris buildup that is clogging up the valve or port. This fuel debris buildup causes obstruction of the EGR valve or port which causes the Check Engine Light to come on. The purpose of the EGR valve is to channel unburned gas that is released into the exhaust back into the intake manifold to burn it and reduce emissions. The cost to fix this at a Honda dealership is $380.00 and a good independent shop is $180.00. You can also remove the intake manifold and clean the debris from the EGR port yourself. A much easier and less expensive way to fix this problem is to purchase S1-1 Red Line Complete Fuel System Cleaner (15 ounces per bottle) at Schucks O'Reilly Auto Parts for $9.99 per bottle. Add one 15 ounce bottle to your gas tank (one bottle of S1-1 Red Line to 20 gallons of gas) and fill your gas tank. This will clean your EGR valve and all of the fuel system. You may have to use several bottles (one per tankful of gas) to clean your fuel system depending how much fuel debris buidlup you have in your engine. After the fuel debris is removed by the S1-1 Red Line Complete Fuel System Cleaner, your check engine light will not go off. To get your check engine light to go off, disconnect your positive and negative battery cables for 30 minutes then reattach them. Reset your Honda Accord clock and enter the radio code on your radio to get the radio to work again. It took me a while to research this but it works, its easy, and it will save you money and make your car run efficiently again.

2001 Honda Odyssey: Removing the #13 "Clock Backup" fuse (7.5Amp) for 1 minute or so and then reinstalling it worked perfectly to clear the "Check Engine Light"! The fuse box is located under a small panel by the passenger side right floor kick-panel, very easy access. Keep in mind that I did the maintenance myself to properly fix the EGR problem that had caused the "EGR flow insufficient" code to make my check engine light come on. I performed the repair, then cleared the check engine light by pulling the fuse. Now I can go get my car smog checked! Thanks everybody! God Bless!