what does the oil maintenance required signal mean on my 2008 Lexus ES 350 mean. Thank you. I just purchased the vehicle and am not familiar with all the signal indicators

 

It means the car is low on oil.I would add some oil and drive it over to a mechanic to figure out why it's low on oil and get and oil change.

 

It means that it is time to CHANGE the oil based on preset schedules in the car system.

 

The car comes from the factory with a reminder (the light that you're seeing) to change the oil every 5k miles. It just means change the oil if you change it every 5k.

Its easy to reset. Push trip A on your speedometer cluster and turn the car off. Hold the trip button in and push the start button twice without your foot on the break so the car doesn't start. You'll see the display say maintenance reset mode or something and then it will go off. Happens every 5k.

 

Do the 08s actually have a maintenance minder? Mine doesn't. That's why I thought the OP had the generic oil low light lit up.

 

Not like Honda. Don't get me started on their system which doesn't even have a maintenance schedule. If you have an ES with navigation you can create your own maintenance minder by clicking on info and then maintenance. Lots of options there.

 

I change my oil every 5,000 miles (+/- 100 miles or so) at 15k, 20k, 25k, etc. However, my "Oil Maint Reqd" light comes on in the middle of that cycle. Here's how to turn it off:

With car off, push start button twice.
Push the trip meter selection button to get to "Trip A".
Turn car off.
While holding the trip meter selection button, and WITHOUT your foot on the brake, push the start button twice. Do not let go of the trip meter selection button.
Hold the trip meter selection button in until the notice on the dash board goes away. At that point, start the car, and the notice should be gone.

Hope this helps.

Mark