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Had a chance to look at a 2006 today and after starting it up, I noticed a "service engine soon" message pop up. The seller said that it was because he had changed the oil but didn't reset anything. Does this sound right? He also put in a new battery, so is that a possibility?
Being in the market for my 1st C6, I'm not familiar with this and can't find much online. I did a quick search of the forum and didn't see anything specific.
I'm assuming the best option would be to have him pull the code and then check that?? Or is it a non-starter to purchase a used corvette with that message popping up?
Never go look at a car without taking an OBD code scanner with you. Need to read the codes.
Serice Engine Soon had no relationship with oil change intervals.
Engine Oil Life:
Press the TRIP button until the engine oil life is displayed, such as OIL LIFE REMAINING 89%.
This is an estimate of the engine oil's remaining useful life. It will show 100% when the system is reset after an oil change. It will alert you to change your oil on a schedule consistent with your driving conditions. When the remaining oil life is low, the system will alert you with the message CHANGE ENGINE OIL.
The "Service Engine Soon" type messages are common on many GM vehicles that use actual starting and driving info (e.g. number of cold starts, length of journeys, ambient temperature) to estimate the oil condition, rather than changing it at fixed mileage intervals.
The instructions below explain how to reset the oil monitor on a 2011 Corvette. You could try the same process on that vehicle and see if the message goes away.
If not there may be other issues!
Last edited by Farmvette; Aug 18, 2021 at 08:33 PM.
Thanks for the help. I did not have my scanner with me, however I have him pulling the codes and getting back to me. Sounds like it could be related to the oil life/change, but also maybe not! Clear as mud then, unfortunately. Once I have the code, I'll look them up and see what it is.
Not saying this, but shopper beware, he just might turn off the light, and hope for the best it doesn't come on till you drive away, then it's your problem.
I never herd light coming on after oil change, and owned my C6 for 10 years and change the oil yearly.
So please ask him for the code numbers and what it said?????
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16,'19
Something sounds fishy here.
He changed the oil but didn't know he needed to reset the monitor?
Why did he replace the battery?
Could he simply clear the code and not be honest about it?
More info on message SERVICE VEHICLE SOON
The driver information center (DIC) displays the SERVICE VEHICLE SOON message in the DIC when the IPC detects certain malfunctions not related to the vehicle emissions system.
Smells like BS. That alone right there would make me either walk from the deal, or if it seemed to be “the right car” I would be digging deep before even considering putting in an offer.
Yes to al the above. I did walk away. Sometimes, if it doesn't feel right, then just trust your instinct. There were some real positives about the car, including the price, but in the end I wasn't comfortable with the deal. I suspect that long term, I'll look back on it and laugh at it. Especially when I do find the right car.
Service engine soon, has nothing to do with OLM. That will always say change oil.
This has to do with a milepost that your car may be coming up with concerning your car's service points for other things. Or some other thing that has popped up, but not immediate (flashing CEL) type of concern.
Service engine soon
