Service due (spanner) light
A service reminder, not a fault report: the car's countdown to its next scheduled service or oil change — kept in both distance and time, whichever runs out first — has nearly run down or has passed. The car drives exactly as before.
Yellow / amber
Not defined by regulation: a maker convention
What to do
Book a service soon; there is no need to stop. Peugeot's handbook shows the spanner briefly at start-up when 1,860–620 miles (3,000–1,000 km) or 60–21 days remain, keeps it lit under 620 miles or 21 days, and flashes it once the service is overdue. Honda's Maintenance Minder warns at 15% oil life, says 'due now' at 5% and counts a negative distance once it is past due. After the service the reminder has to be reset — the garage normally does it, and your manual gives the button sequence. If a spanner comes on together with other warning lights, read those lights' pages first.
Makes differ: what this light means on your car, the other colours it may use for the symbol and what the car wants you to do are set by the manufacturer, so your car's owner's manual is the authority.
- Symbol
- A spanner (wrench)
- Also called
- Spanner light; Wrench light; Service reminder; Maintenance required light
- Colour
- Yellow / amber
- Standard
- None — a maker convention, described here from 4 makers: Mazda, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Honda
Where makes differ
Volkswagen shows the service spanner in white and says to book in with a retailer as soon as possible. Mazda draws its wrench in amber, lights it for both the maintenance interval and the oil-change interval, and says it may come on early depending on how the car is used. Peugeot's spanner shows briefly, then stays lit, then flashes as the date nears and passes. Honda shows a spanner on the driver display with letter and number codes for what the service includes. This chart files it with the amber lights because of Mazda's colour; on your car it may be white.
Not defined by regulation: a maker convention
Neither US FMVSS 101 (Tables 1 and 2) nor UN Regulation No. 121 lists this light, so no rule fixes its symbol or its colour. What follows is what the makers cited below say; other makes, and other model years of the same make, may draw it differently.
Neither FMVSS 101 nor UN R121 lists a service-reminder tell-tale.
Other yellow / amber maker lights
All yellow / amber dashboard lights, regulated ones included
Sources
No regulation defines this light, so it is described from 4 carmakers' own manuals or owner pages, each fetched and checked on the date shown:
- Mazda: Mazda owner's manual, Mazda3 (Europe, 8HC2-EO-19A) — Wrench Indicator Light (Wrench Indication/Indicator Light) — Turns on when the preset maintenance period or the engine oil replacement period arrives, and may come on earlier depending on how the car is used; the manual draws it in amber. checked 2026-09-28
- Volkswagen: Volkswagen UK — Service due (white lamp) — The light means a service is due: book in with a retailer as soon as possible. The page's picture shows the lamp in white. checked 2026-09-28
- Peugeot: Peugeot handbook, 3008 and 5008 (UK English, 2024 edition, PDF) (Dashboard instruments — Service indicator, Service spanner) — The spanner comes on briefly with 1,860–620 miles (3,000–1,000 km) or 60–21 days to go, stays lit under 620 miles or 21 days, and flashes then stays lit once the interval is exceeded. checked 2026-09-28
- Honda: Honda owner's guide, 2022 Accord Sedan (US) — Maintenance Minder (PDF) (Maintenance Minder messages) — Maintenance Due Soon at 15% engine oil life, Due Now at 5%, Past Due with a negative distance; the spanner symbol leads to the Maintenance Minder screen. checked 2026-09-28
Written in our own words; the makers' pages cover their own models only.