Six months after I bought my first car, the "service engine" light came on. I called my dad from college, "What does that service engine light mean? Can I still drive it, or do I need to fix something?" He chuckled and said, it was an idiot light, "It is set to trigger with the odometer mileage. you should be able to shut it off."
Relieved to hear it was not urgent or an emergency I asked, "Okay, how do I do that?" "Check your owners manual."
So I consulted the topics, "How to fix or reset the check engine light. 1. locate the switch 2. press and hold till it resets." I did it and turned off the light! I felt so proud of my accomplishment, I turned off an 'idiot" light!
Over the course of a year in college, I actually did this 2 or 3 more times.
Unfortunately in the reset of an idiot light I learned an expensive lesson. The mechanic explained that the point of a service engine alert, the "idiot" light is not just for it to be reset, but for scheduled maintenance and engine service to be done. I gained a new appreciation for why my Father's generation called this an idiot light.