What does it mean when the maint rec. light flashes

When the maint rec light flashes it signifies your car is past due service or when the last service was done the maintenance reminders were not properly reset. This should be explained in your owner's manual. If you do not have an owners manual you can access it for free directly from Toyota on line at https://auth.toyotaownersonline.com/Owners/ssl/nonauth/registration/registrationProfile.do

The maint light will come on at 5k miles , this is the oil change interval, it can be re-set by going to the main odometer display, turn the key to off position then push and hold the trip odometer button and turn the key to the on (NOT START) position 5 lines will appear hold the button until all of the lines go out and the odometer reappears the maint light will go out and will not come back on until 5k miles have passed.