2025 Ram Hurricane I-6 dipstick deletion

[HICKORY11595]

What is the consumer to do? This engine does not have a dipstick to check oil level.
How are the dealers checking after drain/fill? Putting 7.5 qts in and broom you out the door?
What about mid-OCI how do you know where it's at? leaving it all up to an "oil-life" gauge on the dash.
I understand OEM wants us out of the picture under the hood. But, this is a basic task of ours here at
BITOG, to do, choose and monitor the life-blood of our power-plant. Does anyone know a tip or trick or secret
that can get us this simple little thing that every other vehicle seems to have? I worked at AISIN plant for 20+
I understand transmission filled for life, sort of. But motor oil, with fuel dilution, etc. is another series of events all together.
We used to have a few dipstick assy. for check ATF levels in Saturns via a torx plug when we did re-man or factory visits.
Does anyone know anything out there about this? If not, gotta go with drain, fill to 7.5 of my choosing and let it rip for the
3000-5000 oci. While keeping an eye peeled to the life monitor.

 

[JavierH19]

You have to use some digital crap that's somewhere in the cluster or maybe the center screen.

 

[stormgol]

just get a Hemi. they are back by popular demand.

 

[JavierH19]

This is how you check it 1:13. It's pretty terrible that it doesn't say what quantity of oil you have on the screen, looks like it'd be easy enough to have a -x oil in quarts display. I'm not against having two methods but if I had to have one it will always be a dip stick not some electronic junk.

A comment in the video says that if the oil level sensor fails it won't start like how he experienced. I can't imagine driving on a vacation like the cruise port or needing to go to an air port and if I stop for gas and shut it off it won't start again leaving me I'm screwed beyond belief.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

What is the consumer to do? This engine does not have a dipstick to check oil level.
How are the dealers checking after drain/fill? Putting 7.5 qts in and broom you out the door?
What about mid-OCI how do you know where it's at? leaving it all up to an "oil-life" gauge on the dash.
I understand OEM wants us out of the picture under the hood. But, this is a basic task of ours here at
BITOG, to do, choose and monitor the life-blood of our power-plant. Does anyone know a tip or trick or secret
that can get us this simple little thing that every other vehicle seems to have? I worked at AISIN plant for 20+
I understand transmission filled for life, sort of. But motor oil, with fuel dilution, etc. is another series of events all together.
We used to have a few dipstick assy. for check ATF levels in Saturns via a torx plug when we did re-man or factory visits.
Does anyone know anything out there about this? If not, gotta go with drain, fill to 7.5 of my choosing and let it rip for the
3000-5000 oci. While keeping an eye peeled to the life monitor.

You should have the ability to check oil level from within the vehicle. The only reason to recheck the oil level is to confirm you poured the correct amount. Buying the correct number of bottles of oil can help you make that determination. IJS.

 

[johnmyster]

Reality is 90% of braindead drivers don't check a dipstick. At least by being more than a low level warning, they stand a chance of automating it. Same with tires leading to TPMS.

My 2011 BMW e92 N52 had a dash based digital oil level readout. The device dated back to at least 2006 on the platform. So this is not a new "problem". It read the level when up to temperature and with the galleys full, so it eliminated user error, parking on a hill, etc. It was not problematic or troublesome. It allows warnings to the user within a very tight (+/- 0.5 qt, IIRC) window. No need to open the hood, paper towel handy, etc. This was a 3-series, poor person's BMW.

You quickly learn what the ideal oil change amount is and then refill a little less. Over the next drive or two you might add a little. Not a big deal for the DIYer. Eventually you write the correct amount on the engine dust cover with a paint pen and move on with life.

Upside with the hurricane is that the motor won't last long enough for you to be concerned with topping up, so think of the money they saved with no dipstick. Value engineering.

FCA Hurricane. Not Bitoger approved.

 

[cptbarkey]

Dont buy products with massive engineering flaws like this. There is zero reason and zero excuse. It should have never left the idea board.

 

[dishdude]

Reality is 90% of braindead drivers don't check a dipstick. At least by being more than a low level warning, they stand a chance of automating it.

Exactly this. I have no problem with this, I'd much rather check the oil by pushing a button on the steering wheel than having to lift the hood, same with TPMS. So much easier than walking around with a tire gauge.

This is also great for rentals or borrowed cars.

 

[Danno]

Upside with the hurricane is that the motor won't last long enough for you to be concerned with topping up, so think of the money they saved with no dipstick. Value engineering.

FCA Hurricane. Not Bitoger approved.

Hurricane has been out for 4 model years.
Only seen one torn down and/or replaced, (I work at a large Ram/Jeep dealership) for a broken valve spring at 500 miles. An early failure on an Enterprise Fleet Ram FWIW.
Should there have been an "/s" at the end of your comment or do you care to share your proof as backup?
And, how much of the car/truck buying population does BITOG represent?

TYIA.

 

[Elroy the Brave]

Dont buy products with massive engineering flaws like this. There is zero reason and zero excuse. It should have never left the idea board.

What's the flaw, though?

I has a sensor that tells you the oil level, that you can check in your vehicle. It's basically a more convenient form of oil dipstick.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd rather have a dipstick.

 

[zzyzzx]

Exactly this. I have no problem with this, I'd much rather check the oil by pushing a button on the steering wheel than having to lift the hood, same with TPMS. So much easier than walking around with a tire gauge.

I am also OK with this as long as it's in addition to a dipstick.

 

[Elroy the Brave]

I am also OK with this as long as it's in addition to a dipstick.

They are in the business of cutting costs, and aren't going to give you both things.

My guess is that the oil pan sensor is cheaper / easier than plumbing and installing the dipstick tube. The other problem is that too many people today have no idea how to check a dipstick, or rarely if ever do. So, cars are doing extended oil changes (at the direction of the manufacturer) and sometimes running low on oil during the 10K mile oil change.

 

[Boomer]

Another reason to keep driving what I have, thank you very much!

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

What's the flaw, though?

I has a sensor that tells you the oil level, that you can check in your vehicle. It's basically a more convenient form of oil dipstick.

If one suffers from OCD it can become a medical issue having to wait until it's 1 quart/liter low to top off. What would one do with that 200ml syringe and that open bottle of oil? *Sarc*

 

[johnmyster]

Hurricane has been out for 4 model years.
Only seen one torn down and/or replaced, (I work at a large Ram/Jeep dealership) for a broken valve spring at 500 miles. An early failure on an Enterprise Fleet Ram FWIW.
Should there have been an "/s" at the end of your comment or do you care to share your proof as backup?
And, how much of the car/truck buying population does BITOG represent?

TYIA.

Clearly it was sarcasm rooted in the reputation established by the motor in its short history. If the dealer can't sell them, probably won't see many in the service bay. You're right. The hurricane is the next 2GR-FE but is being unfairly bashed in a world of clickbait drama. I'm sure most of them will make it through the first three year lease. /s

 

[tcp71]

8 yrs on the Porsche. Works well for me.

 

[johnmyster]

Another thought, even my 10 year old cummins ECU logs the time and distance of WIF (water in fuel) warnings. I'm sure Ram is logging (and uploading to the cloud) the time/mileage/frequency of low-oil conditions. No warranty replacement of motors run low on oil.

 

[gfh77665]

I like it. Its innovative. Probably some people freaked out when the old cable driven speedometer was replaced by a digital speedo.

I still would like a dipstick as a redundancy, but its no big deal. Do people freak out over digital fuel gages?

 

[FowVay]

The only inconvenience I found with the electronic oil sensor is having to wait for the reading. I recently did a 2011 BMW X5 and it took exactly 7 quarts (6.5 liters). To verify I had to pull up the oil quantity on the dashboard screen. It took about 3 minutes to get a reading whereas if it had a dipstick I would have had the correct amount of oil in the sump and the hood closed before ever having to get back in the vehicle to reset the oil life monitor.

Some like it and some don't. It's just something different and I can take it or leave it. It's not a big deal for me.