no engine oil dipstick by design
- Thread starter ragtoplvr
- Start date
Patman
Staff member
If there is no oil dipstick then there would be an oil level reading on the dashboard display somewhere. I’m unaware of any modern car that comes with no way of knowing what the engine oil level is. With a transmission that is less of a concern because unless there is a leak, it’s level won’t go down.
Our Audi didn't have a dipstick. You checked the oil level through the infotainment system.
Added - It wouldn't display an oil level until a minimum of three minutes had passed after shutting off the engine.
that makes sense, the oil is largely up top when running.
No dipstick is surely sub-optimal but not critical as the vehicle will have some sort of level indicator. That said, how much one trusts the indicator over time is another question, but you know the capacity, know (roughly) how much you drained and how much you added. Just did oil on the new 911; looked like ~2 gallons were in the drain pan, filled with 8 qts. and topped off per the instructions using the gauge. Easy...
The oil can be checked electronically. Some cars such as Mercedes can be checked driving. BMW has to be in park, idling and takes 1 minute for the system to do its thing and report the level to the screen on the dash.
Audi,some Porsche are checked engine off key on after sitting 2-3 minutes.
Audi,some Porsche are checked engine off key on after sitting 2-3 minutes.
One I checked recently. Not sure why many of my pics are sideways now.
From what I read about the Audi's oil light indicator coming on in the dash to show it was low, there was a direct correlation of the timing of it coming on and the engine cratering.
There are aftermarket dipsticks available for the Audi. The hole is still there for a dipstick (or extract oil when doing an oil change), but having a plug. Make sure you find one of the correct length.
My Jaguar F-Type will display oil level digitally. However, the window is 10 minutes after shutdown to 10 minutes and 10 seconds. (kidding of course) but it is a narrow bit of time where the oil level is able to be accurately displayed. Annoying.
Simpler is more reliable in my book. Anyone with a modicum of common sense really can't go wrong with an old fashion, tried and true, physical dipstick. Adding features like an electronic digital oil level monitoring system is just inflating the cost of new vehicles and increasing complexity while catering to the mechanically inept and inattentive, feckless owners. Unfortunately, much of our society appears to be leaning in the direction of lacking critical thinking skills and situational awareness. Rant over.
Raising the bonnet, man handling a snaky, petroleum laced device and soiling ones hands? How barbarian. You know California says engine petroleum is cancer causing. One would certainly prefer a remote device to perform a decidedly brutish task.
this is reminding me to check the oil level in my car now.
edit: just pulled the dipstick, wiped it and reinserted. Level is exactly where I left it 3k miles ago, a hair above max.
edit: just pulled the dipstick, wiped it and reinserted. Level is exactly where I left it 3k miles ago, a hair above max.
I wonder with such a thing, if the sensor was bad or giving a false reading.......would they be liable for a locked up engine if the sensor was incorrect?
Ain't no one to blame but the driver if there is a dipstick.
Propflux01
$100 Site Donor 2025
I think if one puts an "electronic" dipstick in, the oil tried and true manual dipstick should be included anyway. I'd pay the extra $10 it takes to put a dipstick in on the assy line. This would help ensure that people like me, who check oil quite often, could do that, and that one thing you ran over and popped a hole in the pan on the interstate would have the electronic means to warn before the oil light came on after the knocking and locking occurred.
Patman
Staff member
Things have changed I guess, because with my ex wife’s 2010 BMW 328i you could check the oil level status on the dash anytime you were driving. It didn’t need to be in park or idling, however it would not show the oil level until the oil had come up to a certain temperature so the readout was blank for about the first ten minutes after a cold start. I loved having that system, I hate dipsticks. So hard to get an accurate reading unless you are perfectly level and many show different results on either side of the stick
If the sensor has an issue you will get a msg on the dash...... Yes cars are that smart now.
Yeah, my Mercedes is like that. I go by the lower reading, but always keep it slightly below the full mark.Things have changed I guess, because with my ex wife’s 2010 BMW 328i you could check the oil level status on the dash anytime you were driving. It didn’t need to be in park or idling, however it would not show the oil level until the oil had come up to a certain temperature so the readout was blank for about the first ten minutes after a cold start. I loved having that system, I hate dipsticks. So hard to get an accurate reading unless you are perfectly level and many show different results on either side of the stick