No Engine Oil Dipstick

[Bailes1992]

My old Volvo V40's used to have an electronic oil gauge and no dipstick.

I drained the oil overnight, filled it up with 5 litres (I think the capacity was 5.2 litres) and then added 100ml a day until I got an 'overfilled' warning. I then subtracted the last 100ml from the total oil installed and added that at every oil change.

My 2020 BMW 5 Series had an electronic dipstick, but there was also a manual dipstick hidden down the back of the engine.

 

[jtay2024]

Can't stand the idea of no dipstick. Seems so ridiculous. Specially when changing oil and it's a nightmare to keep waiting for the level sensor each time you add a little more to get it to the top.

My 1999 Peugeot has an oil level sensor and a dipstick. Every time you turn the ignition on, the reading shows what the level is. Excellent for checking before every drive. I dipstick check it once a week.

The electronic sensor is very close to the dipstick reading as well which is impressive.

 

[LouC]

It’s stupid.
Compare checking the trans fluid on a Chrysler 545RFE vs. ZF 850 auto trans. With the Chrysler you’re standing up like a human being with the vehicle on the ground. You pull out the dipstick like we have for 75 years. Easy.
With the ZF the vehicle has to be on a lift or 4 jackstands & you have to put your hand near a very hot cat converter housing. Then obsessively check the trans oil temp on your scanner .
Stupid.

 

[Kira]

I love the "tack-oil gauge" face.

 

[Bailes1992]

Can't stand the idea of no dipstick. Seems so ridiculous. Specially when changing oil and it's a nightmare to keep waiting for the level sensor each time you add a little more to get it to the top.

My 1999 Peugeot has an oil level sensor and a dipstick. Every time you turn the ignition on, the reading shows what the level is. Excellent for checking before every drive. I dipstick check it once a week.

The electronic sensor is very close to the dipstick reading as well which is impressive.

Weirdly, not fitted to the bigger 406. But my 2nd 406 did have an oil temperature gauge!

 

[RaymondP]

Both of my late model German vehicles have eliminated the dipstick. Yes you can count the bottles, but not so easy to estimate parts of a bottle. Knowing it's bad to overfill I always round to the lower quantity, so for instance if the fill is 6.4 quarts, I will fill with 6 quarts after draining and then top up as necessary. The really annoying thing is the electronic dipstick gauge only works once the oil is warm, so you have to run the engine. If your miscount you risk damaging the engine while it warms up.

From my experience the requirement to add oil between regular oil changes is rare. Changing my own oil/filter is the time when a dipstick is needed. Biggest challenge is on my Triumph Thruxton motorcycle. Has a small round window (no dipstick) to check the oil level. Quite risky as you can easily drop the bike while checking. Not possible to view while sitting astride. Tried to fashion a homemade dipstick but interior parts of the engine prevent it from reaching the sump, so a no go.

 

[TimeFlies]

Both of my late model German vehicles have eliminated the dipstick. Yes you can count the bottles, but not so easy to estimate parts of a bottle. Knowing it's bad to overfill I always round to the lower quantity, so for instance if the fill is 6.4 quarts, I will fill with 6 quarts after draining and then top up as necessary. The really annoying thing is the electronic dipstick gauge only works once the oil is warm, so you have to run the engine. If your miscount you risk damaging the engine while it warms up.

From my experience the requirement to add oil between regular oil changes is rare. Changing my own oil/filter is the time when a dipstick is needed. Biggest challenge is on my Triumph Thruxton motorcycle. Has a small round window (no dipstick) to check the oil level. Quite risky as you can easily drop the bike while checking. Not possible to view while sitting astride. Tried to fashion a homemade dipstick but interior parts of the engine prevent it from reaching the sump, so a no go.

Also worth noting that if you are 0.3 quarts under or over the full mark, it is still fine on a large sump that holds over 6 quarts.
I have many times driven my employers car, and like the dash display for oil level.
I'm no stranger to working on vehicles, and getting my hands dirty. But not everyone wants to do so, so they may never check their oil level. Give them a way to do so from the comfort and cleanliness of the drivers seat, then they may. Also easy to make it simply pop up on the dash if it gets down to the add mark, alerting them to a problem, and they can even ask a shop about it, if not comfortable adding their own oil.
Those guys with a man bun likely don't know how to open the hood, forget checking the oil.
My vote would be to have both.

 

[RaymondP]

"My vote would be to have both."

 

[Faawrenchbndr]

My wife’s new 2024 MINI Cooper Countryman S does not even have a dipstick for checking engine oil. There is a way to check oil level electronically on her infotainment screen, but it’s a little complicated to access, it only works under certain conditions, and it’s not nearly as detailed as viewing a physical dipstick with the naked eye.

Just saw that 2025 Ram pickup trucks will not have engine oil dipsticks unless you choose the base model V6 engine that’s been around for 14 years. None of the optional engines will have dipsticks.

There’s been a lot of debate about this. Some say, “who cares?” pointing out that transmission dipsticks went away several years ago, and other fluids like transfer case and axle fluids don’t have dipsticks. Others say that argument is apples to oranges. Those other fluids don’t require changing nearly as often, and in some cases they won’t even cause immediate disabling of the vehicle if they get low or run dry completely. Engine oil, on the other hand, is critically important.

What do y’all think about this new trend? Personally I’m old fashioned. I want to pull a stick and SEE the oil in my engine. The level, condition, etc. can be immediately identified if I can physically see/smell it. And a dipstick never fails. Electronic sensors do.

Do you fly commercial very often?
The reason I ask is very, very few aircraft have dipsticks. But I guess there’s really no reason for one at 30,000 feet.

 

[vwmaniaman]

What about the times you have a bad gasket and antifreeze gets in the oil????
I want t9 know without starting it.

 

[Faawrenchbndr]

What about the times you have a bad gasket and antifreeze gets in the oil????
I want t9 know without starting it.

You have a coolant reservior tank that drops……that’s a great visual aid

 

[Skippy722]

It’s stupid.
Compare checking the trans fluid on a Chrysler 545RFE vs. ZF 850 auto trans. With the Chrysler you’re standing up like a human being with the vehicle on the ground. You pull out the dipstick like we have for 75 years. Easy.
With the ZF the vehicle has to be on a lift or 4 jackstands & you have to put your hand near a very hot cat converter housing. Then obsessively check the trans oil temp on your scanner .
Stupid.

I will happily give up the dip stick a million times over to NOT have the god awful 545RFE ever again. If you can hit 90 in 2nd gear all the gearing is wrong.

The vast majority of people rarely if ever check their oil. With a sensor the car does
It for you. Would I like a dip stick? Yes, but it’s not a deal breaker.

 

[LouC]

Mines got 125,000 on it & shifts like new. I’ve driven about 10 different Chrysler products with the ZF auto trans and don’t really like how it shifts. To each their own I guess,

 

[gd9704]

My 2009 Porsche Cayman is the same way. It's annoying. It only works if the engine is warmed up. So you change the oil, guess as to how much you should put in (by now I sorta know,) then have to run it for 10 minutes before the oil change level function works.

 

[hemioiler]

I will happily give up the dip stick a million times over to NOT have the god awful 545RFE ever again. If you can hit 90 in 2nd gear all the gearing is wrong.

The vast majority of people rarely if ever check their oil. With a sensor the car does
It for you. Would I like a dip stick? Yes, but it’s not a deal breaker.

I've never seen a good Chrysler built transmission, so I'm with you there, I'll take the ZF a 100 times over the 5 and 6 speeds in the ram. But, if we're making requests, I'd still prefer the ZF with a dipstick though it's less important to me on a transmission that is serviced maybe 2 or 3 times in its life vs every 5000 miles in an engine.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

After taking my new job at the European car place I think not having dipsticks is silly. It adds a huge amount of time to what should be an easy service.

I've heard that dealer complaints about this is a reason why some automakers are bringing back the dipstick.

 

[Astro14]

We seem to beat this topic up regularly, as folks make this “discovery.”

Audi Q5 doesn't have a dipstick...

I found this out because my rental is a Q5 and the oil level warning went off in the dash. States to add a maximum of 1 qt. of oil which I plan to do. The conversation with Enterprise made gave me pause as the person on the other end had no idea the vehicle should have had an oil change at 10K...

bobistheoilguy.com

By the way, I made this point in that thread:

My 1932 Packard has a mechanical oil level gauge. One can read the oil level in quarts without getting dirty. Dipsticks were for lesser cars.

 

[72C10]

Not including a dipstick is idiocy. I check my oil every week.

I was reading a thread on Reddit the other day where a car rolled into the shop overfilled with 15 quarts of oil in it. I can see this happening with no dipstick. Sensor tells you that you are low 1 quart of oil every so often and you just keep adding it.

 

[edyvw]

My wife’s new 2024 MINI Cooper Countryman S does not even have a dipstick for checking engine oil. There is a way to check oil level electronically on her infotainment screen, but it’s a little complicated to access, it only works under certain conditions, and it’s not nearly as detailed as viewing a physical dipstick with the naked eye.

Just saw that 2025 Ram pickup trucks will not have engine oil dipsticks unless you choose the base model V6 engine that’s been around for 14 years. None of the optional engines will have dipsticks.

There’s been a lot of debate about this. Some say, “who cares?” pointing out that transmission dipsticks went away several years ago, and other fluids like transfer case and axle fluids don’t have dipsticks. Others say that argument is apples to oranges. Those other fluids don’t require changing nearly as often, and in some cases they won’t even cause immediate disabling of the vehicle if they get low or run dry completely. Engine oil, on the other hand, is critically important.

What do y’al[B]l think about this new trend? [/B]Personally I’m old fashioned. I want to pull a stick and SEE the oil in my engine. The level, condition, etc. can be immediately identified if I can physically see/smell it. And a dipstick never fails. Electronic sensors do.

New trend? BMW (which makes MINI) rolls without dipstick in gas engines since 2004! It works all the time. Oil needs to reach certain temperature as well as engine be on for some time (5-10min).

 

[edyvw]

And I just thought of another issue. When the oil does get changed how do you know that the correct amount was just now poured back in there? You can't just use the stick to find out. You have to start the engine, warm it up, meet its criteria, then hopefully view the level (in a vague format) on the screen. And I guess hope that you got it right!

Ugh..

IDK, but you could start with finding out what is your engine oil capacity!