No Engine Oil Dipstick

[barryh]

There will be many owners who think that having an electronic oil level gauge is a good idea but we shouldn't be surprised if very few of those owners are BITOG residents. We are more likely to think that it's an unnecessary and costly complication that won't be as accurate as a dip stick and will at some point go wrong. Much as I prefer a dipstick and still have one, I think we have already lost on this one because we are a minority.

Customer feed back may move the manufacturers on things like physical buttons vs touch screen but it won't on dipsticks.

 

[edyvw]

There will be many owners who think that having an electronic oil level gauge is a good idea but we shouldn't be surprised if very few of those owners are BITOG residents. We are more likely to think that it's an unnecessary and costly complication that won't be as accurate as a dip stick and will at some point go wrong. Much as I prefer a dipstick and still have one, I think we have already lost on this one because we are a minority.

Customer feed back may move the manufacturers on things like physical buttons vs touch screen but it won't on dipsticks.

It has to do with emissions. It is easier to go physical dipstick. This is related to vacuum issues.

 

[meep]

On the plus side, this could be a benefit to the non-bitog crowd who never check their oil. The “car craze” isn’t here in the younger generation and their vehicles didn’t have big oil loss like the ones we had 40 years ago. an electronic system can throw a dash message for low oil which they otherwise would never see. My step daughter has pulled into my driveway countless times with the dipstick dry. (Her Suzuki vitara still runs strong, respect.)

 

[warnerwh]

So I take it these electronic sensors are 100% reliable forever. That is comforting that they can be as reliable as a dipstick because I wouldn't want to have one of those sensors replaced especially on a 4 wheel drive vehicle where the front differential may have to be removed to get the oil pan off.

 

[LouC]

watch this
and explain to me again, just how is it an improvement vs warming up your vehicle, standing outside next to it and pulling a dipstick. Instead of having it up on a lift or 4 jack stands and having to put your hand right next to a 600* cat converter. Really guys!
BTW, I have driven about 8 different Chrysler products with that ZF transmission, both Hemi V8s and Pentastars, and I DON'T like how they shift, to much up & down, etc. Maybe I'm old school, I greatly prefer the Hemi V8 & the 545RFE. It feels like an old school Mopar Torqueflite or GM Turbo 400.

 

[edyvw]

So I take it these electronic sensors are 100% reliable forever. That is comforting that they can be as reliable as a dipstick because I wouldn't want to have one of those sensors replaced especially on a 4 wheel drive vehicle where the front differential may have to be removed to get the oil pan off.

What do you think how hard is to replace sensor, or how big is sensor? My BMW has one as well as Atlas (Atlas has dipstick too).
Replacement takes on both maybe an hour, including lifting vehicle, getting tools, going under, putting your tools back, dropping vehicle.
That being said, I didn’t have to change on any of my vehicles.

 

[warnerwh]

Just like anything on a car I am sure some cars are easier than others and some are time consuming. I don't know what a shop would charge but if you only have a dipstick it is a non issue, it will never be a problem.

 

[Skippy722]

watch this
and explain to me again, just how is it an improvement vs warming up your vehicle, standing outside next to it and pulling a dipstick. Instead of having it up on a lift or 4 jack stands and having to put your hand right next to a 600* cat converter. Really guys!
BTW, I have driven about 8 different Chrysler products with that ZF transmission, both Hemi V8s and Pentastars, and I DON'T like how they shift, to much up & down, etc. Maybe I'm old school, I greatly prefer the Hemi V8 & the 545RFE. It feels like an old school Mopar Torqueflite or GM Turbo 400.

I think you’re just old school. Had a v6 300 with the 845RFE and now the Ram with the 8hp70 and they do everything the 545RFE did but better. Always in the right gear or very quick to get to it, 2nd gear isn’t a friggin cliff dive from 1st, no stupid “prime” kickdown gear, smooth consistent shifts, rated for more torque, just overall a far far better transmission IMO. If that means I have a more complicated procedure for draining and filling so be it.

 

[LouC]

German Engineering’s philosophy
“Why make it simple when it could be complicated?”

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

German Engineering’s philosophy
“Why make it simple when it could be complicated?”

Well it is a rather necessary solution to crankcase emissions.

 

[wtd]

I can tell you the oil level sensor on my BMW has gone bad twice. I don't want to rely on a sensor to check my oil. I would not but a ICE vehicle without a dipstick. Just sayin

The oil level sensor on my 2014 Mustang has already gone bad once and it only has 36,000 miles on it.

 

[Frankrank]

My 2021 BMW has a dipstick. I believe they are still on the N63 V8s along with the oil level sensor.

 

[DGXR]

When many consumers don't know or care what a dipstick is, and even if they did won't bother to check the oil anyway... this gives manufacturers good reason to remove it. Modern engines already have oil level sensors to warn lazy owners who do not check their oil level.

 

[MCompact]

I've owned three BMWs without dipsticks; it used to bug me but the sensors were accurate and worked fine. I'd prefer a dipstick but it's certainly not a deal breaker- ditto for the lack of a dipstick on the 8HP.

 

[TimeFlies]

While filling up with gas today, I opened the hood as I always do at every gas fill up, and checked the fluids.
Thought about this thread as I pulled out the dipstick, and in reality, would have been just as happy or more so to push a button on the dash, and have seen it read full, as I was to have to get a paper towel, wipe the dipstick off, shove it back in, pull it out again, and see it was full, and reinsert it, then dispose of the paper towel.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I am going way out on a limb here and will predict this is going to be another AM radio delete fiasco. Enough people will be upset about it for the dipstick to return. Its one thing to remove the dipstick on a Mercedes or a Mini, an entirely different scenario on a pickup truck.

I don't love it, but as long as there is a sensor that shows a level, or I can read the level via OBD2, then I guess I could put up with it. Seems foolish nonetheless.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I haven't seen any of these (yet). What levels do they show? 1/2 qt low? Full qt? I prefer to keep them full. If it drops 1/2 way down marks I'll top it off. I've done that if 1/4 down the marks. Yes I know, as long as it's in the marks it's good but that is a qt difference which is almost 25% of my capacity.

My FIL Jeep Renegade w/ 2.4L has a dipstick. He wasn't checking it often. His independent shop used 5 qts which I think is in the manual. Now online shows 5.5qts and dealer says they use 6qts knowing it burns. His "low oil" light came on one day, about 1 month after the 5qt change. It took 2 full qts to show on the dipstick (over 40% low). His Jeep has been at the dealer for 6 months now waiting on a new motor due to oil pressure issues as soon as it warms up. At least it's covered under extended warranty and they gave him a loaner.

 

[DwightFrye]

My 2021 Jaguar does not have a dipstick. And I hate it. To check the oil, you either have to check it while the engine is cold or wait at least 30 minutes after shutting it down if the car has been driven. If you try and check it warm before waiting you will get an error message that the feature is unavailable.

And to make it worse, my dealer overfilled the engine when doing an oil and filter change. I got an overfilled warning. I used my Mityvac to suck out every possible drop and it was overfilled by almost 1.5 quarts. I refilled it to within 2 ounces of the specified capacity. And after that for about a month the electronic gauge would still flash the overfilled warning and after a couple of seconds the level would drop back down to 1 graduation below the maximum level mark. It seems OK now. Apparently the reading is some kind of average. There is a way that you can change the reading to real time but it doesn't seem to make any difference. Nice idea, poor execution.

If I had a conventional dipstick I would feel a whole lot better about the oil level at all times. I can understand the move by manufacturers to put an electronic oil sensor in vehicles to act somewhat as an "idiot light" for people who never look under the hood but I doubt there is any cost savings in not providing a dipstick like we have seen in most cars for the better part of a century.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

I like how Nissan is going, no dipsticks on the transmissions. Has a special stand pipe behind the drain plug that maintains the perfect level, all extra overflows and drains out the bottom.