2012 Civic Orange Plastic Dipstick

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I think I hate this dipstick more than the VQ35 dipstick.

I was checking the oil on my friend's 2012 Civic LX yesterday. 5500 miles on the factory fill 0w-20 and the oil was light brown.

The light brown oil was impossible to see on the orange plastic dipstick. The cross-hatched area is also so small and tightly spaced that the hex area had some sort of black dirty grit embedded in it. Obviously this made the situation worse.

I hope these dipsticks do not break once they get older. I cannot imagine the inconvenience of having to drop the oil pan to retrieve it.
 
You know I was at the international auto expo a few years back and saw that plastic orange dipstick and had to laugh over the same issue you are now having.
 
I abs hate those plastic dipsticks. I haven't had any break on me yet. Why don't all manufactures just use a plain metal stick that doesn't have any funky twists AND go through a tube directly into the oil pan. The Nissan one and other styles that go through the head or VC and then head are just goofy in my opinion.
 
Best dipstick ever imo, is the one in my grandmothers 2.4L malibu. It's a cable-style stick, with a metal slug type measurment thing. I don't know how to describe it. It's easy to read, and easy to use. Even with new clean oil.

My cruze/equinox comes second, with the same end, but traditional flat metal stick.
 
Originally Posted By: beast3300
Why don't all manufactures just use a plain metal stick that doesn't have any funky twists AND go through a tube directly into the oil pan. The Nissan one and other styles that go through the head or VC and then head are just goofy in my opinion.


yes i can't stand the dipsticks that take like 30 seconds just trying to feed the thing back into the tube. and those are the same ones that run along the side of the tube when you try to pull them out and give an inaccurate reading.
mad.gif
 
Yeah, it's the same in my 07 Malibu with the 2.2L.

Here is a pic I found on google. So easy to read. The oil just fills in those little "valleys".

dipstickend.gif
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: RoGuE
Yeah, it's the same in my 07 Malibu with the 2.2L.

Here is a pic I found on google. So easy to read. The oil just fills in those little "valleys".

dipstickend.gif


Same one my Cobalt has. I've never seen better.
 
Originally Posted By: NateDN10
Originally Posted By: RoGuE
Yeah, it's the same in my 07 Malibu with the 2.2L.

Here is a pic I found on google. So easy to read. The oil just fills in those little "valleys".

dipstickend.gif


Same one my Cobalt has. I've never seen better.


Until the metal "slug" comes off. I've had it happen a few times. It does not come out of the drain plug (But that has not caused any "issues" )

Just give me a staight metal stick (good) and put some holes in it between low and full. The best one I've seen is the ones in/on GM trucks. Toyota's are second.

Worst was my ex-Subaru. Both you could not read it (black stick) and what you could read different levels on either side.

Any thing that starts with plastic that then goes into metal you have to be careful. I've seen many break and leave the dipstick in the tube. Depending on how the tube is makes it interesting on how to get it out.

Bill
 
Best I've used is in the K24 in the CR-V. Straight stick, goes straight into the top of the valve cover, straight down through the head and into the block. It's a simple stick, and as I recall, has two holes at the bottom (one for low and one for full). It's too easy to read.

I don't mind the metal slugs, as long as they stay attached. The J35 in the MDX has one of these, on a cable. It goes straight in.

What was hardest to read was the dip sticks in the Cadillac Northstar engine. It consisted of a cable with a plastic slug at the end. A BROWN plastic slug. Really? How are you going to read the oil level on a piece of brown plastic?

I suspect those Honda Civic sticks will turn brown over time, making them even harder to read.
 
The dipstick on our Accord is the cable with a metal slug style. The handle is plastic. It almost NEVER wants to come out. Usually I have to use my hand like a pry bar to get it free.
 
Originally Posted By: NateDN10

Same one my Cobalt has. I've never seen better.


I must be the only one who doesn't like the Ecotec dipsticks. The flat sticks they used for decades were fine; why the need to change? I find they're harder to tell exactly where the oillevel is, compared to the flat sticks where there is no doubt.
 
My daughters 2009 Civic has the orange dipstick and I love it. It is the only one she can read when she is at school. Easy instructions for a teenager...Stop engine, wait 5 minutes, if the hash marks have oil in all of them you are ok.

Plus: she never forgets where it is because it is the orange ball on top of the engine. I text it to her. Ok pull out the stick with the orange ball on top.
 
Are these new dipsticks designed to provide a reading without cleaning it before the measurement?
 
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