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Posted on 05/21/2025 4:42:50 PM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
Ever wondered when your last oil change was and needed to check the oil level? Most of us don't have this problem — when we take a car in for an oil change, the mechanic will usually put a sticker on the windshield to let us know when's the next time to come in for a visit. But let's say we don't have a sticker or any kind of maintenance reminder. So we pop open the hood and look for the dipstick. Wait ... where did it go?!
Once, dipsticks were the go-to method for checking oil levels and finding out if your oil has gone bad. But as odd as it may sound, many cars don't come with dipsticks anymore. Some sources say it's because automakers don't trust us to use them, so why make them? (That's kind of along the lines of rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it, right?) Or maybe it's some kind of conspiracy to keep drivers coming in for oil changes more often. But in actuality, it's because a lot of things are going digital.
"With digital oil level measurement, customers can easily monitor their vehicle's oil level in their vehicle's driver display and receive timely alerts if oil level is outside normal limits," Mercedes-Benz spokesperson Andrew Brudnicki told Automotive News Canada in 2024 (via SlashGear). "This proactive approach helps to avert potential engine damage."
It may just be us, but technology doesn't fix everything. Sometimes, one solution can undo all others. Using the dipstick was fast and easy. Some cars even had dipsticks for checking transmission fluid. Now, drivers are left to rely on a touchscreen to know if their car needs oil.
(Excerpt) Read more at jalopnik.com ...
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Buggy Whips......
Probably no 710 cap either...
I owned three Fords, two of which had inoperative fuel gauges and one that the speedometer didn’t work on (phone GPS was a godsend). Now they are telling us to trust the sensors with no means to independently verify things?
Yes. And some don’t have spare tires. It’s insane.
The dipstick on my 2024 Honda is plastic and pretty much useless if you’re actually trying to read it.
I keep cars until they aren’t merely dead, but most sincerely dead.
I not only want to be able to see the ‘level’ but also the color and smell.
Some people more ‘motorhead’ than me will tell oil quality by taste. I’m not that refined. Nonetheless they should be served also.
All the dipsticks have been hired by the media.
I had a 1971 Ford F-100 that I could break into using the dipstick, handy when Ilocked my keys inside. Couldn’t do that today since hoods aren’t accessible from outside, and the first step was slipping the side vent window.
How much cheaper is “digital oil level measurement” to incorporate in cars versus a dip stick? Automatic windshield wipers? Camaras versus mirrors? Just a few reasons you can’t buy a car for under $20,000.
My 2015 Hyundai still has a dipstick. However, the oil pressure is also measured electronically.
When the seal to the electronic measure fails, it is a $4000 repair job.
Ugh.
I have a 1998 version of oil level warning and it lies all the time. Anyone who thinks this is a good idea is a moron.
Every car I own gets a fresh oil change every 5k miles. If my oil light comes on (and it never does) it's going to mean something really bad happened.
First they came to remove the vent window, then the keyed lock, then the transmission fluid dipstick, and now the oil dipstick.
And these gauges in many cars notoriously fail forcing owners to practically go broke nickel and divming themselves to death with endless trips to the garage for diagnostics and repairs that never seem to work.
This madness along with this assinine move to put small undersized engines in cars with turbos that dramatically reduce the life if a vehicle needs to end and I mean like yesterday.
My Suburban just clocked its first 130,000 miles.
Halfway done.
But wait, there’s more. Tesla has perfected replacing the most important part of any motor vehicle...the nut that connects the steering wheel to the seat. Now that is progress.
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