Maybe I’ve become an old man. Maybe I’m no longer “with it” like all these youthful Tiktokers raised by the internet. I say this because when I think about the 2025 Ram 1500 not offering a dipstick on its 3.0-liter “Hurricane” inline-six engine, it makes me want to yell at a cloud and talk about the good ol’ days before engine covers and zero-weight oil and CVTs and touchscreens for all vehicle functions. A pickup truck without a dipstick — what is this world coming to? Has everyone lost their doggone mind? Man, I really am sounding like an old man.
I recently wrote a review about the new Ram and said it “Is So Good I Don’t Miss The Hemi V8.” But you know what? I change my mind; I do miss the V8. I miss that sound, I miss that parts availability/aftermarket support, and above all, I miss that thin metal tube that presses into that engine block and houses a long rod (well, cable in this case) called a dipstick.
The truth is that the new Ram probably doesn’t really need a dipstick; Ram’s digital oil level-monitor will definitely be easier to use for most people. Here’s a look at that digital oil-level monitor found in the instrument cluster ahead of the driver:
Now Ram drivers will literally never have to pop the hoods of their cars. No more rags. No more dirty hands. Ram is following the “make the engine a black-box to the driver” trend that has been permeating the industry.
Here’s what Ram says about the oil level gauge in its owner’s manual:
The 3.0L engine does not have a traditional “dipstick” and there is no need to manually check the oil level. If it is desired to check engine oil level, it can be seen on the instrument cluster display by navigating to the appropriate screen under “Vehicle Info”.
Use the up or down arrow buttons within the steering wheel controls to find the “Vehicle Info” menu. Then use the right or left arrow buttons until you reach the “Oil Level” submenu. There is a bar on the gauge which shows the oil level. As long as the oil level is between the minimum and the maximum it is safe to operate the vehicle. If the oil level is either too high or too low, a red bar will be illuminated. When the engine is in need of more oil, the Oil Level Warning Light will illuminate. This warning will appear for five seconds. Within the next 300 miles (500 km) you should add 1 quart of manufacturer
Why do I detest this so much? I think on some level, it’s just a matter of me not wanting change. But I also like to look at the quality/color of my oil! And the idea that something could break and I could no longer check on something this critical — something that has huge implications on the longevity of perhaps the most expensive component of my vehicle — it drives me crazy. Hell, even if my battery goes flat I can’t check the oil? [steam billows from my ears in rage].
To me, something so critical has to be basically 100% failure proof. I don’t want an oil-level sensor to fail or a battery/module/screen issue to prevent me from seeing how much oil I have. Being able to check the level and quality of your your motor’s precious lifeblood is something that you must be able to do no matter what the circumstances. It has to be basically failure proof.
To be sure, BMW drivers have been stuck with oil level sensors for years, and those have apparently been pretty reliable, for what that’s worth. To me, as an old man in a 32 year-old’s body, though, that’s not worth much.
There are, of course, some practical benefits to the setup. For one, your vehicle can notify you if the oil level is low, which is, theoretically, better than it waiting for low oil pressure to throw a Malfunction Indicator Light. It could also potentially derate power/throw the vehicle into limp mode based on oil quantity — again, before having to wait for oil pressure loss, which you don’t want. Still, why can’t I have both a dipstick and an oil level sensor? I suspect the driving force here is cost and packaging space.
I reached out to RAM asking them why they went down this route. Here’s what they told me:
“The Hurricane is a premium engine in the company’s lineup. As such, the design team reviewed available technologies to enhance not only performance, fuel economy, and engine operation but also customer convenience. The oil level sensor allows for oil level monitoring for customers that choose not to check their oil level on a regular basis.”
I guess part of me is a little shocked that Ram had the audacity to do this in a pickup truck. Sure, most trucks are street-queens, but the people who use the trucks as trucks — the folks that Ram highlights in its commercials — you just know this is going to bother them. If Ford is sticking with a space-wasting T-handle on the F-150 because customers say they want a chunky shifter, surely truck customers say they want access to a physical dipstick, right?
@huntfordchrysler Replying to @jayja351 we are finally taking a look at this 3.0L Hurricane Inline 6-cylinder on the 25 Ram 1500! #trucktok #trucks #ram #ramtrucks
I’m honestly not sure. What I do know is that some folks on the web aren’t thrilled. Here are some replies to the above Tiktok video by HuntFordChrysler:
- Because dipsticks have been so unreliable we thought we would use a sensor because they never go bad ????
- I think doing away with the Hemi was a big mistake……
- All these manufacturers are making vehicles more and more unreliable
- 30 yrs of dodges…. no more dodges for me or my family
Of course, those types of replies are expected. What surprises me is how many folks are totally cool with this. On a Reddit thread from last month, one users wrote “The RAM 1500 is dead,” but then that person got absolutely bodied by someone defending Ram. Check this out:
Ok, that was an extremely rude comment, and that person needs some therapy. Still, the thread includes other comments like these:
Of course, that Reddit thread also includes plenty of comments decrying Ram’s move. “You won’t see to many vehicles built in 2020 in 2040” writes one user. “If it ain’t broke, fix it till it is, and then we can charge them for it,” writes another. “That’s a 100% deal breaker” quips another.
So there’s a mixed response, here.
Tim Esterdahl from Pickuptrucktalk.com managed to get a bit more info from Ram about the oil level sensor. Per his article, it’s an ultrasonic sensor that can measure level while accounting for changes in oil density as a function of temperature. But beyond temperature and level, the sensor, which is mounted up-and-down in the oil pan, cannot give any indication of oil quality. As for what happens if the sensor fails? “The vehicle can be driven, but error messages will display in the cluster associated with the specific reason for loss of function,” the article estates.
I’m extremely annoyed by this, and in some ways, it feels like it’s alienating key customers, but maybe I’m just yelling at a cloud. What do you think?
Hat tip to whichever reader sent me this tip over social media!
Citroen Sabotaged Wartime Nazi Truck Production In A Simple And Brilliant Way
Citroen Sabotaged Wartime Nazi Truck Production In A Simple And Brilliant Way
Citroen Sabotaged Wartime Nazi Truck Production In A Simple And Brilliant Way
I purchased my camper in 2021. In the ensuing years (and despite annual cleanouts as well as emptying after every trip), I’ve experienced an aggregate of roughly 14 days where my black tank sensor has indicated less than 100% full. While poo doesn’t translate to motor oil on a 1:1 basis, I can easily foresee the same opportunity for crud to accumulate on an out-of-the-way sensor in the case or oil pan, leading to either a false overfill reading or a false sense of security.
this is also what I’m thinking
I’m torn. I think the ideal solution is both a dipstick and a sensor–sensor to tell you the level; dipstick for quality if you’re treating it rough or something.
But of course, that’s also the most expensive solution. And I sure as hell don’t regularly check my oil dipstick. Since my Prius v is 12 years old I’ve been told to change the oil every 5,000 miles instead of 10,000 (like the manual specifies).
I do think having dipsticks makes sense for trucks for truck things. But as we’ve covered, trucks are sadly becoming the new SUVs.
So, broadly, I think this is expected and probably fine for most people, but understandable why it’s upsetting some of us, too. (…actually, I could probably say the same about manual transmissions…) I agree with you.
So, this reminds me of my day job as an engineer. On large rotating machinery (air blowers, compressors, turbine generators, etc.), many of which can be as large as a medium-sized American home, we don’t use dipsticks for verifying lube oil level. We have oil pressure sensors, oil level sensors (ultrasonic and displacement), oil temperature sensors, and even oil viscosity sensors, all in redundant setups. You know what else we have, because people are old and resistant to change? Level sight glasses, stuck on a bridal on the side of the oil tanks.
Do you know how often those sight glasses have saved these big machines? A lot, actually. They provide a quick means of verification of the lube oil system and quality, and allow additional trust of the oil monitoring system as a whole. Granted, those machines are tens-to-hundreds of millions of dollars, so extra layers of protection and monitoring are easy to justify, but I like having a dipstick to verify that the level sensor is doing its job.
I would love an engine oil pan with a sight glass!
Right off I can think of another issue with not having a physical dipstick. Sure the sensor tells you when the oil low, but in the case of my wife’s car, it sure as hell didn’t say when the oil was overfilled.
She took her car to a quick-change place (I always warned her not to), I won’t name any names (COUGHValvolineCOUGH) and they wouldn’t change the oil because there was a leak. So, even though the oil sensor never reported low oil, I still wanted to be sure and checked the oil level using the dipstick. Guess what, it was over 2 quarts too full. Guess who was the last ones to change the oil (COUGHValvolineCOUGH)?
So, 400$ later, the car was repaired and the unmentioned quick oil change place (COUGHValvolineCOUGH) denied it was their doing and wouldn’t cover the costs of repairs. At least my wife now takes her car to an actual and reputable mechanic.
So what happens when there’s no dipstick and the sensor doesn’t report too much oil? Someone will just go driving along thinking nothing is wrong until their engine dies.
Hell, I have several vehicles that I check the fuel level with a clean dowel rod or a paint stick!
Not as bad as a VW automatic transmission. Not only is there no dispstick, it doesn’t even have a fill hole!
Don’t you love how VW/Audi say it’s lifetime fluid. Which would be true for those Eurovan transmissions that die at 100k. The fluid does indeed remain inside for the life of the transmission as it dies in a hot, metallic death.
Some of these “improvements” make me think auto engineers and decision makers don’t actually drive.
The engineer is never the one making this decision. They are perfectly happy to keep the dipstick. It’s the “product improvement” / “seeking savings” / “economics development” whatever-insert-company-here’s term for “team of penny-pinching bastards” is, who see that by eliminating the dipstick and access port you can save $10 or something on each unit you build.
Consider the Maverick Hybrid owners that “didn’t know” a connecting rod had chosen to catch the breeze outside the engine block until the smoke and flames thing.
First they came for the manuals, and I did not speak out—because I did not drive a manual.
Then they came for the automatic transmission dipsticks, and I did not speak out—because I did not check my transmission fluid.
Then they came for the Right to Repair, and I did not speak out—because I do not wrench on my car.
Then they came for the engine oil dipsticks—and there was no oil left in the pan.
I guess that if you drive this truck they figure that your the dipstick!
A perfect description of RAM drivers
It’s really just the ones whose wheels & tires protrude well beyond the body and/or the ones who roll coal.
And the wheels are usually black. I call them asshole wheels.
*you’re
Lol at the assumption that a dipstick takes a useful measurement. It’s a “is there oil or not” device
? Doesn’t it also tell you level, and also an approximation of its quality based on color?
Actually most are rough calibrated – the distance between the top and bottom lines is one quart.
It was for me. The sensor on my wife’s car never reported the car was overfilled by the oil change place. It wasn’t until she got an oil leak and I checked the dipstick that I found out there was over 2 quarts too much oil in her car. So for me, yeah a tool for useful measurement. 😉
That’s not an assumption. That’s a fact. A dipstick gives not just one but several accurate and useful measurements.
If you can’t read a dipstick, just admit that you’re a dipstick.
I’ve been on engine programs where the dipstick measures something different on every truck despite the same volumetric oil fill. Not terribly useful in my professional opinion
Twin turbo 3.0 inline 6 with no dipstick? Shouldn’t it be called Ram 335i? Will every gasket be made of of hopes and dreams? Are we sure it’s not just an N54?
Haha, I knew I couldn’t be the only one thinking this
I’d love to have one on my Sierra. I can’t reach the dipstick without a ladder or milk crate.
I’m not short (5’8″) nor is the truck lifted.
They need to add steps that swing out from under the front bumper like they do for tailgates.
Alternatively, maybe not design trucks to be so faux-macho and bulky? The dipstick is quite easy to get to on OBS Fords or GMT400s…
Amen. Sick of all these complex engineered solutions when the simplest is just to make the thing a reasonable size.
My main issue: this seems to be a single sensor. If you had 2 for redundancy reasons I think I’d be fine with it. But, and the following statement is definitely colored by Stellantis reliability, it seems like going this route is begging for an unexpected failure mode with the sensor that’s going to end up in a massive recall.
Now granted you would hope that kind of issue is caught in engine testing. But there’s an American aviation company that might be willing to talk about the dangers of leaving critical functions to a single sensor that failed unexpected ways.
On the other hand, if it displays an error when that sensor is dead of malfunctioning, that might be a reasonable compromise?
At least, that’s how I see it. If the failure mode comes as it showing as a normal reading but doing it incorrectly, unbeknownst to the driver–that’s a problem (same as your aviation analogy).
Well the thing is you’re expecting the faulty sensor to say it’s faulty. Which requires that the sensor fail the way you expect it to. But saying that you know what “failure” looks like can be a dangerous assumption given all the ways things can fail. It’s a classic example of “things that we don’t know that we don’t know”.
Again, they hire people to figure this out so hopefully for them it is but to me the risk doesn’t feel worth it.
ram dealer: ” i’m so sorry your engine grenaded and stranded you. the oil was low so it’s not covered by the warrantee”
joeblow: “but the oil was low cuz the sensor failed, how can it not be covered?’!??”
ram dealer: “stellantis warrantee doesn’t cover switches and sensors…”
My F56 Cooper S had a “digital dipstick” and, to be completely honest, I found myself checking my oil levels more frequently.
Sitting at a grade crossing? Check the oil.
Rocking out to Foreigner before turning off the engine? Check the oil.
Waiting outside my brother-in-law’s house to pick him up because he’s always running late? Check the oil.
That said, it would have been nice to have an actual dipstick to check the condition of the oil.
Back in the early 1980s, some Renaults had an oil level gauge, which worked only when the engine was not running. They also had dipsticks.
Having once had a head gasket on one of my cars let go, with subsequent oil/water mixing, I was very grateful for a dipstick, which I fortunately checked before going for a drive. I suppose in these days where many people are addicted to staring at screens for info, this change was inevitable. But it’s short-sighted.
Not only does it bother me, I’m NOT OK WITH THIS.
This is at the level of taking out a physical glove box button and removing Android Auto. NO SALE.
A meter and dipstick are fine. But don’t take away the primary method of seeing the oil’s quality between changes, even if it’s not as useful as full analysis.
Physically looking at an oil to determine the quality of it isn’t useful at all.
It absolutely is useful if you see glitter in suspension, or it looks white from coolant in there. And those are just the two obvious things to look for. There’s a lot more you can see by putting it on blotter paper (or a white coffee filter).
Tell me you’ve never diagnosed an engine problem without saying you’ve never diagnosed an engine problem.
If I’m chasing down an engine problem, I’m not letting the lack of a dipstick stop me. Draining the oil (heck, I use a Fomoto valve, so I can just drain a tiny bit) can easily tell you what you desire.
Plus, if I’ve got a shit ton of glitter in there, I’ve got bigger issues than a dipstick. Coolant has other symptoms too.
I get it, you’ve never actually had any of these problems, you are just pretending you have.
You’re just pretending to know what I’ve experienced, and that’s pathetic.
What makes you think I’ve ever found a “shit ton” of glitter? Nope, hold it up to a light. Or put it on the white paper, then look. Both, really.
Stay clueless, my friend, and spend all your internet time criticizing others who are not.
Wait… didn’t you just say this before:
Again, what is this hypothetical situation where looking at the dipstick is going to tell you something, and what are you going to be able to do about it?
<My very best Chandler Bing impression>: Can you be any more hypocritical?
Huh? Is this sarcasm? What about the pink milkshake, water/coolant intrusion, metal, premature discoloration?
I couldn’t look at a dipstick and tell you how many miles it’s been driven by the color of the oil, but I know clean from contaminated (for most normal contaminants, I can’t run a spectral analysis with my eyes).
Even if I have bigger problems than the lack of a dipstick, it’s still frustrating and unnecessary to remove that very first, extremely simple diagnostic step. If I have glittering or milky oil, I want to know that before I think to lift the car and pull the plug. I’m definitely not doing that as readily as eyeballing a dipstick .
Some people think they know it all.
Ok, let’s go down this theoretical path.
You check the dipstick, you’ve found a strawberry milkshake of death. Now what? What are the chances you’ve caught this exactly as it has happened? That’s really the only time it might help you vs catching it at a regular oil change.
And how come you couldn’t just pop your radiator cap to check the coolant there? If you’ve got SMOD oil, you’ve got SMOD coolant.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
Yeah but the dipstick was my first clue, at the very least with the frequency of an oil change. Maybe I’m telling on myself that I don’t check my coolant as often as my oil (though recent radiator issues are slapping my hand for that), but that zip-wipe-zip check is faster and easier than the coolant cap. It’s not hurting anyone to have it.
I’m not sure I follow your point about catching it right when it happens. Short of something catastrophic, when do you any of us ever catch anything immediately? What’s wrong with having another tool in the box? Like, yeah, if there’s milky oil, there are bigger problems. Doesn’t mean the dipstick is bad or outdated just because it gives evidence to more downstream work.
Your points are coming off like “why do mammograms when you can just pop in for an MRI, because what are the odds you caught the first malignant growths right when they happened in a mammogram anyway?”
Your points are coming off like “why do mammograms when you can just pop in for an MRI, because what are the odds you caught the first malignant growths right when they happened in a mammogram anyway?”
No it’s not. Mammograms are scientific imaging processes performed in controlled environments and interpreted by experts with lengthy educations. You honestly think looking at a traces of oil on a dipstick are anything like that?
Plus, the outcomes of mammograms generally inform treatment options. Caught early, could mean a minor surgery. Caught late, major surgery and/or chemotherapy. But ultimately, humans are willing to go to great lengths to save a person’s life.
But from looking at oil with your freaking eyeballs, at what point do you determine you have too much bearing wear? Even if it’s a clear glitter bomb and shits clearly fucked, you going to pull the engine and rebuild it? If you are going to do that, what does it matter if you caught it 2,000 miles earlier? The general fix is generally the same in this case.
So again, this all comes down to people thinking they have some sort of magical eyesight that they’ll catch some problem well before it’s an actual problem. I see that as highly unlikely. If it’s a small problem, you aren’t going to notice the metal shavings, or coolant, or “premature discoloration”. It’ll go unnoticed.
I’m all ears to hear this rare situation where something is noticeable on a dipstick, but not some sort of catastrophic failure. And can’t also be easily verified some other way.
Duuuude…. calm down and go back to the Cybertruck thread.
I got you. I have your not-actually-rare situation where something is noticeable on a dipstick but not some sort of catastrophic failure, and can’t be easily verified some other way.
When I revived my f150, the oil in it was black and disgusting from sitting in a field for 10 years. I changed the oil. That oil became completely black in under 5 miles of driving due to residual gunk in the pan. I knew this because I saw the color on the dipstick. There was no other easy way to see that(crawling under the vehicle and getting a wrench and a drain container and paper towels and carefully draining a tiny bit of oil then stabbing the plug back in is NOT easy.)
I have since revived several other vehicles. Most of them suffered from exactly the same problem. And the ones that didn’t, I checked frequently and made sure they didn’t. It would have been a colossal pain in the buttocks to drain an oil sample with any kind of frequency.
And no, a dirty engine causing dirty oil is NOT just an issue with cars that have sat in a field for decades. Cars with neglected oil change intervals, cars which have PCV system problems, cars which work extra hard, cars which have worn rings or valve guides, all have this exact problem.
Did you really not think of dirty oil?
If I’m pulling a car out of a field after sitting for 10 years (I’ve done that with a ’73 Saab) I’m doing several oil changes at very short intervals until I’m comfortable with it anyways. The dipstick was only used to tell me I’ve filled it enough. Looking at what is caught in my catch pan was used to tell me if I think it’s good or not. And even then, I understood that was a huge guess since my eyes don’t possess some sort of special oil analysis capabilities.
But you’re honestly complaining about something that will happen at least 10 years (and more likely 20 years) down the road? You might as well be complaining that it’ll be hard to parts to keep your all-digital gauges running if they die 20 years down the road.
Gotta love modern car companies engineering solutions to problems that don’t exist. Why have knobs, which have existed with no issue for a century, when you could have HAPTIC SLIDERS? Who needs a *checks notes* metal rod that probably costs .50 cents to manufacture to check your oil when we could let a COMPUTER PROGRAM do it!? What could possibly go wrong?!
I feel like everything about the new Rams scream class action lawsuits. They rushed an overboosted engine into production like only Stellantis can. They’re filled with weird and complex engineering choices like this. The average dipstick who buys one will probably assume taking care of the Hurricane will be just like taking care of their 5.7.
They just seem like time bombs to me. I was initially interested in a straight 6 Charger sedan but I’m feeling less inclined due to all the issues they’re having with the Hurricanes so far/seeing perplexing decisions like this have me a little less inclined. Plus I’m sure it’ll wind up weighing 5,000 pounds anyway which will be an instant no dice.
Having owned a 2014 Durango where the assembly line put in the wrong dipstick.
FCA can screw it up no matter what they do. Where there is a will. There is a way.
Ancient Porsche 911s had both an oil level gauge and a dipstick. Why can’t we have both?
I’ve also noticed that my newer cars have dipsticks that are very difficult to read. You’ve got to remove the dipstick, wait 5 minutes, wipe it off and then dip it.
The worst is motorcycles that require the bike to be completely upright, not on the side stand, to get a proper oil level reading. And then, they don’t even come with a center stand. Nah, how about you design the damn thing to be read off the side stand when parked on a level surface.
I had a friend with an old Yamaha XT350 where you have to take a phillips screw out of the clutch cover to check the level. He didn’t know that, and he’d just fill the engine all the way to the top. It ran fine! Leaked a lot.
I like the display and it will probably serve the average person a lot better than a dipstick (though, they’d still have to bother to find it in the menu, so who nows?), but there should still be one. It’s funny how so many people don’t bother to check oil anymore, but I check it more often in modern cars not necessarily because they use more, but for the quality. The older cars I had might have leaked a little or consumed a minimal and consistent amount, but I didn’t worry about it, didn’t think about is this 5W-20 really the same as this 5W-20 in a different package as they don’t have enough of the first type? Is mine high mileage enough for high mileage? WTF is even the difference in the real world? Half the internet will tell you there’s no difference while the other half will tell you your engine will explode. With old cars, I could throw in virtually whatever, drive them overloaded and at high rpm all day, and everything would be fine and they had more gauges back then (the GR86 is pretty good with gauges, but that’s an exception). Now, the operational safety margins have been eroded down to nubs to get more hp from too small an engine to move a vehicle that has gained weight and size while meeting ever-tighter emissions targets and fuel economy averages, multiply that for performance cars and add in super sticky tires and suspensions capable of serious lateral gs that can cause oil starvation in turns and the oil choice and levels are far more critical.
On my 2015 LR4 HSE Lux (with the Jaguar supercharged V6), you’ve got to go through a lot of hoops in order to actually get it to display the oil level for you. That said…I’ve never had an issue with low oil (knock on wood).
“Has everyone lost their doggone mind?” Evidently, and that does make you sound old. I don’t think 32 is a whippersnapper, nor do I consider my 60 as old, just changed my oil and plugged a tire this week. Industrial machinery often has a glass window to easily inspect the level and color. If they want to get fancy, on screen display, put a camera on that, but give me a dipstick too. Mercedes designed their dipstick tube to function as the siphon point for an oil change, just seal to top of tube, no fishing down of tubing, and combined with top mount filter, is the easiest to change of any I’ve come across.
I mean, how much info besides level are you getting from examining the oil from a dipstick? It helps if there’s been catastrophic contamination or something but there’s a reason paranoid forum-goers send their oil for chemical analysis.
Also, despite what you might think, dipsticks are far from perfectly reliable. There have been multiple manufacturers that have recalled cars to change dipsticks after they were deemed to show incorrect levels. They also don’t account for temperature changes as is mentioned in the article.
All that being said, I want sensors and dipsticks.
As a Subaru engine owner (Porsches, too?), dipstick accuracy is definitely a concern. I only check after the engine’s been sitting several hours for the oil to drain back in from the flat heads. One thing to check with a dipstick is if you can smell gasoline. Honda in particular with their 1.5T have had oil dilution problems when used for a lot of short drives, though I wouldn’t doubt others have had that problem, too.
People thinking they can properly assess oil life by looking at what’s on a dipstick is just silly. I mean, sure, if its thick like asphalt, there’s clearly a problem, but you don’t need a dipstick to determine that.
Just because you’ve never done it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. It’s not OIL life that you’re assessing, it’s ENGINE life.
I’m not looking at oil from the dipstick to determine when to change it next, unless I see signs that I should change it early.
The only engine life you are assessing by looking at oil is knowing if it’s basically dead or not. You aren’t assessing if you’ve got 100k more miles or 20k more miles. You are basically assessing if there is a catastrophic failure or not. That’s it.
If that’s all you are doing, it can be done multiple other ways as well.
I can’t remember the last time I checked oil on a dipstick of a modern vehicle that I DD. Now, my ’65? Yeah, I check that shit all the time; basically to make sure there is oil in it. My motorcycle? I check that all the time too simply because it doesn’t get ridden as frequently. My ’18 Outback? I only check it when filling it up during an oil change to make sure I’ve put enough in. Outside of that, let that fuckin’ appliance run.
Maybe it’s because you treat your vehicles as appliances.
If you’d been checking your oil regularly for decades, you’d probably know what to look for.
But you haven’t, so you don’t. Most of what I watch for tells me whether I need to have a closer look or not.
An experienced person can tell a lot of things from the dip stick.
Lots of people are saying this in subthreads, no one has provided an example. Are you assessing viscosity visually? Color? Both of those seem unlikely to me and venture into “gut feelings”.
Does it vary by car model? How about synthetic vs conventional? 0W-20 vs 10W-40? It seems like too many variables to me. Perhaps it’s something you could come to know after driving one particular car for a long time.
Been looking at dips for over 50 years. Depending on engine, operating conditions, mileage, etc. I can tell a good bit.
Some oils will break down in viscosity.
Some oils will smell burnt if over taxed by conditions.
Color is a great indicator as well. I have almost 2 years on my oil now, (only 2k miles). Still very clean looking though.
I have run everything from a 50wt. racing oil to everything else offered over the years. Have always used the same brand though. Valvoline. Never had an oil related engine issue, so that works for me.
But I never exceed 4K between changes. I don’t trust the long mileage claims by the manufacturers though. Seen too many worn out engines that go too long between changes.
Smell is a good one – I could buy that. It would be especially useful for dilution. And it wouldn’t necessarily fall under “catastrophic” like coolant intrusion.
Viscosity, well, I’d be very impressed if your estimates of viscosity matched actual testing of viscosity. I suppose with color if you’re always using the exact same brand and type of oil you may be able to tell something, but this seems like something that could vary easily.
After 50 years racing, I can tell a lot. There are ways to determine loss of viscosity, without using a lab.
No fuss here. Experience has taught me a ton. Never an engine failure.
YMMV?
When I was a kid, first job at 14 was working for a guy who was a drag racer. Learned to build engines from him, and a ton of other stuff. 1972.
He would test his oil at the strip by using paper coffee filters. Yes. Would put a few drops of oil, fresh and used in each filter, then time the drip thru, if any. And the paper would also indicate dirt or break down as well.
No shit. Serious. This guy also set a record in class on his first ever run down the strip. He knew his stuff.
Watch Vice Grip Garage checking oil, and you will see how much information can be cleaned from checking a dipstick. It’s a lot, and a lot more than just level.
I’m not kidding, go do it, it will be an educational experience.
I’ve been wondering why cars don’t have oil sensors for years(and understanding that it is technically difficult.) Even as an enthusiast, having to remember to check oil in between changes is annoying. My MR2 Spyder didn’t seem to be burning/losing oil at all between changes, so I backed off of checking at every fill up. And then one time I check it and it’s below the dip stick. If there was a sensor I wouldn’t have to worry at all, just add a quart if it says I need to.