New cars absolutely do have dipsticks; they’re the ones designing them.
Notwithstanding the potential for software bugs or other issues inherent with monitoring oil levels only digitally, monitoring just the oil level is not the sole purpose of the dipstick. Being able to physically see a sample of the engine oil is a vital diagnostic tool and can alert an owner or mechanic to a head gasket problem or other oil contamination issue, or if something is grinding metal shavings into the oil, etc.
For what it’s worth I have yet to actually physically see a new vehicle without an oil dipstick. I guess they’re out there, but so far I’ve been lucky. But I have already had quite a few automatic transmission equipped cars without a transmission dipstick cross my path, and that’s already enough of a pain in the ass. If you’re lucky there’s a side plug in the transmission case you can use to check the fluid condition and level (after crawling under the vehicle…) but in a lot of cases there isn’t even that – your only recourse is to drop the transmission pan off entirely, which causes you to lose all the fluid in the process. And you’ll probably also have to replace the gasket while you’re at it. Needless to say, this is an incredibly moronic design decision.
I thought it was hilarious when I saw that Briggs and Stratton has been selling small engines featuring “no oil changes needed” (or possible). They advertise that it’s “oiled for the life of the engine” … well, by definition, yes, that’s like saying “if you light a man on fire he’ll be warm for the rest of his life”. These companies are so predatory and transparently trying to turn durable products into disposable replacement services, it’s unbelievable.
Can confirm; I used to manage a hardware store with an attached small engine repair shop. There’s a reason Briggs and Stratton abbreviates so readily to “BS.”
They’ve been trying to do the absolute bare minimum possible to maximize profits and making their machines flimsy and deliberately uneconomical to repair for several decades, now. All I can say is that we ought to be thankful for aftermarket parts.
IMO Briggs started losing their way with those automatic throttle engines that always wind up surging over and over for me. BRRRRrrrr BRRRRrrrr BRRRrrrr over and over.
IIRC that’s eithera damaged fuel pump diaphragm or a sticking auto choke valve. Either way its like 10 minutes and less than 1$ to fix using a common Phillips screwdriver.
For what it’s worth I have yet to actually physically see a new vehicle without an oil dipstick.
It seems to be mostly a euro thing. BMW stopped using oil dipsticks nearly 2 decades ago. Land Rover also somewhere in the late 00’s.
But I agree it’s a moronic idea. Not only does it prevent you from checking oil condition like you said; if it’s after an oil change, it takes about 15min just to check the level (and another 15 if you messed it up). At $150+/hr shop rates, that adds up.
It seems to be mostly a euro thing. BMW stopped using oil dipsticks nearly 2 decades ago.
I was about to make this joke: “That’s just not true. My 2008 BMW had a… holy shit, that car is nearly 2 decades old now.” Then I went to confirm, and that car did NOT have a dipstick. The car came with 5 years of “free” service and never gave me a day of trouble, so I never realized it didn’t have a dipstick. That’s probably a major reason it was removed, since even a DIYer like me who likes to work on things myself never even tried to use the dipstick in 4 years.
I used to be a lube tech in a different life 15 years ago and would occasionally see vehicles without dipsticks. Like you said the German brands like BMW and Mercedes but also Chrysler vehicles like the 300 and Magnum had a tube for the transmission dipstick but no dipstick inside of it just a cap on the tube.
My wife has a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The AC condenser got a leak in it and it was going to be over $2k to fix in a shop. I took it on myself to save money. The condenser mounts to the back of the radiator, so I had to get at it by removing the bumper and everything between that and the engine block. Also attached part of the radiator is the transmission cooler. Unhooking everything meant that I was going to lose some fluids, but that was fine, I’d top them off and pay to have refrigerant added.
After I reassembled, I when to check the trans fluid levels, and couldn’t find the dipstick. It turns out, like you said, if you crawl under the vehicle, on the back of the trans pan is a bolt you can remove, and if you have a special dipstick that you buy separately for this sole purpose, you can stick it in there to check levels. There’s not way to add fluid without pumping it in there, but at least you can see how much you have.
Since I only lost less than a quart, I took it into the shop, explained what’s up, and asked for it to be topped off. The shop guy calls back later, and told me that to do the trans fluid, the filter is only sold with a whole new pan, and because Chrysler, the fluid cost like $40 a qt, and I needed like 15 to fill it. It still cost more than $800 to just do that, then more than $500 for the refrigerant. I still saved about $500-1k in parts and labor for what I did, but, the lack of dipstick and fill tube was an extremely inconvenient and expensive thing.
if you crawl under the vehicle, on the back of the trans pan is a bolt you can remove, and if you have a special dipstick that you buy separately for this sole purpose, you can stick it in there to check levels.
You don’t need a disptick, you just fill it until it starts coming out of the hole. Lots of heavy equipment works this way.
Also attached part of the radiator is the transmission cooler.
I love this design, this way when your radiator starts to fail you get water in your transmission and destroy it with the strawberry milkshake of doom.
New cars absolutely do have dipsticks; they’re the ones designing them.
Notwithstanding the potential for software bugs or other issues inherent with monitoring oil levels only digitally, monitoring just the oil level is not the sole purpose of the dipstick. Being able to physically see a sample of the engine oil is a vital diagnostic tool and can alert an owner or mechanic to a head gasket problem or other oil contamination issue, or if something is grinding metal shavings into the oil, etc.
For what it’s worth I have yet to actually physically see a new vehicle without an oil dipstick. I guess they’re out there, but so far I’ve been lucky. But I have already had quite a few automatic transmission equipped cars without a transmission dipstick cross my path, and that’s already enough of a pain in the ass. If you’re lucky there’s a side plug in the transmission case you can use to check the fluid condition and level (after crawling under the vehicle…) but in a lot of cases there isn’t even that – your only recourse is to drop the transmission pan off entirely, which causes you to lose all the fluid in the process. And you’ll probably also have to replace the gasket while you’re at it. Needless to say, this is an incredibly moronic design decision.
I thought it was hilarious when I saw that Briggs and Stratton has been selling small engines featuring “no oil changes needed” (or possible). They advertise that it’s “oiled for the life of the engine” … well, by definition, yes, that’s like saying “if you light a man on fire he’ll be warm for the rest of his life”. These companies are so predatory and transparently trying to turn durable products into disposable replacement services, it’s unbelievable.
Can confirm; I used to manage a hardware store with an attached small engine repair shop. There’s a reason Briggs and Stratton abbreviates so readily to “BS.”
They’ve been trying to do the absolute bare minimum possible to maximize profits and making their machines flimsy and deliberately uneconomical to repair for several decades, now. All I can say is that we ought to be thankful for aftermarket parts.
IMO Briggs started losing their way with those automatic throttle engines that always wind up surging over and over for me. BRRRRrrrr BRRRRrrrr BRRRrrrr over and over.
IIRC that’s eithera damaged fuel pump diaphragm or a sticking auto choke valve. Either way its like 10 minutes and less than 1$ to fix using a common Phillips screwdriver.
It seems to be mostly a euro thing. BMW stopped using oil dipsticks nearly 2 decades ago. Land Rover also somewhere in the late 00’s.
But I agree it’s a moronic idea. Not only does it prevent you from checking oil condition like you said; if it’s after an oil change, it takes about 15min just to check the level (and another 15 if you messed it up). At $150+/hr shop rates, that adds up.
I was about to make this joke: “That’s just not true. My 2008 BMW had a… holy shit, that car is nearly 2 decades old now.” Then I went to confirm, and that car did NOT have a dipstick. The car came with 5 years of “free” service and never gave me a day of trouble, so I never realized it didn’t have a dipstick. That’s probably a major reason it was removed, since even a DIYer like me who likes to work on things myself never even tried to use the dipstick in 4 years.
Do you take it to the shop for oil changes then? I check my dipstick every time?
I used to be a lube tech in a different life 15 years ago and would occasionally see vehicles without dipsticks. Like you said the German brands like BMW and Mercedes but also Chrysler vehicles like the 300 and Magnum had a tube for the transmission dipstick but no dipstick inside of it just a cap on the tube.
At that time, Chrysler was owned by Daimler and shared a lot of stuff with Mercedes.
The NAG1 transmission some 300s used in Europe at least, is in fact the venerable Mercedes 722.6
That transmission was used in the US as well, before they switched to a ZF trans.
Isn’t that the point? The service department makes more money.
My wife has a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The AC condenser got a leak in it and it was going to be over $2k to fix in a shop. I took it on myself to save money. The condenser mounts to the back of the radiator, so I had to get at it by removing the bumper and everything between that and the engine block. Also attached part of the radiator is the transmission cooler. Unhooking everything meant that I was going to lose some fluids, but that was fine, I’d top them off and pay to have refrigerant added.
After I reassembled, I when to check the trans fluid levels, and couldn’t find the dipstick. It turns out, like you said, if you crawl under the vehicle, on the back of the trans pan is a bolt you can remove, and if you have a special dipstick that you buy separately for this sole purpose, you can stick it in there to check levels. There’s not way to add fluid without pumping it in there, but at least you can see how much you have.
Since I only lost less than a quart, I took it into the shop, explained what’s up, and asked for it to be topped off. The shop guy calls back later, and told me that to do the trans fluid, the filter is only sold with a whole new pan, and because Chrysler, the fluid cost like $40 a qt, and I needed like 15 to fill it. It still cost more than $800 to just do that, then more than $500 for the refrigerant. I still saved about $500-1k in parts and labor for what I did, but, the lack of dipstick and fill tube was an extremely inconvenient and expensive thing.
You don’t need a disptick, you just fill it until it starts coming out of the hole. Lots of heavy equipment works this way.
You just check it with your finger. Then you use a container with a tube and squeeze the fluid in until it overflows.
And if you manage to position yourself right you can get a face full of gear oil.
Note: make sure you’re further away than you think you have to be, oil doesn’t always flow how you’d expect.
Jeremy Hunt knows what’s up
I love this design, this way when your radiator starts to fail you get water in your transmission and destroy it with the strawberry milkshake of doom.
Like 99% of automatic transmission vehicles have a radiator built this way. Even my 1995 Camry had a radiator like that (manual transmission though).
Well the good news is your trans should last a little longer now that some of the fluid has been replaced.
Why would you put a dipstick in a EV? Sounds like a good design decision to me.
I think we can all safely assume that EV’s are not relevant to this discussion.
Just to fuck with people I’d put one on the blinkers
next to the blinker fluid tank
On the bottom of it actually
I like you!
Hey I appreciate it :-)
Your first line made me laugh out loud!
And yes, the enshitification is real.