Because manufacturers are scummy, that's why.
this post was submitted on 23 May 2025
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This proactive approach helps to avert potential engine damage
Ah yes, the old "you're too stupid to do anything by yourself, so we kindly prevent you from trying"
Back when I worked at a BMW store we had to, after changing the oil, start up the vehicle and get it up to temperature before it would give us a reading. Several times the vehicle caught on fire for some reason during this process. So fucking stupid.
The real reason is that owners would not reseat the dipstick properly, which would cause a vacuum leak and a lean fuel mixture that would trigger the CEL.
But you can't expect Jalopnik writers to know basic facts like this.
Why the clickbait? Just put why in the title or post description
New Cars Don't All Come With Dipsticks Anymore Because Of Digital Oil Level Measurement
My wife’s electric car doesn’t have a dipstick.
Unless you're sitting in it. ;)
I hate all these automatic sensors in new cars. I don't usually buy new cars, I get ones that are a few years used. Almost all of them have a light on the dash for a "tire error" because the stupid sensor has died and no one in their right mind wants to spend $300 to replace a thing that tells you your tire pressure is low. Plus, the things die in a few years anyway.
I just do the Homer Simpson solution and put a bit of black tape over the tire error light.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
At that time, Chrysler was owned by Daimler and shared a lot of stuff with Mercedes.
Isn’t that the point? The service department makes more money.
Your first line made me laugh out loud!
And yes, the enshitification is real.
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
I like you!
next to the blinker fluid tank
On the bottom of it actually
The article is really lazy about citing its sources.
many cars don't come with dipsticks anymore. Some sources say
Are these some sources in the room with us?
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.
This is like an eighth grader padding out a book report.
But in actuality, it's because a lot of things are going digital.
Tl;dr: Here's a higher quality source: Why the Reliable Dipstick is Sliding into Obsolescence
Sounds like a scam by big oil to sell more oil.
I don't like it because:
- I want to look at the oil and smell it, not just check the level.
- I don't know the failure modes for the sensor, so I can't trust that the absence of a complaint from it means the oil level is correct.
Exactly
Right now there is no better detection system than in
- Seeing the oil level
- seeing the oil color
- smelling the oil content
- feeling the oil viscosity and any contamination
This sounds like an old Mercedes problem: Why even having a dipstick when there isn't any drain bolt? The Mechanic sucks all the oil from the top using a vacuum. Grime buildup down in the oil pan? Ain't care! The car will break anyway, once it's out of warranty.
the vacuum oil change is a standard in watercraft, so its not that revolutionary
I hated raising my VW Jetta so I would oil change it with a hand pump vacuum, it worked great
Knowing the exact oil level is very important for new cars. The piston rings are now made of softer metal to get a few more mpgs. If you overfill oil, you will get blow by, damage the rings, and start burning oil. Toyota now has an involved process of changing oil, running the engine, then topping off the oil while the engine is hot so as to not overfill. But not even my dealer follows that official procedure Toyota put in their manual.
my 2008 BMW doesn't have a dipstick
my 2008 BMW doesn't have a dipstick
Sure it does, it is in the driver's seat.
it's a sweet silver E93 with no damage and still under 75k miles. It's a sweet transformer!
It only cost $12k but looks and drives like a $50k car
Wrong. That's dipshit. Subtle difference.
My cyber truck doesn't have a dipstick and I'm mad as hell about it. I bought it to feel like more of a man and I feel like less of man without a dipstick.
I thought the dipstick in a cybertruck is usually found behind the steering wheel
it's still got at least one or two USB ports, you could still plug in Lil trythis
Because I run electric?