No, see, they just relocated the dipstick. You can locate it just behind the steering wheel, right above the driver's seat.
this post was submitted on 23 May 2025
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PEBKAC.
PEBCAC (car and chair lol)
My wife has a 2016 Honda Odyssey, and having grown up working on cars because my dad was a mechanic, I was shocked to learn that there is no transmission fluid dip stick. It's considered a closed system and never needs to have the fluid changed, allegedly.
reinventing the wheel in the DUMBEST way possible at best.
planned obsolescence when the sensors or the head gasket inevitably fail at worst.
I've had a car with where the oil pressure sensor failed; combine that with an oil leak, and you quickly have a major problem. So, what happens when the sensor telling you the oil level fails? A dipstick is extremely unlikely to ever fail to work correctly, so...?
You would think an engineer would understand this.... I assume this is a decision from management.
"Grok told me this was the right thing. Nom nom, this superglue bathsalt pizza is delicious"
Oil is essential. However, those manufacturers that claim you have to change synthetic oil three times a year are full of shit.
Depends on how much you drive, and what the recommended interval is. If the interval is 7k miles, and you drive 18k in a year, yeah, you need to change the oil 3x/year.
It seems to me that counting the number of cycles each makes, and basing your intervals off that would make more sense than mileage. If I'm constantly running at high RPM, that should require more frequent oil changes in terms of mileage.
I know it can last longer than that, but I think there is a benefit to doing so even if it doesn't need changed that often. It's the same reason I have my mechanic do my oil changes instead of doing them myself. It's so that they can look at the rest of the car and let me know about problems before they become a much more expensive fix. Kinda like going to a doctor for a yearly checkup and blood work.
I can fix almost anything on a car if I know what the issue is and have the shop manual, but I don't work on cars enough to know all warning signs or quickly diagnose things.
However, I do realize how difficult it can be to find a mechanic that is trustworthy, competent, and reasonably priced. I'm generally not a fan of dealership mechanics or the places that are dedicated to cheap oil changes. Not saying none of them have good mechanics, but it can be hit or miss.
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"
I mean, I honestly don't have a problem with a notification telling me I need to top off my oil, or telling me I've driven enough that it is time for the scheduled maintenance. I just also want to be able to manually check the oil level with a dip stick.
To be fair, when you drive a dangerous vehicle on a public road, you're not only putting yourself in danger...
I'm not saying that we shouldn't ever trust people to do their own repairs, but just thought i'd play devil's advocate
I mean, yeah, most people probably don't know what they're doing but does that mean that no one should be able to fix their own stuff any more?
I would argue that it adds a new failure point, and a catastrophic one at that.
Yes, many hunans don't monitor their oil properly. I've seen some destroy engines because they thought the low oil light could be ignored for a week.
Even if you still had the dipstick, owners would become reliant on the sensor and grenade the engine when it gets it wrong. Remember how Teslas had hoods that flew open while driving? The problem wasn't the latch. The problem was owners relying on a crappy sensor.
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I've wondered this for a while and this seems like a good time to ask: Do electric cars use motor oil in the same way as an internal combustion vehicle? Like do you need to get oil changes in an all electric the same way and have a need for a dipstick?
i have oil in the differential that needs occasional replacement
Electric cars do have oil that will ultimately need changing but it's less exposed to contaminants than the engine oil in a internal combustion engine and therefore will last a lot longer. EVs typically have a reduction gearbox and differential and these will require oil changes in a similar fashion to a manual gearbox or differential in a ICE vehicle - i.e. barring exceptional circumstances it will last long enough to get out of warranty but don't believe it will never need changing.
It still has oil in the transmission. And yes, you are supposed to change it occasionally because its high slip friction oil that burns over time.
Nope. The only fluid I worry about in my EV is windshield wiper fluid.
Eventually, you'll have to top up your blinker fluid as well.
Oh, dip!
(Pun intended)
And the blinker one right? EVs still have that afaik.
Got my mechanic to replace the transmission fluid in mine after 80,000km, cost $90NZD
I'm not sure if this is universally true but I've never seen a fully electric vehicle that uses motor oil. Hybrid vehicles with an internal combustion engine and an electric drive train would still need it, of course.
Not having to take my car for oil changes is bliss.
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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.
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Just forcing more people towards mechanics. Can’t see levels or if there might be an issue with a lubricant, so if you burn up a transmission, guess you gotta buy a new one.
Because manufacturers are scummy, that's why.
If you can't check the oil, you can't complain to the dealer can you ? Once the warranty's over good luck proving anything.
They're not that dumb.
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
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My wife’s electric car doesn’t have a dipstick.
Unless you're sitting in it. ;)
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.
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.
That is absolutely piss-poor design. But definitely a BMW thing to do.
I mean, easily catching fire is a thing since German tanks in WWII, so yes.
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
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