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
If only we could post pictures I would post the old “weird nerd jumps in front of gun to save Elon” simpsons meme, but instead it would be anti dipstickers jumping in to protect Stellantis. Seriously Stellantis can add an oil sensor all they want, stop defending them for making an obvious greedy move. Dipsticks and sensors are not mutually exclusive.
I could check a dipstick far quicker than I could navigate those fucking menus.
Continuing the Mopar tradition of deliberately adding complication and new exciting failure points.
I hope this stupid thing is built better than the ABS tone rings on my ex-Challenger. Instead of iron or steel tone rings that last forever, they wrap a rubber band with magnets embedded in it around the CV joint, don’t paint anything, and the tone ring falls off.
Can you buy a new rubber-magnet-band? Sure, it’s called an Axle Assembly. Motherfuckers.
I don’t like it at all, BUT I am beginning to understand why they are doing this.
Tim from Pickup Truck Talk just did an interview with a guy from Valvoline and they talked about oil change intervals and oil life expectancy.
Why 10,000-mile oil changes exist: Valvoline explains (pickuptrucktalk.com)
And now Castrol has an oil they advertise being able to go 25,000 miles OR one year between oil changes and it had a warranty for the engine. (New vehicles only, of course.)
MOTOR OIL BRANDS | Castrol® USA
So if multiple companies come out with oil lasting up to a year without changing than yes, i understand that checking your oil will become a lost art. To be honest, I knew a few people who never checked their oil anyway.
Will I still choose an engine with a dipstick over one with a sensor? Hell Yeah! But I see sensor replacement being the future for third owners when they get that new to them car or truck. Luckily, Ram put it in the oil pan.
Any oil can last a year or more without changing. I drive 3000-5000 miles a year, and I change my oil about every 12 months.
Yeah, that’s been the standard for a long time, I’ve seen it in air-cooled VW repair manuals from the 60s and 70s from when you really did need to change your oil every 3000 miles.
I change the oil in the Beetle and in my Sportwagen yearly because neither car racks up enough miles in a year for a mileage-based change. (3,000 mile interval for the Beetle, 10,000 miles for the Sportwagen).
That is amazing that you drive so few miles. The average mileage for the United States is 14,263 according to The Zebra.
Average miles driven per year in the U.S. (2022) (thezebra.com)
No sir, I don’t like it.
My Sprinter doesn’t have a crankcase oil dipstick. I can check oil level from the digital display on the dash. It seems accurate.
Back in the day, I heard all kinds of stories about dipsticks varying in lengths because the vendors they bought them from had poor quality control.
I overfilled my crankcase once by what I thought was an insignificant amount. The dash whined at me until I corrected the matter. I suppose I trust electronic sensors more than I trust a piece of metal that may or may not have been manufactured correctly. At least an electronic sensor will throw an error when it goes wrong.
Don’t worry, it has lifetime oil! Oh wait, that’s the EV.
Why not both? I don’t want to lose the dipstick, but I like the idea of a sensor and a digital readout. I can’t imagine the cost savings of leaving out the dipstick is significant.
That’s just what I was thinking. The sensors and warnings are a nice improvement, but a dipstick is so dead-simple of an item, they should provide that as well.
I’d want the dipstick for verifying I put the right amount in. “Add 1 qt” or “add 2 qt” is not specific enough for my brain. And even if I didn’t change my own oil, I’d want the dipstick for verifying the outfit I just had do the job for me did it correctly. (Been burned a time or two there.)
I don’t mind the idea of the sensor AND a dipstick, but no dipstick just seems wrong. Could be an aftermarket opportunity for somebody.
So another sensor/system that’s a future possible failure instead of a GOD DAMN METAL STICK that will outlast the truck for less money than the new system.. got it. I hate the modern world.
Rams have had the oil level sensors for years now dude. They just deleted the dipstick because the amount of owners who actually open the hood is single digits. These trucks are 55-90 thousand dollars now they are luxury automobiles now not farm implements.
They added a few extra steps to what used to be a two step process (open hood and pull stick out). I don’t even know from the procedure if the car has to be running or not. If the car has to be running, then how long? With the stick, you could do it cold. This is all designed to wreck the engine by blaming the customer for lack of maintenance. I guess people have enough disposable income to run out and spend another 50k on a vehicle.
This is exactly why people are keeping their older vehicles.
How is this so different from a gas gauge?
Because, as the author wrote, you do not check your gas for quality. You may and lots of mechanically inclined people do, check the oil not only for the levels, but also for its condition, color, smell, and may even send some to a company that performs analysis on it to diagnose the condition of the engine.
Most folks do that during an oil change.
Most folks have never changed their oil, and while many have also not touched their dipstick, there is a certain percentage of people who do check their dipstick but do not change their own oil. I am often one of them because I do not have the ramps needed to easily get under my car, but it also burns oil under certain conditions like the high heat of summer.
I do change my own oil cheap bastard that I am. That also allows me the opportunity to check the magnet on the drain plug. I don’t bother with analysis though
I’ve never had good luck with ramps as they always slip when I’m trying to get up on them and they are annoyingly easy to overshoot. Junk.
Jacks take too long and are heavy. So I just change the oil in my OEM height cars without ramps or jacks. Its tight but its totally doable. I have the OEM drain plugs too. It would be even easier with Fumoto valve.
Other folks have had good luck changing oil on the street by driving one side up on the curb to increase clearance.
YMMV of course. If DIY is totally out of the question I imagine you can just ask whoever changes your oil for a sample and/or look under the filler cap.
Given this is a full sized pickup truck its owners may not need ramps or jacks. When I DIYd my XJ there was plenty of clearance.
In my Mazda 6 it’s impossible to change the oil without jacks or ramps.
On my Honda Odyssey I can change the oil and transmission fluid without too much difficulty but I’ve never done it without spillage.
YMMY. A stock Mazda 6 has a ground clearance of 4.9″-6.7″. I have no problem changing oil in my Mazda 5 with its 5.5″ of ground clearance.
https://www.autopadre.com/ground-clearance/mazda-6
https://www.autopadre.com/ground-clearance/mazda-5
Its tight but doable, even with having to remove the splash guard.
Do you have to use a sub menu to check your gas?
No but I check my gas level several times per trip.
How many times per trip do you pull over and pop your hood to check your oil?
You’re trying to compare two completely different things. Oh, wait, I see how you’re connecting the two…. you get gas from oil!
This is a comparison of two fluids critical for the operation of the engine. One of which is consumed within a few hundred miles thus needing constant monitoring. Folks haven’t used a dipstick to check that fluid in almost a hundred years. I personally HAVE used a dipstick to check gasoline levels. I prefer a working gauge. A gauge is fine.
The other fluid generally isn’t consumed, just replaced. Quality control can be performed simply by checking the drained fluid or looking under the fill cap. A gauge is fine for this fluid too.
If the sensor or computer or screen has an issue and you run out of gas, it is at most a few hundred dollars for roadside assistance.
If the sensor or computer or screen has an issue and you run out of oil, it is potentially tens of thousands of dollars for a new motor. Yes, some newer Mopar engines are really that expensive.
That’s the difference.
Also, it is extremely practical, cheap, and easy for an engine to retain the manual backup method of checking oil. A backup fuel level checker is not especially practical or easy to implement.
I’m with you on this. I check the oil on each of my ICE vehicles 3 – 4 times a year. So yeah. Now one more thing on my list of things to check for before buying a car.
On a truck this really matters because towing stresses the hell out of the engine and I’ve changed the oil without regard to the interval after a summer of towing in extreme heat after noticing that engine oil and transmission fluid looked cooked.
My Mercedes-Benz is within a hair of 119,000 miles.
I have used the dipstick exactly once – and that was to make sure that the quart of oil I put in the car when the car told me it needed a quart of oil was sufficient.
And it was.
So knowing that – when the car tells me it needs oil, I put in a quart – and it’s satisfied.
simple as that right? In modern day we use computers for EVERYTHING but use a computer for your oil level and everybody loses their minds.
I guess it’s fine, and probably won’t matter. I think the main issue is, we’re seeing this concept of “you’ll pay more for a product with less features” mentality in everything these days. A good example would be iPhones shipping without chargers.
Except this isn’t “less features” it’s automation of a previously manual feature.
Yes but it’s reliance on software and sensors, which are not fail proof. If the infotainment system glitches, you can’t access the feature anymore (or they make it a paid feature to unlock). I work in tech and I’d prefer my mechanical things to have a mechanical option. Like a stick that tells me the same information but verifiably.
Mercedes Sprinter: oil level is the first that pops up after engine start. Really? Did you get this upset when trannies lost their dipsticks?
Anyone who has had the “pleasure” of changing the transmission in a dipstickless vehicle probably would be upset. It’s not fun, it’s much more dangerous and only to save $1 per car.
Bonus: most cars have no transmission “sensor” so your level could be low or degraded and you would never know until it’s too late. Does this sell more cars? Call me a conspiracy theorist if you must but it’s sketchy.
Yes, I did get this mad(almost, since engine oil is much more likely to need checking) when transmissions lost their dipsticks. Because that was moronic too.
having owned 2 cars with the digital dipstick, its not a big deal. I think the backlash is for the sake of outrage
That’s a hard no from me. Every fluid in an automobile should have a reliable way to check the level of said fluid.
Want to get rid of the dipstick? Okay, give me a clear tube with notches representing the oil level, and have it involve no electronics whatsoever.
My model T (I am old) had two little petcock valves arranged at different levels on the oil pan. If oil came out the top you had too much, if no oil came out the bottom you had too little. Worked just like God and Henry Ford intended….but honestly this lack of a dipstick is such a non-issue at this point. You’ll learn way more about how an engines has been cared for looking down the fill tube than at the oil on the dipstick.
My favorite quote about the Model T came from Wallace Stegner who said that men of a certain generation knew more about how to correctly adjust the points on their Model Ts (coil point gap) than they did about the workings of their wives’ vulvas.
Do you know about how it works? The points gap thing obviously. Any input about how females operate would also be useful of course,
90% of the time it works 10% of the time… on both. Actually, I know little about Model Ts. I’m married, so there’s that. Not sure that makes me an expert in anything.
To be fair they probably got more constructive feedback from their cars.
No one gets upset if you knock a part of your car loose with a hammer.
What was the last car you had that had a easy way to verify transmission fluid level? Most modern cars require a way more convoluted process of warming it up, shifting through gears, and then opening the fill port to see if it overflows. If it doesn’t, you need to pump until it does. Oh, and make sure the stuff you are adding is in a certain temperature window too.
99.99% of people check their oil never. Honestly I prefer this because as someone that has owned a large number of used cars, at least this ensures that the driver knows the oil is low before the “too late” light comes on. Which car would you rather buy used? Also I am an old guy.
You have just explained this concept to me in a way I can finally accept it. Thank you!
Most cars tell you when to change the oil these days, yet they still have a dipstick. What is wrong with that world exactly? Maybe I want my car running well longer than the average buyer, which quite frankly, drives the car maybe until the end of their payment schedule then trades it in for a new one. I do not do this. Maybe a lot of people on this site do that, but I suspect a respectable percentage are more like me–buy used at cheaper prices and baby it, or buy new and baby it for many years.
the majority of cars if your oil light comes on your engine is torpedoed because it does not have granular data on your oil level it only knows that you are SUPER LOW NOW PULL OVER. 50/50 chance if you see this light it is too late something has gone wrong. If you don’t pull over and call a tow truck and think “hey i’ll check this when i get home” your engine will probably be ruined for sure. This ram can tell you granularly how many ounces of oil is in your engine. At a glance, without leaving the driver’s seat. It is going to tell you to add a quart when you are a quart low and force you to add oil to it by blinking and being annoying every time you start your engine “hey idiot add oil you big dummy!”
People are going insane over this for no reason “how dare a computer tell me my oil level i use my own eyeballs to check my oil.” come on man. “this is one more thing to break” All modern engines have some sort of oil sensor this is just a better one. Welcome to the 21st century!
It would be nice to also have a dipstick but the facts are that most people check their oil never. The dipstick is a vestigial organ of times past when people actually took care of their vehicles better and maintained their cars and checked that stuff.
I’m not talking about the oil light. I’m talking about the car alerting you that you’ve driven its expected interval for an oil change. Nearly every car made in the last decade does this.
Imagine how many altimas would be saved from oil starvation if they had this feature!
None, they will just somehow keep driving with a siezed engine 20 over the limit like a Christmas miracle.
With no plates and one or more pieces of bodywork missing of course.
almost all of them probably… realistically probably half of them.
I’m sure it’s yet another way for Carlos Tavares to give himself a bigger bonus that he doesn’t deserve.
There’s no way that some monetary factor of cutting corners did not be one of the reasons why this was done.
you are more likely to see a warning light on your dash than you are to open the hood and check the oil on a regular basis. I’m cool with this as an old guy.
I recently purchased a used 2004 Mercedes CLK 500 and it doesn’t have a dip stick. Same as the RAM, oil level is checked on the display between the gauges.
Curios…the ex had an 2.0 A4 without a dipstick. Mind you it had a dipstick tube. And it burned a quart of oil every 500 miles. And the Audi dealer put the wrong oil in it 2x times causing 18k in damage, but I digress. As the dipstick tube was there, you could be from Audi a ‘tool’ for manually checking oil level (which looked like a damn dipstick.) Does the Huricane have a dipstick tube?
I have two BMWs with no dipstick. I could not care less. At best, even as a big car dork, I might check the oil once every couple of months. The BMWs are checking the oil level before allowing the motor to start, then nearly continuously after it’s running. When it gets a qt/liter low, it pops up a message that says “add oil”. If I really care to see what it is at some point, a couple of button presses and there it is without opening the hood. They hold almost 8qts, being a quart low doesn’t matter at all. And they don’t use any oil anyway.
It’s just like not having a temperature gauge – I don’t care, the computer is watching the temps FAR more reliably than I am, I am watching the ROAD. If there is a problem it will tell me in no uncertain terms.
also most temp “gauges” on cars just has red on one side blue on the other and then a little line in the middle. it’s about useless other than if you had an issue you could watch the needle slowly , or quickly, move to the red. but there are no actual numbers. that could be a 20 degree sweep or a 100 degree sweep you will never know! I would like stats as to how many times this year people outraged over the lack of dipstick actually check their own oil. I’m going to check my oil today because the realization that this is the last automobile that has a dipstick has just struck me like a sack of bricks.
Most modern cars temp gauges are so damped they might as well be idiot lights. They point to the middle until about a nanosecond before there’s a problem.
And in the case of a BMW that has a computer controlled thermostat and varies what is “normal” over a massively wide range of temperatures, one would be all but meaningless.
I’m with you on this one David, this seems like a big miss in the name of some marginal cost savings. The manufacturer probably doesn’t care what happens when these trucks age beyond their warranty lifespan.
But still, these will be a pain to buy used. You can’t pull the dipstick to check color, smell, carbon deposits, possible coolant contamination, gas dilution, etc.
How will you even do a pre-purchase inspection, you’re supposed to pull the oil pan now?
For a BMW or other “premium” stuff this is fine, but this is a work truck, there’s nothing premium about it even with the fancy trims.
“You can’t pull the dipstick to check color, smell, carbon deposits, possible coolant contamination, gas dilution, etc.”
You can however look under the filler cap. You can also look at the drained oil during an oil change.
yup! just stick your finger in the filler cap.
these aren’t work trucks they are luxury vehicles for wealthy people. Sure SOME of them are used for some work but not many compared to paul the middle manager who commutes in his Laramie longhorn.
Genuinely curious, as my car doesn’t have a dipstick, but is also my first dry sump system: do dry sumps ever have dipsticks?
I have only dealt with two, a Buell and an early ‘00s Honda Rubicon ATV, both of those had a dipstick on the oil tank. Both only read correctly when up to operating temp. I am solidly pro-dipstick for checking oil condition for those that are willing, but I will admit I did have to fix the Buell mentioned because it was topped off to satisfy the dipstick when cold by the owner (my sister actually) leaving it grossly overfilled when up to temperature. Caused oil to flood the PCV, soak the air filter, and stall it out when warmed up
I believe you normally check oil fill in the reservoir, using a sight glass or just looking down the cap. But most dry sump systems use a much greater quantity of oil and are very insensitive to small variations in fill level like wet sumps are.