Many vehicles now have electronic readings for engine oil level, and thats great as many drivers wouldn't check the level if it meant raising the bonnet, so a good system in my book.
In truck land its got to this stage too, and in some cases the dipstick is disappearing completely, though often there is a dipstick still available but it means tilting the cab to get to it, something many companies do not want drivers getting involved in, understandable.
Some Iveco Stralis trucks you have to actually tilt the cab to put oil in, and seeing they drink the stuff is about as daft as you can get.
I have no problem with the electronic reading so long as a physical means via dipstick is easily available.
Have been driving some rented trucks the last few weeks and the electric dipsticks haven't worked or work intermittently, goodness knows how low the oil level is getting on these.
I cover my backside by defecting them..;)
But thats not the reason for this post.
Has your car still got a dipstick that can be used if the dash display fails to operate?
Would you buy a car with no dipstick with your own money, would you be happy to not be able to actually inspect the oil condition/colour yourself?
I almost certain two regular posters here don't have dipsticks, though a Heath Robinson dipstick can be made up to suit...without looking now do you all know at this very moment if you can check the oil manually?
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The laguna had a perfect system, oil level displayed for 10 seconds at every switch on, AND a dipstick. It was still working perfectly some three years and 47k miles later when I destroyed the rest of the car.
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My XR3i had one. Completely unreliable as anything other than brand new oil caused it to misread the level.
The things might be better now though.
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Merc has done 8000 miles-ish now. Oil level showing 75% of max on the dipstick which is where it was when I checked it on delivery with 200 miles on the odometer. Keep thinking I should top it up but as it's not moved maybe it's fine.
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>>Merc has done 8000 miles-ish now. Oil level showing 75% of max on the dipstick which is where it was when I checked it on delivery with 200 miles on the odometer
Sweet - that means the rate of oil consumption is matching the rate of fuel-oil dilution perfectly
;-)
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My Citroen BX had an oil level thingy on the dashboard - I did use it, but I'd double check on the dipstick afterward,
Apart from checking the oil level I like to see the oil condition as well (petrol)
So no - I wouldn't be a happy bunny if there wasn't a dipstick at all at all.
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my citroen 1.6d has a 5se light on dash when started but a dipstick aswell which i check once a month
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>> my citroen 1.6d has a 5se light on dash when started but a dipstick aswell
>> which i check once a month
>>
How do you get on with the Citroën arrangement nyx2k ?
I find the plastic dipstick in SWMBO 1.6d of chocolate fireguard use.
The metal blade in my Volvo can be removed, inserted and again removed without disturbing the oil on the blade. The plastic effort in the Citroën smears and drags oil all over the place, may as well cap off the dipstick and save the cost of the installation.
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>> How do you get on with the Citroën arrangement nyx2k ?
>> I find the plastic dipstick in SWMBO 1.6d of chocolate fireguard use.
>>
>> The metal blade in my Volvo can be removed, inserted and again removed without disturbing
>> the oil on the blade. The plastic effort in the Citroën smears and drags oil
>> all over the place, may as well cap off the dipstick and save the cost
>> of the installation.
>>
it is pretty useless as it bends and scrapes the oil from the blade.m lucky that in 40k miles it has never needed a top up.
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>>The plastic effort in the Citroën smears and drags oil all over the place, may as well cap off the dipstick and save the cost of the installation. <<
Well at least you still have an end!
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I've heard a few have dropped off requiring removal of the sump to retrieve the lost part.
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>> I've heard a few have dropped off requiring removal of the sump to retrieve the lost part.
Someone's 306 at work has part of the dipstick in the engine somewhere, due to the end part snapping off.
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The Scenic I had as a hire car a few years ago in Capetown was a pain.
( I had to park it every overnight on a steep road.)
On start up each morning the low oil warning light came on plus other lit up instructions.
So it was drive down the road , stop, switch off, pause, now restart engauge gear (sounds like rugby scrum instructions)
This reset things until the next park on a hill event.
The basic sysem was OK .
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Humphs Merc oil usage above reminds me of instructions we had with Merc Axor tractor units.
(Incidentally Hump, is that via dipstick or dash gauge?)
Not supposed to put any engine oil in until the reading tells you that 6 litres are required, then top up, not before.
Quite what this was about i don't have the foggiest idea, but that was the specific instruction, always puzzled me why, any thoughts?.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Mon 2 Jan 12 at 13:51
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Dipstick GB ( not you ! )
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Just reminded me, on my recent 2.0Dci Qashqai the dipstick is actually attached to the underside of the oil filler cap. Took me a fair amount of head scratching to find it the first time I decided to do a manual check. It even flummoxed my Bentley engineer neighbour who is usually the fount of all automotive knowledge. It also had an electronic readout on the dash and I fairly quickly realised that like my previous Mondeo it didn't need oil between services. In fact the only car I've had in donkey's years which did was the Signum 2.2 petrol.
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My Peugeot displays OIL OK for 5 seconds after start up. It does have a dipstick, however the 0W30 oil it uses is almost impossible to see on it & the tortuous route the dipstick takes coming out seems to wipe most of it off anyway. This is my 7th car witth an electronic check system and i have never had one let me down yet, so i rarely check it manually anyway.
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The English used to have a tendency to keep the oil topped up right to the max mark on the dipstick, if not beyond. One of the reasons why a dealer mod for the Mk1 Austin 1800 was a dipstick with lower markings as the English were over filling resulting in the oil being burnt. This was discovered by the fact that cars exported to Australia didn't burn oil - the Australians as race didn't over maintain.
I'd not be too surprised if the picture was now different with many motorists treating the underbonnet as an alien country to be avoided at all costs.
Recent cars I've bought have said no top up is needed until the oil level is below 1/2 way between max and min, and only 1/2 the level quantity between max and min to be used. In other words, don't overfill.
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I had a 3 ltr Capri years ago that burned oil via the valve guides hence dipsick always showing a low oil level,
I resolved the problem by fitting a longer dipstick.
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Both my Vectra-C's have a low oil level light and dipstick.
In my previous Vec-C however the light would come on while I still had plenty of oil left in the engine (half way between max & min markings indicated on the dipstick). However, when I mentioned it to the garage, they found the engine had the wrong length dipstick fitted (approx 2½ cm too long) and the oil level light was actually operating correctly. The dipstick was too long and meant for the 2.2 direct injection engine (Z22YH), not the Z22SE engine.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 2 Jan 12 at 14:55
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Xantia and Berlingo both have dipsticks and electronic level indicators.
The Xantia's is just an orange warning light that flashes on start if the level is low. Operates if I park across a steep slope but rarely if at all otherwise. Berlingo has a more sophisticated 'bar graph' display. Usually shows full but occasionaly goes haywire and indicates a low level.
Dispsticks get checked regularly. Neither car is a known 'user' so that probably means once a fortnight. Any leakage either as drips on the drive or internal (blue smoke) would be noticed.
In either car an unexpected electronic message would prompt a pretty rapid dipstick check
Would be very reluctant to have anything without a dipstick.
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C5 flashes up "oil level correct" at each start up for a few seconds. Useless plastic dipstick, but at least it has one. Never topped up the oil in 22K (1 service).
The Sharan has a warning to top up the oil which lights up on the dash when the dipstick hits min - only came on once just before first longlife service - about 18K. Now on 78K and aparts from that once have never topped up.
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It's about time a system was in cars to cut the engine dead when the oil/coolant levels were critically low to cause damage, of course it won't happen it's a money maker.
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>> It's about time a system was in cars to cut the engine dead>>
Many years ago I had that happen when the points broke. Not funny at 70ish in lane two of a busy dual carriageway with no hard shoulder.
It might just be a safety and legal issue rather than money making.
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>> It's about time a system was in cars to cut the engine dead>>
My '80s Austin Ambassador had the oil pressure sensor linked to the electric fuel pump. It was bypassed by the starter solenoid. I wired it as an anti-theft to a hidden switch that also zeroed the fuel gauge.
I once got nearly a mile down the road before the engine cut and I remembered!
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The Rover SD1 V8 had a sensor that would cut the engine if the oil pressure fell below a certain point. The only problem was that this sensor was about as reliable as the rest of the car and often failed causing the car to die for no reason !
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>> The Rover SD1 V8 had a sensor >>
Thats fair enough, the engine is going to stop (seize) soon anyway.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Mon 2 Jan 12 at 19:21
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>> >> The Rover SD1 V8 had a sensor >>
The Rover V8 was a fabulously strong and reliable lump. It had a tendency to chew cams if oil changes were lacking but it was never going to seize.
All the electrical bits to enable it to run would fail tho.,
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>> >> >> The Rover SD1 V8 had a sensor >>
>>
>> The Rover V8 was a fabulously strong and reliable lump. It had a tendency to
>> chew cams if oil changes were lacking but it was never going to seize.
>>
>> All the electrical bits to enable it to run would fail tho.,
>>
Not even an SD1 will run for long without oil.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Mon 2 Jan 12 at 20:14
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My Astra has a plastic dip stick, and to make it even better it is orange coloured which makes oil changes less than fun as you can barely see how far up fresh the oil is.
And you can forget checking the level in low light.
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The E90 BMW 318i petrol I had as a temporary company car had an electronic oil level monitor instead of a conventional dipstick, which would have been fine if the system wasn't completely hopeless. Instead of giving an instant, static level reading on engine start up like most of these systems, it needed the engine to be running for between 2-3 minutes, and then relied on you accessing the appropriate option on the computer menu to see it.
The 318d that replaced it has a conventional dipstick, with no electronic level monitoring.
The Golf has a black plastic dipstick, which is a rather thoughtless piece of design on a diesel engine that blacks its oil within 30 seconds of the first post change startup. Makes 'at a glance' readings impossible.
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The X1 has a dipstick and a low oil warning light. The BMW bike I have has a sight glass and the system DP describes.
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>> The E90 BMW 318i petrol I had as a temporary company car had an electronic
>> oil level monitor instead of a conventional dipstick, which would have been fine if the
>> system wasn't completely hopeless. Instead of giving an instant, static level reading on engine start
>> up like most of these systems, it needed the engine to be running for between
>> 2-3 minutes, and then relied on you accessing the appropriate option on the computer menu
>> to see it.
>>
As per our 120i it is actually quite clever, it is monitoring the level real time though would still tell you if the level was low upon inserting the ignition "key".
>> The 318d that replaced it has a conventional dipstick, with no electronic level monitoring.
>>
Are you sure? The 123d has a dipstick and monitoring.
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My 330d had both an electronic gauge accessed via the trip computer / driver information system and a dipstick. I assume that it would have told me if it needed oil, in any case the electronic gauge and the conventional dipstick always seemed to tally (I regularly checked both). It used virtually no oil anyhow - unlike my 170PD A4 which regularly asked for oil via the information display (the helpful dealer suggested that waiting for such requests was a normal operating procedure).
Incidentally, the 330d's owners manual implied that only 4 cylinder cars had the electronic gauge and that 6 cylinder ones used a conventional dipstick.
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>> As per our 120i it is actually quite clever,
Unneccessarily so, in my opinion. A static reading on engine startup is instant and works well. Static readings are how engine oil has been checked for decades without issue. Apart from the odd, extremely unlikely scenario (small hole in sump or oil cooler, and an alert driver), I can't see what value real time monitoring adds in the real world.
>> Are you sure? The 123d has a dipstick and monitoring.
Quite sure. Oil level is not displayed in the computer. I tried to check it using the monitor the day I got it, and the oil level option is not there.
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>> My Astra has a plastic dip stick,
What year Astra RR? All Vauxhalls I've owned have had metal dipsticks.
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>> What year Astra RR? All Vauxhalls I've owned have had metal dipsticks.
>>
'97 Astra F.
Actually it's a metal rod but with the attached calibrated section in plastic.
Last edited by: Robin Regal on Mon 2 Jan 12 at 21:56
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>> Actually it's a metal rod but with the attached calibrated section in plastic.
I think you'll find it's metal throughout, with a plastic coating. I suspect it was once yellow, but has dulled over the years to an orange colour.
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 3 Jan 12 at 00:47
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>> And you can forget checking the level in low light.
I dip the Mondeo's oil every time I see it parked on the level, in daylight, with a cold engine. Which is about once a week. It only has an old-fashioned dipstick, which I prefer.
Some of the lorries I drive (Merc Atego, Iveco Cargo) display a readout at start-up, but they vary from full to minus 3 litres depending on the vehicle's attitude, in both senses of the word. As long as it shows full when it's been parked on level ground for a good while, I don't worry.
Dad's 5-cylinder diesel C-Class has an electronic readout only. Now at 97k miles, never been a problem.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Mon 2 Jan 12 at 23:20
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Comments on BMWs above, also the '98 Clio system is great, a 30sec message upon start up informing as to the level plus a dipstick to check.
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Oil level checking is increasingly irrelevant.
I've not needed to top-up since my last banger more than 20 years ago.
Still check it now and again.
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The point of opening the bonnet and checking the oil regularly isn't to confirm that the engine never uses any oil.
It's to keep the bonnet hinges and catch from sticking so that it works when you really do want it, also to glance at the state of belts and hoses and spot anything that might be amiss.
Having dipped the oil old mechanics then apply the drip on the end of the stick to anything prone to sticking - throttle cable, linkage, heater control, etc.
Then after replacing the stick he gives the distributor cap and leads a brief wipe, then the battery terminals.
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>> Then after replacing the stick he gives the distributor cap and leads a brief wipe,
Gosh he must have wiped mine away, cant find them.
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A regular look-see under the bonnet is worthwhile.
Not that you can see a lot in most modern cars unless you also remove the plastic dustbin lid cover on top of the engine.
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>> It's to keep the bonnet hinges and catch from sticking so that it works when you really do want it
You can do that while refilling windscreen washer :-)
I've been bit lazy lately. Previously I used to check oil level every fortnightly or so. Now probably check once in a month.
A bit nuisance is that auto transmission fluid should be checked only when engine is hot. This makes checking both ATF and engine oil at same time impossible.
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>> Oil level checking is increasingly irrelevant.
Due to the way DPFs regenerate on some cars (like my old Mazda6) the oil level can rise. If it gets too high the turbo ingests the oil (diluted with diesel) and runs on that. It then can disintegrate and end up in the engine. Expensive.
Someone near us over Christmas overfilled a Volvo (diesel I presume) and it continued running after it stopped, producing lots of smoke. the next day it was taken away to the scrap yard. It was on a 53 plate.
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Both the C8 and the C3 have dash oil level indications for 5 secs after start up, and proper dipsticks. I wouldn't be keen on a car with no dipstick but I could be persuaded. After all, we're a long way from dipping the fuel tank to check the contents, or hunting for a reserve tap, aren't we?
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>After all, we're a long way from dipping the fuel
>> tank to check the contents, or hunting for a reserve tap, aren't we?
>>
The difference is you know how many miles your car will do between fill ups, and if the gauge is still reading full after 200 miles you know that there is a fault somewhere.
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I change my oil so frequently, it's not worth checking the level apart from when I refill during an oil change.
I have had low oil warning feature on all cars for 20 years but they have never come on.
Current Audi A8 has a graphical level that I never check as it is down the hierarchy of a menu, as well as a traditional dipstick.
Wife's 10 year old Merc has no dipstick, just the electronic thing and this is always at 100%.
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>> The difference is you know how many miles your car will do between fill ups,
>> and if the gauge is still reading full after 200 miles you know that there
>> is a fault somewhere.
And running out of fuel is unlikely to do lasting damage.
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Electronic oil level checking - Zero
