The oil dipstick, with which generations of drivers checked the level under the hood, is gradually disappearing from modern cars. In its place, manufacturers are installing sensors that measure the amount and display the result on the dashboard or in menus on the center screen. In some models, the information is available only after going through several screens, instead of by simply removing and wiping the mechanical dipstick.
The reason given by the car companies is the change in customer habits. “It's customer-oriented engineering“, says Stellantis spokesman Dale Jewett, explaining that today's consumers do not put a manual oil check among their top priorities. According to him, the sensor allows the information to be displayed every time the car is started. A similar position is expressed by Mercedes-Benz USA. Spokesman Andrew Brudnicki says the digital gauge lets drivers monitor the level on a display in front of them and receive a warning when the reading goes out of range. The company says this can help prevent damage caused by insufficient oil.
The mechanical dipstick looks simple, but the markings vary from car to car. Some dipsticks have holes or lines, others rely on "minimum" and "maximum" markings, and still others have the scale on a plastic tip. For an inexperienced owner, this can make checking and topping up a source of error.
Accuracy also depends on the conditions. The car must be on a level surface, and differences between a cold and warm engine can change the reading. Even the angle at which the dipstick is viewed matters. Mercedes-Benz USA says that digital measurement is less dependent on driver skill and inaccurate readings.
It's not just low oil that's a risk
Michael Crosson, head of test projects at Consumer Reports, also points out the opposite problem. If a driver sees a low level and adds oil without proper judgment, they could overfill the engine. That's also undesirable, especially when the manufacturer requires a specific type of oil and the owner is using an available product with different characteristics.
There's another reason why manufacturers are limiting access under the hood. More and more cars are hybrids and use high-voltage systems, which increases safety concerns if an untrained driver interferes. At the same time, if a car already has an electronic fluid monitoring system, a mechanical check becomes a redundant component.
This doesn't mean that all new cars are without a stick. The change happens gradually and depends on the model, engine and manufacturer. For the owner, however, the result is clear: instead of relying on a universal mechanical procedure, he must follow the instructions of the specific car and monitor the warnings of its electronic system.
Sources: carscoops.com