Hurricane engine has no dipstick

testerdahl

testerdahl

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Ok guys, what's your thoughts on the 2025 Ram 1500 Hurricane engine having no dipstick. This also applies to the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. Basically all Hurricane inline 6 engines won't have it.

I posted a YouTube short, Instagram Reel and Tik Tok video. They are all blowing up with the Tik Tok seemingly on fire. (See graphic below)

The comments range from no dipstick, no sale to BMW, Mercedes, Volvo have been doing this for years, so no big deal.

I did have a friend reach out to share a story on a Jeep Wagoneer being stranded at the dealership for a week. Dealer thought it was a bad sensor and it turns out they overfilled the oil during an oil change. Apparently, they looked at the wrong spec chart for the engine. With no way to actually check the oil physically and the computer simply stating the engine oil was "full," it took time to actually figure out the issue. My response was I doubt this will be the last time we hear a story like that.

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NMTRUCKER said:
You should ask the chief engineer for this engine why did he think this was a good idea? And does he actually think no one does their own maintenance anymore? A huge design miss in my book.
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I did ask him in the video interview. He said the sensor was much better at analyzing oil life than a dipstick.
 
NMTRUCKER said:
I use the dipstick to check the oil level and not the oil life. Using the oil life analogy, then, is there a sensor in the transmission pan that measures the lifespan of the tranny fluid for those vehicle that don’t have a tranny dipstick? I don’t think there is and if so why not? Just sayin’. If you didn’t have a dipstick in your High Country diesel how would you know when to add oil? I guess the hurricane engine doesn’t use any oil then. To me that a whole lot of bull💩. Most engine designers will admit that all engines burn oil. As they say it’s physics.
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I don't really mind if it works. According to the manual, it truly shows you the level of oil in there at all time. It does caution to warm the engine first before checking it though. The oil life monitor is a separate readout. But I look at it as just another convenience like anything else that has been simplified. Like the light sensor so I don't touch a light switch anymore, TPMS so I can see at a glance if anything has changed, etc. I think most people don't like it because it's "different". Just like when TPMS came out.
 
“I think most people don't like it because it's "different".”

I can only speak for myself, but i don’t like it because a sensor can fail, or give a false reading. A dipstick will never fail, or give a false reading. Bad move on stellantis’s part, imo.
 
testerdahl said:
I did ask him in the video interview. He said the sensor was much better at analyzing oil life than a dipstick.
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Since when was a dipstick used for oil analysis? Sure, you can see how dark the oil has gotten but nobody i know of can look at oil on a dipstick and say “ok, the oil has about 27% life left.” Leaves me with no confidence in this engineer or his design.
 
Max Henry said:
Since when was a dipstick used for oil analysis? Sure, you can see how dark the oil has gotten but nobody i know of can look at oil on a dipstick and say “ok, the oil has about 27% life left.” Leaves me with no confidence in this engineer or his design.
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We used to take oil samples from the dipstick tube for analysis. Did it mainly for large equipment, but also on pickups and other light vehicles. Sent them to the CAT dealers for analysis. We had a small tube with a syringe like device to collect the sample. There's really no other practical way to do it without dumping the oil. I've never sampled oil on my personal trucks without changing it or installing a drain valve instead of plug on the pan.
 
Max Henry said:
Since when was a dipstick used for oil analysis? Sure, you can see how dark the oil has gotten but nobody i know of can look at oil on a dipstick and say “ok, the oil has about 27% life left.” Leaves me with no confidence in this engineer or his design.
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Sorry I should have added oil life AND oil level.
 
Max Henry said:
Since when was a dipstick used for oil analysis? Sure, you can see how dark the oil has gotten but nobody i know of can look at oil on a dipstick and say “ok, the oil has about 27% life left.” Leaves me with no confidence in this engineer or his design.
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That's funny because that's one of the complaints for the lack of dipstick. So many people say they use the dipstick to identify whether it has coolant in it or if it smells burned. It will definitely put a damper on the shops that have the oil vacuum tools for oil changes...lol.
 
I had a gut feeling there would be issues with electronic dipsticks. I can see advantages too, but when you see this picture, what do you think? I guess it depends if you really can’t drive until the sensor clears the warning.
 

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If your engine fails,and the computer registered a low oil level . or missed oil change Stellantis will void warranty . If they added a dipstick ,you could argue the level was ok . Then it would be up to a judge .
 
Interesting reddit post yesterday. A Ram technician had to tear down a new 3.0 Hurricane. Bad connecting rod bearing. Shit happens but the interesting part was how it took ten hours to get the motor torn down to that point. Apparently, the cab must be lifted up and off to get the 3.0 out. Can't imagine trying that without a lift.
 
TFL just did that low speed towing test they are now calling the Toaster with a RAM 1500. At the end they got a low oil pressure light. I suspect it was the low viscosity oil being really hot and not making the pressure it normally would. However, they pointed out the lack of a dipstick prevented them for looking at the oil to see what condition it was in. I prefer a dipstick for the trans too just for that reason.
 
duggydo said:
TFL just did that low speed towing test they are now calling the Toaster with a RAM 1500. At the end they got a low oil pressure light. I suspect it was the low viscosity oil being really hot and not making the pressure it normally would. However, they pointed out the lack of a dipstick prevented them for looking at the oil to see what condition it was in. I prefer a dipstick for the trans too just for that reason.
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It's a tough one for sure. I know different engines consume oil at different rates, I typically add a quart at the mid-point of an oil change cycle in my 6.2 consistently. I keep a couple under the back seat and pull the dipstick occasionally as I tow a travel trailer quite a bit. I'm not only looking for the amount of oil but the state it's in. I would be uncomfortable with a truck I couldn't do that in. Checking the oil and a few other things is part of my pre-trip process when getting ready to head out camping or go over the WA mountains, which I do a lot.
 
The engine seems to be performing well, but man the no dipstick is a killer and I'm glad TFL was able to get the warning on camera. Can't wait to get RAM's explanation for this.

Looking at the 2025 owner's manual, there's not recommendation to use heavier oil while towing. The only oils approved are 0W-20 for the SO and 0W-40 for the HO. They do mention 5W-30 when talking about only using API certified oil but it does not mention using it under the maintenance section or the towing section.

Toyota does mention that you can use heavier oil if you do not have access to them, but only for one oil change. Nothing for the RAM.
 
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