Hurricane engine has no dipstick

So I did my first oil change on my 2025 1500 Big Horn 4wd with the Hurricane tonight. I had to use oil filter pliers to get the filter off, but other than that it was easy. It was starting to rain, so I quickly dumped an 5 quart jug of Valvoline 0w20, and some random amount out of a second jug. I hopped in the truck, and ran it for about 90 seconds and turned it off. Then I reset the oil life monitor and checked the oil level. It said it was perfectly full, not over, not under exactly full like it said from the factory.

I took out the manual out followed the “Oil Level Display - How to Refresh” instructions on page 305 and it came back exactly half way between minimum and maximum. I drove it to my local auto parts store to dump my used oil, and repeated the refresh procedure (level ground, oil over 120F, engine off, but ignition in the “run” position for 4 minutes). Same reading. It isn’t impossible, but I find it highly unlikely that this gauge shows the actual oil level. I expect that the display will only report 4 or 5 settings that correspond to the lines on the gauge.
.IMG_0318.jpeg

There is a name for that: Lie-o-Meter

Lie detector gauge icon Truth and lie indicator Flat vector illustration
 
kd70qc said:
So I did my first oil change on my 2025 1500 Big Horn 4wd with the Hurricane tonight. I had to use oil filter pliers to get the filter off, but other than that it was easy. It was starting to rain, so I quickly dumped an 5 quart jug of Valvoline 0w20, and some random amount out of a second jug. I hopped in the truck, and ran it for about 90 seconds and turned it off. Then I reset the oil life monitor and checked the oil level. It said it was perfectly full, not over, not under exactly full like it said from the factory.

I took out the manual out followed the “Oil Level Display - How to Refresh” instructions on page 305 and it came back exactly half way between minimum and maximum. I drove it to my local auto parts store to dump my used oil, and repeated the refresh procedure (level ground, oil over 120F, engine off, but ignition in the “run” position for 4 minutes). Same reading. It isn’t impossible, but I find it highly unlikely that this gauge shows the actual oil level. I expect that the display will only report 4 or 5 settings that correspond to the lines on the gauge.
.View attachment 713

There is a name for that: Lie-o-Meter

Lie detector gauge icon Truth and lie indicator Flat vector illustration
Click to expand...
That was really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
 
So apparently, it only reads to 1 of the 7 preset levels. The manual says it is a 7.5 quart system. After looking at the oil jug in the daylight, I had put in just over 6 quarts into it last night. By the way, I had let it drain for over a half hour as I fought with the oil filter and finally drove to the auto parts store in another vehicle to buy a pair of oil filter pliers.

Today I added some more, bringing it to a total of 6-3/4 quarts. When I check the oil, I feel like I just got on the scale at my doctor’s office and they wouldn’t let me see my weight, instead they said my weight is between 175 and 250; it’s fine. Trust us.

This truck is such a mixed bag, I’m having a little buyers remorse.

The 3.0 SST is averaging about 4 mpg less than my F150 driving the same weekly routes. In all fairness, this truck 1) has 69 ft/lbs more torque 2) has a 3.92 rear end, 3) is rated to tow 3,700 lbs more than my 2.7 EB, and 4) isn’t broken in yet. But at 16 mpg hand calculated on my first tank, I’m wondering if I should have simply bought an F250 with the 6.8.

So far this SST is Super, Super, Thirsty.
 

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kd70qc said:
So apparently, it only reads to 1 of 5 preset levels. The manual says it is a 7.5 quart system. After looking at the oil jug in the daylight, I had put in just over 6 quarts into it last night. By the way, I had let it drain for over a half hour as I fought with the oil filter and finally drove to the auto parts store in another vehicle to buy a pair of oil filter pliers.

Today I added some more, bringing it to a total of 6-3/4 quarts. When I check the oil, I feel like I just got on the scale at my docotr’s office and it said my weight is between 175 and 300. Gee. Thanks.
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I’d take 175 from the doctor’s office. LOL
 
kd70qc said:
So apparently, it only reads to 1 of the 7 preset levels. The manual says it is a 7.5 quart system. After looking at the oil jug in the daylight, I had put in just over 6 quarts into it last night. By the way, I had let it drain for over a half hour as I fought with the oil filter and finally drove to the auto parts store in another vehicle to buy a pair of oil filter pliers.

Today I added some more, bringing it to a total of 6-3/4 quarts. When I check the oil, I feel like I just got on the scale at my doctor’s office and they wouldn’t let me see my weight, instead they said my weight is between 175 and 250; it’s fine. Trust us.

This truck is such a mixed bag, I’m having a little buyers remorse.

The 3.0 SST is averaging about 4 mpg less than my F150 driving the same weekly routes. In all fairness, this truck 1) has 69 ft/lbs more torque 2) has a 3.92 rear end, 3) is rated to tow 3,700 lbs more than my 2.7 EB, and 4) isn’t broken in yet. But at 16 mpg hand calculated on my first tank, I’m wondering if I should have simply bought an F250 with the 6.8.

So far this SST is Super, Super, Thirsty.
Click to expand...
I would be very surprised you get the same MPG than your 2.7L from Ford. Those are particularly good unloaded. For the F250, you would probably get closer to 12 or 13 and it would ride like a bucking horse compare to your truck .

Also, congratulations on your new truck :) Could we get a picture of it?
 
kd70qc said:
So far I like it. It is amazing how much more convenient it is to not have to reach or climb over the tailgate to get stuff into and out of the bed.
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Thanks for the feedback, I find it tie with the GM tailgate for the most interesting one. The Ram one is the easiest to access things and also load things, even with a forklift.
 
Here is my take and honest review-

I recently test drove the Ram 1500 Big Horn with the new Hurricane I6 and the power was honestly incredible, I love the power and the way it hits everything about that power is amazing!!! No turbo V6 can compare to it.
BUT... after not even a minute of driving the truck I was going to purchase, during the test drive, I got a check engine light.
The dealer said all the new Hurricane motors do that if they have been sitting on the lot for a while.
(I don't believe that for a minute. Probably some kinks that still need to be worked out motor wise, understandable.)
Then I find out this motor has no oil dip stick and I said absolutely a hard NO for me.
I'm 45 and maybe old fashioned but I thoroughly maintain all my vehicles and I do not trust sensors at all, nor do I trust dealership service departments maintaining my vehicle because most of these kids do not care about your vehicle or doing the job correctly. They just want to get you in and out and collect your cash.
So If Ram -
(PLEASE LISTEN ***RAM***)
does not add a dip stick to the Hurricane motor, then I will just go buy another Ford F150 with an Eco boost motor that's been around for a while and pretty reliable.
I owned a 2019 2.7 EcoBoost V6 F150 that I had tuned by 5 Star and it was a great truck with absolutely no issues at all except for the weird shifting 10 speed but that was all fixed with a tune and that's with me beating the ever-living crap out of it daily. It was fun :) and it has a simple dip stick to check the oil. I finally traded it in only because I like getting a new vehicle every 6 years or so.

I do love this Ram truck itself, the style and comfort is also really good and the Rams transmission in my honest opinion shifts the best, buttery smooth, so instead I leased a 2025 Ram 1500 with the 3.6 E-torque V6 for three years to give Ram a chance to fix that Hurricane motor and lack of dip stick.
The 3.6 E-torque V6 is underpowered for this truck especially coming from the F150 with the 2.7 EcoBoost V6 but for what I need it is ok and it also has a dip stick, plus surprisingly it sounds good under acceleration and the gas mileage is decent.
But, hear me out--- I'd take power and simplicity of a dip stick over gas mileage personally.
The Hemi V8 is okay, sounds nice but if I was going to buy a V8 powered truck, the Ford F150 with 5.0 V8 Coyote motor is the only V8 motor I would consider. No V8 Chevy or Ram makes in the 1500 compares to that Coyote 5.0 V8 it's just incredible. Actually, GM products are all garbage and can't compare to Ram or Ford and again just my personal experience.

I prefer the power and lower cost option of the standard output Hurricane motor to the Hemi.
But after my lease is up, if there's no dip stick on that Hurricane motor, for sure I'm going get another Ford F150.

Please Ram, simply add a dip stick to the Hurricane motor and get rid of the stupid sensor that's bound to fail and stop making thing's more complicated than they need to be. Fix the little issues with that Hurricane motor and you will steal so many GM and Ford customers that you'd have to build more plants just to keep up with production.
 
JLPZ104 said:
Here is my take and honest review-

I recently test drove the Ram 1500 Big Horn with the new Hurricane I6 and the power was honestly incredible, I love the power and the way it hits everything about that power is amazing!!! No turbo V6 can compare to it.
BUT... after not even a minute of driving the truck I was going to purchase, during the test drive, I got a check engine light.
The dealer said all the new Hurricane motors do that if they have been sitting on the lot for a while.
(I don't believe that for a minute. Probably some kinks that still need to be worked out motor wise, understandable.)
Then I find out this motor has no oil dip stick and I said absolutely a hard NO for me.
I'm 45 and maybe old fashioned but I thoroughly maintain all my vehicles and I do not trust sensors at all, nor do I trust dealership service departments maintaining my vehicle because most of these kids do not care about your vehicle or doing the job correctly. They just want to get you in and out and collect your cash.
So If Ram -
(PLEASE LISTEN ***RAM***)
does not add a dip stick to the Hurricane motor, then I will just go buy another Ford F150 with an Eco boost motor that's been around for a while and pretty reliable.
I owned a 2019 2.7 EcoBoost V6 F150 that I had tuned by 5 Star and it was a great truck with absolutely no issues at all except for the weird shifting 10 speed but that was all fixed with a tune and that's with me beating the ever-living crap out of it daily. It was fun :) and it has a simple dip stick to check the oil. I finally traded it in only because I like getting a new vehicle every 6 years or so.

I do love this Ram truck itself, the style and comfort is also really good and the Rams transmission in my honest opinion shifts the best, buttery smooth, so instead I leased a 2025 Ram 1500 with the 3.6 E-torque V6 for three years to give Ram a chance to fix that Hurricane motor and lack of dip stick.
The 3.6 E-torque V6 is underpowered for this truck especially coming from the F150 with the 2.7 EcoBoost V6 but for what I need it is ok and it also has a dip stick, plus surprisingly it sounds good under acceleration and the gas mileage is decent.
But, hear me out--- I'd take power and simplicity of a dip stick over gas mileage personally.
The Hemi V8 is okay, sounds nice but if I was going to buy a V8 powered truck, the Ford F150 with 5.0 V8 Coyote motor is the only V8 motor I would consider. No V8 Chevy or Ram makes in the 1500 compares to that Coyote 5.0 V8 it's just incredible. Actually, GM products are all garbage and can't compare to Ram or Ford and again just my personal experience.

I prefer the power and lower cost option of the standard output Hurricane motor to the Hemi.
But after my lease is up, if there's no dip stick on that Hurricane motor, for sure I'm going get another Ford F150.

Please Ram, simply add a dip stick to the Hurricane motor and get rid of the stupid sensor that's bound to fail and stop making thing's more complicated than they need to be. Fix the little issues with that Hurricane motor and you will steal so many GM and Ford customers that you'd have to build more plants just to keep up with production.
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I think I had a check engine light when it was new off the lot that went away the next day. There are two batteries. A smaller (lithium ion I think) battery for the electronics when the truck is off. I think it was related to that, and once the truck was driven and the battery level charged it was fine.

I’m with you on the dipstick. It provides so much more information than the idiot gauge that only shows 5 discreet levels, and of course you can’t see if the oil has carmelized on the dipstick or if their is moisture in the oil.

The Ford 2.7 is the most trustworthy 1/2 ton truck engine out there right now. Powerful, efficient, no cylinder deactivation, a superior block design … if mine would have had 3.73 rear end and a higher tow rating I would have kept it. The Ram has a shorter wheelbase and more cramped cabin than the F150 too.

The Ram’s instrument cluster is unquestionably best in class though. I can custom set what I want to monitor, and have detailed readings on all temps and pressures (except turbo boost). The ZF8 is a dream, and runs much cooler than the 10R80
 
Just joined, first post, etc... don't own one of these (or any other new-ish truck right now, but shopping).

Here's my educated opinion on the dipstick:
It has zero to do with sensors being more reliable (per Ram), I think it is because of the amount of boost they're shoving into the engine. I've seen naturally aspirated engines with high compression push the dipstick out, let alone packing more air into the cylinder. I agree, it should have one, but if they put one in it will likely need to be one that is threaded or otherwise latched with good seals as well.
 
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