When I was a young adult, my dad would always ask if I'd checked my oil lately. I'd been reading a dipstick since I was too young to drive, along with other car maintenance tasks he taught me. But all these years later, I realize I have never looked for a dipstick in my current car. Not only do I get regular oil changes, but the car itself will nag me to get one when odometer reaches the recommended interval. Does it even have a dipstick?
Fewer and fewer new car models come with a dipstick at all. Instead, they have a warning on the screen if your oil level gets low. It's all run by the car's internal computer. Sure, it's a modern convenience, but internal auto computers can have their own problems, and can even stop performing some tasks. Drivers with no dipsticks have encountered problems with ever more complicated systems. Read about the death of the dipstick and what could possibly go wrong at Jalopnik.
(Image credit: Environmental Protection Agency)
