Worst dipstick ever?

M

medunko

Joined
Jan 18, 2023
Messages
185
Location
Europe, Bulgaria
what’s your bad experience reading oil on the dispstick when the oil is new one?
That’s definitely Toyota Corolla- when the new oil is transparent by default is really difficult to read the full mark….talking about 2004 year model.
 
blufeb95 said:
I hate any car where the dipstick goes down through the valve cover through an oil return passage, they're pretty much useless unless the engine has set all night.
Click to expand...
A little bit off topic Toyota recommends measuring oil after 5 min after reaching operative temperature.:)
 
When transparent, place a small piece of paper towel on the end of the stick, the the line where the oil stops will be clear.
 
I had a Subaru Forester (I know...it seemed like a good idea at the time) that was impossible to check with any accuracy. Check it six times and I would get 6 different readings. I eventually just put the correct amount of oil in it and closed the hood.
 
Everyone's sweating this (almost) for nothing. You leave it overnight and make an allowance for a rise due to temp. You gain experience what that rise is with semi-dirty oil. On a roadtrip with brand new oil, well, you start at full and any drop should be minimal due to boiled-off moisture 'cuz it's clean/new oil...

Am I right?

BTW... '17 Mazda6. I suffer this in spades...
 
A few previous threads on this topic:

Hard to read dipstick

My scion XA's plastic dipstick is literally the same color as motor oil. almost impossible to read unless the lighting is just perfect. I also have a 99 Saab in which the dipstick has a black plastic ball at the end. I guess if the plastic ball area is wet the oil level is fine but very...
bobistheoilguy.com

Difficulty reading dipstick to accurately check oil level?

I don't know if it's the oil, the color, how thin it seems, etc., but I'm having a really tough time actually seeing how much oil is on the dipstick! I need your help/advice. I have a new 2019 Toyota Tacoma with the 3.5L, V6 motor. I drove my truck on a few errands around town to get the motor...
bobistheoilguy.com

Reading a Dipstick

17 Corolla has the hardest dipstick to read with new oil. 4.4 qts, had a 5qt jug, trying to tell where it's at, and it gets smeared above the holes, empty in the middle but oil above and below the dry spot. Ugh. Annoying. In about a month and thousand miles the oil should be dark enough to see...
bobistheoilguy.com

Why can't I read the dip stick?!

Recently bought a 1979 Chevy truck with the 350 engine. When I pull the dip stick, hot or cold, sitting for minutes or days, I can't read anything. The entire stick is covered with oil with no defineable line. The only time I can read it is if it's been sitting overnight and I pull the stick...
bobistheoilguy.com

I'm having trouble with my dipstick!

Is it me, or do others have trouble reading their dipsticks? On my '95 Grand Marquis and my Crown Vic before it I just can't get a clean reading on the stick no matter what I do. There is no such thing as a clean straight across line--there is always oil smeared all up the stick unless there is...
bobistheoilguy.com

Dipstick from [censored]

I can never get a clear read from the oil dipstick on my 2013 Grand Caravan. It is the flat metal variety with a hashed section marked "safe". It can be inserted into the dipstick tube two ways (180 degrees from each other) with the hash markings and little bump facing the inside radius of...
bobistheoilguy.com

Dipstick design - no, hear me out!

My new-to-me Mini came with the worst dipstick I have ever encountered. I've seen some beauties that made reading the level difficult with clean oil, usually because of shallow hatch marks. Mini's dipstick is engineered to smear the measuring section whenever you remove the dipstick. It looks...
bobistheoilguy.com

Does your dipstick have a dark coating?

I like to see the condition of the oil as well as the level but some manufacturers put a dark coating on the dipstick making it hard to tell. This is on a Honda but I removed the coating on the business end to be able to see the condition. Why do they do that?
bobistheoilguy.com
 
Worst dipstick I've ever seen or used is on my 2015 Canyon. They couldn't just make it a simple blade. They had to make it a cable with a pot-metal fishing weight at the end. Almost impossible to read when the oil is new. If you accidentally overfill, you can't tell by how much because the top line on the fishing weight is about 3 mm from where it attaches to the cable. WAY over-thought, to the consumers' detriment.
 
sounds more like the fault of the clear oil than the dipstick. maybe the oil makers should add some dye to the oil.
 
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