There have been thousands of questions about the new 2025 Ram 1500 Hurricane no dipstick video we posted showing the truck will rely on a sensor instead.
If you missed the news the Hurricane 3.0-liter inline 6 twin-turbocharged engine is replacing the HEMI 5-7-liter V8 engine in all Ram 1500 trucks. There will be two varieties of the Hurricane with different horsepower and torque outputs. Both engines do not have a dipstick and will instead rely on a sensor with a dash readout of oil life and oil levels.
[Related post: 2025 Ram 1500 MPG: New Hurricane wows, disappoints]
I submitted a list of the top questions viewers asked to be addressed by engineering. My questions are in bold and their responses are in italics:
Why was the change made to not have a dipstick?
The Hurricane is a premium engine in the company’s lineup. As such, the design team reviewed available technologies to enhance not only performance, fuel economy, and engine operation but also customer convenience. The oil level sensor allows for oil level monitoring for customers that choose not to check their oil level on a regular basis.Â
How does the sensor measure the oil levels and oil life?
The oil level sensor is an ultrasonic-style sensor specific to the T6 application.
The sensor also has temperature sensing capabilities to compensate for volume changes due to oil temperature.
The sensor is not capable of measuring oil life. An algorithm using several metrics of engine/vehicle operation is used for calculating oil life. Similar algorithms have been in use on other engine applications.Â
Will the sensor detect things like antifreeze in the oil from a cracked head gasket?
No, the oil level sensor only has the capability to measure level and temperature.Â
Where is the sensor located?
The sensor is mounted vertically in the bottom of the oil pan.
What happens if the sensor stops working? (can you drive the truck?)
The vehicle can be driven, but error messages will display in the cluster associated with the specific reason for loss of function.
Additional note that would be beneficial for the article:
Owners can check their own oil by way of the Oil Level Refresh Procedure that can be found in the owner’s manual (see section below). This can be done from the comfort of the cabin without leaving the vehicle.
4 comments
L.White
Why should I have to scroll thru any menu. Fuel is required and has a live gage. Oil is required and should have a LIVE gage to be read just before a cold start. Why does the reading have to be warm? Do I have to start it up and wait until it is above 120 F, then shut down for 4 minutes and then scroll thru the menu to check my oil? WTF. I am just waiting for a good inventor to offer an aftermarket DIPSTIK. In the oil pan oil level sensor, WTF again. Can the oil pan even be removed to change this sensor? Maybe this sensor is just mounted on the outside of the oil pan with a small opening to the oil. Maybe I should buy a real horse. At least its emissions are not regulated – comes with air-conditioning and does not require a seat belt, head lights, turn signals or thermostats.
jose de anda
my engine lite turned on two weeks after i bought it,is there any fix yet. 1500 ram
DA
No dipstick for a turbocharged engine that operates at high rpm and high heat. This is just a bad idea. Next they will be telling us that its lifetime oil, just add some oil like I do my stupid made in China lawnmower engine.
This ends poorly. Anyone remember what Nissan did with the dipstick free CVT (that came with lifetime lube). Lifetime meant the life or the transmission, even if it lasted only 30,000 miles. That went well too.
Tom Magdaleno
This has to do with emissions more than anything. A bad seal on the dipstick will allow crankcase gases to vent to atmosphere instead of through the PCV. But it is still a non starter for me. Put a rubber seal on it, heck, block it off and let us do it aftermarket so only those who want it will ever mess with it! But give us an option. Any vehicle more than 10 years old or 150k miles will need more diligent checks. My problem with European cars is they are not built to last. Durability left Mercedes and Volvo in the 90s and for the others it was never there.