Volkswagen Dipstick moan

Mines the same, bloody s**te.

Nige wibbled on Saturday 09 January 2010 11:00

Yep - Touran again.

The best way is to pull it out, wipe the end absolutely dry with a clean rag or tissue, then wipe the rest of the stick upwards just to remove any yuk.

Reinsert and withdraw and immediately hold on its side under a good light (eg sidelights if stuck by the road). Look for the wet edge (hopefully) between the round bits.

But, yes, I agree - worst design ever. Much better off with a bit of metal strip. If they'd coloured the plastic yellow instead of black it would help.

on 09/01/2010, JohnW supposed :

Might a series of small holes drilled along the length of the flat help?

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember JohnW saying something like:

Some are painted white, but it would be a bit of a gamble using any old white. Be interesting to find out which white paint it is.

Holding it up to the light works for me.

My Passat is the same, easy enough in sunlight, terrible in any other light.

Yes the current range is hard to read- the one with the ball thing at the top. On a TDI (with the usual black oil) a black dipstick isn't the best choice. It usually takes 2 or 3 goes onmy Leon.

It's not flat. It's cylindrical, and varies in diameter, with a spherical section at the top. It's also quite thin.