Checking the oil this morning I noticed the plastic bracket securing the top of the dip stick tube had fractured - it looks a bit weedy.

I'm loath to return it to the dealers, as it looks messy to replace such a simple thing, and then it will break again.

I'm going to make a steel clip to secure the top of the tube to the block - has anyone had this problem before?

Who you calling a dipstick?

Who you calling a dipstick?

Can you put yourself in your own "naughty corner" Graham?

Obviously no one on here has had this problem - I'll make a bracket and sort it out (patent pending) :think:

I've had my yeti three weeks and haven't opened the bonnet yet Might have a look later. Not that it'll mean much to me.

Is there a dipstick fitted?

Not found it, or even looked for it in 22,500 miles.

The car has sensors to tell me if the oil is low. That will do me.

But I have the oil changed every 10,000 miles or so, so not so much of a worry compared to those on variable servicing.

Is there a dipstick fitted?

Not found it, or even looked for it in 22,500 miles.

The car has sensors to tell me if the oil is low. That will do me.

But I have the oil changed every 10,000 miles or so, so not so much of a worry compared to those on variable servicing.

Forgive me, I'm not being funny, but "is there a dipstick fitted" - gasp of amazement

Checking the oil level on a new car is essential during the "running in" period, whatever you may think. Once it has settled down, then checks every few months is fine.

Windscreen wash fluid/engine oil/tyre pressure checks etc should be part of routine checking. I'm sure that the low oil sensor works just fine and that the oil loss rate is such that an annual service will cover it safely, but total reliance on electronic sensors on what is still a relatively crude mechanical device (the engine) is unwise - in my GOM (grumpy old man) view.

I checked it from new only to find the oil level wanted topping up (thank you dealer), and this was my second pull on the dipstick since January.

Apologies if this sounds condescending, but life experiences tell me not to trust everything you read about when it comes to safety related mechanical devices.

I agree.

Checking the car over, including the oil, is a good habit to get into.

Not had problems with the bracket yet though.

This isn't a new trend. People have been steadily doing less and less in the way of checking their machines. Sensors and increasingly well controlled manufacture of engines coupled with long life oils and extended service intervals together have the effect of discouraging operator responsibility. Longer warranty periods contribute as well.

Modern vehicles are designed increasingly for the lease/contract hire market where the user of the vehicle is just that and the second hand market is heavily loaded with vehicles where the accountant who designed the service regime and the accountant who authorised the acquisition have no continuing interest in the health of the vehicle.

The manufacturers would all be happy if their vehicles disintegrated once beyond the point their original users have replaced them as they want to sell new ones.

Skoda buy their customer services from an outsourcing company and their dealers are a mixed bunch-some not much more than warranty/service suppliers with fitters who are not able to do more than the computer tells them to do.

Enthusiast forums are the last toe hold of those who care on this slippery slope.

I can't imagine anyone not checking their oil level, you spend thousands on buying a motor and then rely on a light coming on to tell when something is low, what about washer fluid and expansion tank or brake fluid, surely they must be checked as a routine.

I doubt I check the oil level more than once a month, and probably less often than that.

Washer fluid gets topped up when the light comes on, since you can't check the level, or when we are going on a long journey.

I don't think I've looked at the header tank or hydraulic reservoir since before we went to France earlier this year.

And yes I expect people to be up-in-arms about that, but experience with modern cars has shown me that there is very little need to check these things. Whether that will change when Dewi has done nearer 100k might be different, but then I will be getiing it serviced locally and possibly more often.

Right then appropriately chastised, I hunted down the bonnet release and checked the oil. After 2000 miles, top of the measure so that's fine. Had a poke about, found the battery appears to enclosed in a velcro sleeve, some bolts are already going rusty and nothing else in there made any sense at all. So I closed it gently and decided not to worry about anything. Well not anything Yeti anyway...

The wooden spoon worked. :lol:

It's good to talk somebody once said (in a TV Advert)