2027 Chevy Silverado And GMC Sierra V8s Ditch The Oil DipstickAutoblogDan MihalascuThu, September 17, 2026 at 12:15 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleAutoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.Traditional truck buyers were relieved to find out the all-new 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty pickups offer not just one but two naturally aspirated V8 engines.Both engines are part of GM's new sixth-generation small-block V8 family, with a new 5.7-liter unit replacing the old 5.3-liter and a high-output 6.6-liter motor replacing the old 6.2-liter.GM's Gen 6 V8s Have A Digital Oil Level GaugeGMCThat's great news for diehard pickup fans at a time when other automakers are switching to turbocharged six-cylinders in their half-ton trucks. That said, there's a development on the new Gen 6 engines that many loyalists are likely to resent deeply: both V8 motors lack physical oil dipsticks.AdvertisementAdvertisementSay what? For truck buyers, many of which are people who generally like to tinker on their vehicles, this does not sound right. Yet that's true, as mentioned by The Verge in a story focusing on the 2027 Chevy Silverado's infotainment system.What has the dipstick got to do with the infotainment, you might ask? Well, according to the report, the oil dipstick on the Gen 6 V8 engines is replaced by a digital measurement displayed on the truck's status screen.That's the only reference to the dipstick in the article, but The Drive dug deeper and got official confirmation from GM that the 5.7-liter and 6.6-liter V8s will not get a dipstick from the factory. Interestingly, the 2.7-liter TurboMax four-cylinder and the 3.0-liter Duramax diesel will continue to include a dipstick.It May Not Seem Like A Big Deal, But For Many It IsClose-Up Of Man Checking Car Engine Oil Level On DipstickIt's worth noting that many new vehicles are not equipped with oil dipsticks anymore, including the Ram 1500 powered by the 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six, one of the main rivals for GM's Silverado and Sierra trucks.AdvertisementAdvertisementStill, many pickup buyers are likely to be outraged by GM's decision as not offering a simple check tool on a truck is quite shocking. As The Drive points out, pickups have a reputation for simplicity and easy DIY maintenance, so not offering a dipstick is certainly weird.Not having a dipstick means 2027 Silverado and Sierra owners will not be able to check the physical color or dirtiness of the engine oil. In the wake of GM's recall of nearly 600,000 trucks and SUVs equipped with the 6.2L V8 L87 engine—for which the official fix is to use higher-viscosity oil—that does not sound very reassuring.Not to mention that you can always rely on a physical dipstick to do the job it was designed for, while a digital oil level gauge does not inspire that much confidence. Plus, if the dipstick gets broken, you can replace it for small change, something that probably cannot be said about a failing digital measurement tool.GMCThis story was originally published by Autoblog on Sep 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
+12 others
