The bright sparks at some automakers have elected to save a few cents by not installing a dipstick on the engine. The Strabismus “Hurricane” six cylinder is one of these engines. Also, many maintenance schedules no longer have a set oil change interval. The owner’s manual says to run the thing until an idiot light lights on the dash saying to change the oil. A lot of maintenance schedules are written by the marketing department, not engineering, as they seek to make the car appear cheap to maintain. The trans fluid change interval on my 2014 VW is 40,000 miles. But the newer VWs show an 80,000 mile interval. The Subaru maintenance schedule in Japan says to change the fluid in their CVT at 36,000 miles, but the US maintenance schedule for the same transmission say it’s a maintenance-free sealed unit, never needs a fluid change. Of course the consequences of the lack of maintenance do not manifest until after the warranty has run out.
Steve