May be a stupid question but this is my first car and don't have anybody to help around.

My car stopped working today when I was at a grocery store and got 3 lights - TCS, oil and battery lights on. I tried restarting the car 3-4 times and got the same results. Called emergency road service, guy came to jump start the car and when he turned it on the car started working (was quite an embarrassing moment for me ).

Anyways after coming home, I tried checking on the oil to make sure I had enough and pulled out the dipstick. I wasn't able to place it back as it was very dark out there in the garage and I was not able to get it in properly.

Question - Can I harm the car/engine if I drive 12-13 miles without the dipstick on the tube? My plans are to leave early tomorrow when again it would be dark and harder for me to place the dipstick in the tube.

 

Grab a paper towel, hold the end of the dipstick and find your way to the opening if you have no source of light. I'm sure others will chime in but I'd find a way to get the dipstick back it (after looking into it, oil probably will spew out and it would be a mess to clean up). Might as well be safe than sorry. I'd find a way to get it in before driving. No flashlight?

 

Thanks a lot for the idea about flashlight!!

It reminded me of a battery operated torch which my parents had forced me to carry along when I came to US for the first time. It was lying somewhere in the store room since last many years and it helped me today.

Fixed the dipstick.

 

Nice!

 

Also, I'd recommend purchasing a flashlight just for your car and a set of basic tools in case you find yourself with problems in the future.

 

hosTL moderation for the motherfuckin winnnnn!

 

Odds are you have a smart phone, find your way to the app store and download a flashlight app.


Dont drive the car without the dipstick.

 

No such thing as a stupid question. Sometimes the littlest things can escape us.

 

Yeah, sometimes we even attempt to escape from ourselves on occasion !!!

 

Keeping a flash light along especially in this bad winter weather sounds like a great idea to me. I will have it always in my car.

 

Awesome!! Never knew there is an app for Flashlight. I downloaded it and it throws a great light. Will get into its details in a bit about how it works technically.

Thanks for sharing!!

 

Right.

 

The flashlight app, and the level app are cool, but I can't recommend the hammer app.