Subaru/Excessive oil consumption/Problem solved

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Donald

So would it still be a good idea to change the factory fill at 1000 miles? I should be picking up my car on Sat. I was thinking of changing it at around 1000 miles give or take the winter weather.

Not necessary. I have been on the Subaruforester.org since 2007. The problem with oil consumption appeared early on in 2011. The cause was faulty coatings on piston rings. The problem was resolved in 2013 . There are still complaints but statistically I doubt if its worse than any other brand. People on forums are there many times to vent.

I would keep an eye on it and make it a habit to change speeds frequently. You can even do like short 3/4 throttle runs to help the process. Just don't overdu it. Keep your eye on the oil and don't be surprised if it consumes more oil during break in. I wouldn't change before 2000 miles.

The 2.0 Turbo has never had issues with oil consumption.

 

[ar10ar15man]

i doubt the break in oil will last 6000 miles.
history,,,ex subaru sales, licensed degree'd auto tech. have owned 10 subaru's..none were oil burners. i bought a 10 forester new as a retirement car..long term ownership was the plan. the engine blew up on the freeway...lost a rod bearing. my best guess is that some time in its life when the oil was low it damaged the brg, and then died later. yes i had gotten lazy..new cars do not burn oil and i was not checking as often as i should, but i was changing oil at 3500-5000.
sold the '10 bought a '14. still changing oil myself. then one day the oil level light comes on. TWO QTS LOW at less than 5000 miles. do some online checking. its a known problem that has been termed "normal" by the factory. political money saving [censored].
take it in for an "oil consumption" test. 1200 miles later they say no problems all is fine. no discussion about continuing the test, thank you, good bye. at 2300 miles the car is 1 1/2 qts low.
this is not a transmission type issue, this is an engine design/spec issue. mine is a cvt.
if i get a short block i will probably sell and buy a '16 and hope for better luck.
has anyone heard of a class action law suit ??
they have replaced the ring replacement "fix" with a short block replacement, which makes me feel that they had either a design issue or a quality or lack of meeting specs issue.
they are great cars for the climate, but this oil issue sucks.

 

[JTK]

ar10- What model 2014 Subaru do you have? I have a 2014 XV Crosstrek 5spd and have had sporadic bouts of oil consumption with it. The first time the low oil level light came on, it was a month or so old with 1600mi on it. On mine, it seems the low level light comes on when it's 1 to 1.5qts low. The FB20 has a ~5qt sump. I've got 26K miles total on it and have needed about 5qts of top-up oil total.

Anyway.. On my last oil change, I changed out my usual Napa 0w20 with Napa conventional 5w20. I'm 5000mi into it and no low oil level light. It has consumed some, but not enough to warrant adding any at this point.

FWIW, my previous vehicle was a (leased and returned) 2012 Legacy CVT. That sucker didn't appear to use a drop. ~5qts would come out at oil change time.

 

[emg]

Originally Posted By: ar10ar15man
this is not a transmission type issue, this is an engine design/spec issue. mine is a cvt.


As mentioned, in the 2015s, it almost exclusively affects manuals. It's probably because of a difference in driving style exacerbating an engine issue, rather than the transmission directly affecting the oil loss, but no-one knows for sure.

Quote:
they have replaced the ring replacement "fix" with a short block replacement, which makes me feel that they had either a design issue or a quality or lack of meeting specs issue.


Or they thought dealers were less likely to screw up a short block replacement than piston ring replacement...

BTW, most manufacturers will tell you that a new car burning a litre every thousand miles is 'normal'. Some go as high as a litre every six hundred miles. It's nonsense, but it's the same nonsense.

I believe Subaru's latest TSB is more like a third of a litre in a thousand miles to trigger a short block replacement.

 

[ar10ar15man]

i have a base model forester with cvt tans.( they did not even have an alloy wheel package yet...had to buy my own)
i actually like the car with a couple of exceptions.
the rear gate does not go up high enough for a guy my height...it needs to clear a 6 footer. the trans has poor performance when cold.
AND THE ENGINE EATS OIL.
again transmissions do not eat oil, engines do. call it driving style, it is still the engine. i did both freeway and in town for my oil consumption test..they claimed no usage. the next 1100 miles was the same and 1 1/2 qts disappeared.
they claimed the dealer would get back to me after my call to subaru...not!
in wy they tried going to 5-30..oil consumption went away, but so did gas mileage..i'll pass, fix the problem, or buy back my car.

 

[JTK]

ar10-, I hear you. I don't buy the "improper break-in" blame either.

Regardless, I'm certainly not 'easy' on my vehicles, nor is my work commute and most of the use this car sees. Breaking it in ain't the problem.

With what I've seen so far, I'll be sticking with 5w20 engine oil at this point. I've got a box of blue Subaru filters and a fumoto drain valve. It's the easiest oil change ever on this car. Top mount filter and I can slide right under the car.

 

[Reggaemon]

I have a 2014 Impreza CVT in the family. I know that the oil burning problem should have been fixed in 2013 model year by the new design rings.
But I have to wonder why Subaru techs continue to overfill these engine when they do an oil change. It has been noted by almost everyone that has oil changed at a dealership that 1 quart overfill is normal.

 

[ar10ar15man]

i know nothing about over fills at the dealer, but will be check my oil a lot more now that i know of the issue. i will take tothe dealer every time it needs oil, and then check the level they fill to.

yep the oil change is easy on the forester...

 

[emg]

Someone on another forum said their dealer blamed excessive engine braking by manual drivers for the oil consumption in cars with the new piston rings. It seems possible, but would still seem to indicate a piston ring problem; engine braking was never an issue on my manual cars.

 

[Boss302fan]

Over-filling with motor oil is NOT a good thing to do... Stupid! Hearing all this makes me want to mark Subaru's off my list, when I buy a new vehicle later this year.

 

[emg]

Originally Posted By: Boss302fan
Over-filling with motor oil is NOT a good thing to do... Stupid! Hearing all this makes me want to mark Subaru's off my list, when I buy a new vehicle later this year.


Mine always seems to come back from an oil change about 1/4 of an inch above the full mark, but the dipstick is really hard to read compared to any other car I've owned. Either way, that little overfilled (maybe 1/8-1/4 of a litre) isn't likely to harm the engine.

That reminds me, I should check the level after the oil change a couple of weeks ago.

 

[ar10ar15man]

it is not designed to be a problem, it is designed to hide the oil consumption issue. over fill and then you are not using as much when measured from the full mark on the dipstick.


Originally Posted By: emg
Originally Posted By: Boss302fan
Over-filling with motor oil is NOT a good thing to do... Stupid! Hearing all this makes me want to mark Subaru's off my list, when I buy a new vehicle later this year.


Mine always seems to come back from an oil change about 1/4 of an inch above the full mark, but the dipstick is really hard to read compared to any other car I've owned. Either way, that little overfilled (maybe 1/8-1/4 of a litre) isn't likely to harm the engine.

That reminds me, I should check the level after the oil change a couple of weeks ago.