Oil Consumption

[TheGoodShepherd]

"Never look up your symptoms on the Internet."

 

Reading up on Subaru oil consumption, I get the impression that every Subaru made between 2012 and 2014 lose a quart of oil every couple thousand miles and are prone to burn their engines up regularly. Having just bought one (2014 Forester), a great black pit of despair is growing in my soul.

 

I know every vehicle has problems, with the possible exception of the old Voltswagon Beetle. You will find horror stories about most everything made.

 

But there are at least two class action lawsuits addressing this issue, and Subaru hasn't gotten in front of this problem as they should have. Bad solutions have included customer runarounds; overfilling the engine oil; manipulating when sensors warn of a low oil condition; redefining the specifications to make the problem look normal; and simply replacing piston rings. My understanding is that replacement of the small block may be a more appropriate action, but is avoided due to the cost to Subaru and dealers alike.

 

Today, I visited a local mechanic I trust, who has made a business around rebuilding Subaru engines. He told me that the problem mainly affects turbo-charged engines.

 

So, what's the 411? Is every Subaru made for the past couple of years a lemon? Are Subarus the automotive equivalent of oil-burning Harley-Davidsons? Or is the power of the Internet making a mountain out of a mole hill?

Edited August 3, 2015 by TheGoodShepherd

[1 Lucky Texan]

middle-aged to older and/or neglected Soob turbo engines do develop problems with turbo oil seal leakage. partly due to a propensity for clogging an oil screen which became part of a TSB campaign.

 

other new-ish FB engine models had piston rings with a 'new' coating and maybe reduced tension/altered design. people are fighting oil consumption issues but, there may have been a good change to that system around late 2013 ?

 

others may have details. (FWIW - by brother in law just had his Toyota Camry Hybrid catastrophically fail DURING an oil consumption test)

 

Just try to be vigilant about your oil level - may investigate the various TSBs.

 

IF you become involved in a consumption test - INSIST on being present when the oil level is checked ,and the system sealed, at the beginning - and again when the system is unsealed and the level examined.

Edited August 3, 2015 by 1 Lucky Texan

[The Dude]

My Wife's 2009 Impreza burns oil. Expensive all synthetic 10-20 oil. Subaru's response? Define "normal" as burning one quart of oil every 1,500 miles. I had have good luck with my 1999 and 2006 Foresters. I will say this though, it appears that Subaru has no problem leaving  customers twisting in the wind. First the head gasket fubar with the DOHC 2.5 and now this. Five  added quarts per 7,500 mile oil change interval is not "normal" in my book. I will wait and see how the CVT holds up before I buy another Subaru.

Edited August 4, 2015 by The Dude

[lstevens76]

My Wife's 2009 Impreza burns oil. Expensive all synthetic 10-20 oil. Subaru's response? Define "normal" as burning one quart of oil every 1,500 miles. I had have good luck with my 1999 and 2006 Foresters. I will say this though, it appears that Subaru has no problem leaving  customers twisting in the wind. First the head gasket fubar with the DOHC 2.5 and now this. Five  added quarts per 7,500 mile oil change interval. is not "normal" in my book. I will wait and see how the CVT holds up before I buy another Subaru.

 

The problem there is the change interval IMO.  I think they need to back that off by at least 2,500 miles and it would help.

[ccrinc]

This problem of oil consumption in the 2011-2014 engines is so well documented it's even made evening national news.  

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/subaru-tsb-for-excessive-oil-consumption-1600566355

 

Subaru, BMW and Audi vehicles are also affected. 

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/your-car-oil-consumption-problem-list

 

Check the oil at least twice a week and keep oil in the car to top off.  "Just a quart low" is TOO low.  If you drive long distances, check daily.  As long as you keep oil in the engine, plus change it regularly, while it may be a huge PITA, the engine should be ok.

 

The turbo engines have a different problem: they have oiling issues due to oil journals mainly in the rod bearings being too small.  We have switched over to King Race Bearings for all 2.5 SOHC plus 2002-on turbo engines to help solve this problem.  Even the venerable ACL Race bearings (which are currently unobtainium) aren't up to the turbo oiling issues.

 

Emily

[1 Lucky Texan]

^^^ thanx emily

 

makes me even more glad I run synth in my 06 WRX.

 

hey, what kinds of oils do folks there at your shop run? and what weights do you suggest for your customers?

[ccrinc]

^^^ thanx emily

 

makes me even more glad I run synth in my 06 WRX.

 

hey, what kinds of oils do folks there at your shop run? and what weights do you suggest for your customers?

Depends on the engine:

Since all of ours are remans, we require non-synth for at least the first 5,000 miles EXCEPT on newer turbo engines. Those get dino-blend oil for the first 1,000 miles, then full synth.  Newer EJ25 SOHC also switch earlier.  The newest (2010 and later), get full synth after 500 miles.  That initial break in period for the rings to seat properly is extremely important. 

 

Castrol GTX, Valvoline; our favorite dino oils.

Valvoline full synth: favorite synthetic.  However, customers can use any GOOD quality brand as long as attention is paid to oil change intervals and levels.

 

For older engines (pre-2000), we recommend 10w30 winter and 10w40 for summer.  In newer engines, we tell people to follow their owner's manuals but to heed oil change intervals according to our warranty. 

I will NOT recommend Amsoil, Redline or Mobil-1.  Some people swear by them, but there are just too many horror stories circulating to trust those brands.  As you know, what works great in a V8 isn't always good for a Subaru.

[Fairtax4me]

know every vehicle has problems, with the possible exception of the old Voltswagon Beetle.

The old ones that you had to replace the engine every 40k miles? Because they would start burning so much oil?!?

 

Kidding aside (not really), yes there are a few years of Subarus that have issues with consuming oil.

Keep an eye on the oil and other fluid levels (As should be done anyway), and you'll be fine.

[lmdew]

I taught my Kids and suggest to everyone to check the oil at every gas fill up.  You're standing around anyway waiting on the gas to fill, pop the hood and take a look:

Oil

Collant

Power steering fluid

Leaks

Strange stuff

[86 Wonder Wedge]

I remember at first, Subaru blamed a batch of bad short-blocks on poorly fitting piston rings, which would eat the walls and the short-block had to be replaced.

 

Subaru also doesn't define "normal" consumption at 1qt every 1500 miles. That is the threshold at which shortblock/ring replacement is considered from SOA. "Normal" consumption is considered for 1qt every 5k miles.

 

I honestly think it has to do with the 0w-20 and 5w-20 they are putting in for fuel efficiency. Look at EVERY other low-tension ring design motors in the last 10 years: Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen. With thin oil, they burn. Bad. Nissan was the worst: if you didn't run the special ester-based oil for the diamond-like coating on the pistons and rockers, the coating would wear and flake, and start consuming a qt every 500 miles after 30K. No thanks.

 

I know 3 owners who follow the maint and break-in schedule religiously on their new Civics, using Honda 0w-20, and they burn a quart every 1500 miles. 2 switched to a 5w-30 and BAM. Gone. Just food for thought.

[msmithmmx]

I have a 12 OBW and I am also concerned with this.  I am by no means telling people how to check the oil.  I am only telling you what the dealer told me yesterday so I am only the messenger here.  I checked my oil after the car was sitting for the night and I am estimating it looked a quart low.  With the dealer instructions I ran it to temp turned it off and let it sit for 10 minutes.  I checked the oil level and it was perfect.

[mikec03]

Yeah, the manual says check it hot.  It doesn't matter assuming that you do it the same way each time.

 

As a matter of interest, I check the oil on my 014 while it is hot.  I did a test.  I took the dipstick out for 1 min, 5min, and 10min.periods. In each case I reinserted the dip stick for 2 sec. and then read the level.  In the case of 1 min vs 5 min, there was a 1/4 inch increase. Between 5 min and 10 min, there was very little difference.

 

I only did it once because, if you do it twice, you don't know which data to believe. LOL  I learned this from a career as an engineer. 

[TheGoodShepherd]

What I'm gathering is that it is difficult to check the engine oil on a Subaru.

 

Since I was a kid, I was told to let the engine cool down, clean the stick off, put it back in, pull it out. I do that with the Forester, and it always reads as over-full. That is, past the upper marker.

 

When I started the post, I had let the engine cool for an hour (some say to let it cool overnight). The oil was well past the full mark. Then an actual mechanic checked it, said it had been overfilled, and drained some. I was afraid it had been intentionally overfilled to hide a consumption problem. That was ten days ago.

 

Today, the warning to replace engine oil came on. I doubt the car has been driven more than a couple hundred miles.

 

Tomorrow, I'm taking it to a licensed Subaru dealer to begin the consumption test. My understanding is that they fill it, seal it, and have me drive 1,200 miles or something. Then they check the oil again. Do I need to watch them check it before sealing, because they could overfill it?

 

Again, 2014 Forester, bought used, just under 30K miles.

Edited August 13, 2015 by TheGoodShepherd

[1 Lucky Texan]

I would absolutely insist on seeing the entire procedure AND be present when it is unsealed later-on.

[TheGoodShepherd]

Turns out that the light warning of low oil is something entirely different. This was a user-programmed reminder. The coincidence just happen to feed into my Internet hysteria, and I thought the car was burning through its oil.

 

Now, it certainly could be. But it hasn't so far. I have fresh oil and a better understanding of the car's electronics. Hopefully, the other light indicating low oil doesn't appear any time soon.

Edited August 15, 2015 by TheGoodShepherd

[ThosL]

I had a leak with my 2.2 and used Lucas stop oil leak with good results.

[TheGoodShepherd]

Yeah. Since I learned of the problem, my concern has been that I got one of the cars that will burn through oil. The stories you can find online will scare your pants right off. The inconvenience of adding oil every thousand miles seems inconsequential when you imply that's the worst that can happen. Truth is, that oil doesn't vanish: It gets combusted, and that can lead to all sorts of problems. Moreover, the problem could worsen over time with engine wear.

 

If you were to use something like Lucas Engine Oil Stop Leak, that could be grounds for a dealership to deny service.

[lstevens76]

The thing to remember is that for every person posting a problem online there are problem 9 more experiencing it and not posting.

 

But, for those 10 people there are probably over 50 that are not experiencing the problem.

 

i.e. when you don't have a problem you don't tend to voice anything.  When you do have a problem only 10% of those experiencing tend to voice it.

 

With our access to the internet the visibility of problems has increased, but it doesn't mean it's as big of an issue as it tends to appear when reading all the reviews, etc...

[01 Outback]

My 01 Outback with 32 K on a reman motor uses no oil unless I let it go beyond my self imposed 5K oil change interval. The original 254 K motor did virtually the same thing. If I let it go beyond that it will use a pint every 1000 miles. I use Lucas synthetic oil stabilizer and Mobil 1 5w30 with Mobil 1 oil filters exclusively. The motor doesnt leak.

[ccrinc]

'01 engines did not have this problem.  It is documented in the 2011-2014 engines primarily. 

[TheGoodShepherd]

Now this all hppened a couple months ago, in August, and I can't remember how to check the oil in my Subaru. I do think the tech told be the oil level should be above BOTH marks, not between.

[Fairtax4me]

Between the marks. As a general rule, if the owners manual says the oil capacity is X.X quarts, that amount should put the oil level right about the middle between the marks.

 

If its above the top mark by more than 1/8", it's overfilled. Overfilling can cause mechanical problems, and consumption.

[Bushwick]

Turbos typically puke coolant before they'll have oil issues. If you suspect the turbo is bad, remove the intake hose feeding it (engine COLD and not running unless you want to loose finger tips) and grab the center nut to the impeller. Lift up on it and then try spinning it. It should have virtually NO up/down movement and should NOT bind or hit the wall while spinning the nut/impeller. Then check lateral movement. It should be barely noticeable. Proper way is to mic the movement if in doubt, but the finger test will let you know how bad it might be. Lateral movement is probably worse as the exhaust blades can hit the base and crack the turbine, though up/down movement is still bad as the impeller can clip itself and ingest the material, though your intercooler will block larger chunks from entering the engine. But it's cheaper to replace the impeller and get it rebalanced vs. replacing the exhaust shaft/turbine PLUS impeller. Another sigh to watch for is IF the impeller clips itself, it'll affect boost and can produce a "howling" sound under throttle when boost is building. If you hear that sound all of a sudden, it's too late.

 

 

If that engine has a PCV valve and hose running to the turbo, it might be pulling too much oil out along with the fumes. If you remove the intake hose and see oil puddling in it right near where the impeller sits, that's a sigh oil is getting pulled in from the engine. Try replacing the PCV valve and monitor the oil consumption. If it quits dropping, you fixed it. If it's still dropping, purchase an aftermarket oil catch can. It'll sit between the outlet of the PCV valve hose and the turbo (or where ever turbo'd Subarus run them) and "catch" the oil getting pulled through the PCV vs. letting it enter the turbo's inlet. More elaborate units have an oil drain-back feature but cheaper ones will require you to manually drain it every so often.

Edited October 24, 2015 by Bushwick