harry hebert Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 My Forrester 2.5XT is losing oil at about 1 oz. per 100 miles. I've read some threads about dealers overfilling at oil changes. Is it possible this is to compensate for the oil usage? I'm using Penzoil 10W-30 and have changed oil at 3000 and 6700 with approximately 8000 on the car at present. Anyone have a solution or suggestions about normal Subaru oil usage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSoob Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 What kind of driving are you doing? What has the temperature been? My 03 Forester X would eat up oil (almost a quart every 5000 miles) if I had been driving hard or if the temperature of the car/engine was a bit on the higher side. I'm sure with the XT it would be even more likely. Coming from a world of older Subarus, I was not shocked at this at all. There could be any number of reasons. Then again. The dealership found an oil leak in one of the valve covers at 40,000 miles too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FindingForester Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 My Forrester 2.5XT is losing oil at about 1 oz. per 100 miles. I've read some threads about dealers overfilling at oil changes. Is it possible this is to compensate for the oil usage? I'm using Penzoil 10W-30 and have changed oil at 3000 and 6700 with approximately 8000 on the car at present. Anyone have a solution or suggestions about normal Subaru oil usage? Are there any drips under the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry hebert Posted February 8, 2005 Author Share Posted February 8, 2005 Are there any drips under the car?no sign of oil leaks or drips any where to be found neither on or under engine. Problem starter after first oil change at 3000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry hebert Posted February 8, 2005 Author Share Posted February 8, 2005 no sign of oil leaks or drips any where to be found neither on or under engine. Problem starter after first oil change at 3000. Reply: There is no sign of oil leaks or drips anywhere to be found on or under the engine. The problem started after the first oil change at 3000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjsemmer Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 no sign of oil leaks or drips any where to be found neither on or under engine. Problem starter after first oil change at 3000. You know, whatever happened to the old school of thought that you should do your first oil change at 1000 miles? Is that what Subaru recommends as the first oil change nowadays? I had a '99 Acura CL and the dealer told me to leave the original oil in for 3750 miles before doing the first oil change. I've bought 3 brand new cars in my life (one was the Acura, one is a '90 Mazda MX-6 Turbo and the other a '99 Outback) and I changed the oil at 1000 on both the MX-6 and Outback and have never had problems with oil burning between changes. After following the dealer recommendation on the Acura, wouldn't you know that the son-of-a-bit*h then burned a quart of oil between changes! Thankfully, I sold the Acura after owning it for 2 years. Are automakers nowadays that confident that their engines are so well built that there's no need to change the original oil at 1000 miles? And what is this mystery 'break-in oil' that they claim to put in a brand new engine? I don't know, but I think I'll follow what people have been doing for years and change the oil at 1000 on my next new car (probably a Legacy GT Ltd) as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjsemmer Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 oops, need to update my profile! I no longer live in NY and I no longer want a WRX! Plus the fleet has a few more miles on it now! shows how long it's been since I've posted on here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballitch Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 those retards dont put a darn thing in new motors to "break" them in, its just a ploy for the people that ask, ive been told to change at 1000, 500, and ASAP in new cars or motors, all the engine components are brand new and have to be broken in, that process makes millions of tiny metal shavings inside your oil and causes wear that is not normal, change at anywhere between 500-1000 miles on new motors id say. ~Josh~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugelly Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Based on your statement your losing 1qt/3200 miles. This is not bad whatsoever. Some motors burn oil faster than others. Consuming oil is normal but a hassle to have to keep checking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 You might try a different oil as well. Some brands/grades will be consumed more than others. I don't know what grade is recommended for your vehicle, but if I owned a turbo, I'd be using more than an xxW30 oil in it. Try xxW40 and see if that helps. Or even xxW50. I've been using synthetic 5W50 in my vehicles for years now. Never an issue. Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjsemmer Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Based on your statement your losing 1qt/3200 miles. This is not bad whatsoever. Some motors burn oil faster than others. Consuming oil is normal but a hassle to have to keep checking. Consuming 1 qt of oil in ~3000 miles is by no means normal. I've never owned a car that burned oil on a new engine with the exception of the Acura I mentioned and I most definitely believe that it was due to leaving the original oil in for 3700 miles. As ballitch mentioned, new engines need to be broken in and at no point in an engine's life, does an engine wear as much as when it is new. The rings need to seat themselves into the cylinder walls and in doing so, shave off more and more bits of metal with each stroke of the piston. Those metal shavings are going everywhere within the engine and causing wear to all moving parts. Original oil and filter shouldn't be left in for more than 1000 miles maximum and I had first-hand experience with my Acura that the oil should be changed at 1000 or less. Even my 1980 Oldsmobile which I bought in 1985 did not burn any oil between changes until it reached about 120,000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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