Gav

I talked with the service manager. I had them get a tech out to check the oil. He agreed that it was overfilled. They drained it all out and filled it back up the to the F mark on the dipstick. I double checked after they brought the car back to me. The manager and tech said that an overfill could cause what I was experiencing but said that usually there is oil in the air filter box when that happens you will be blowing a bunch of smoke out of the exhaust. This is from their experience on working with cars that were overfilled (probably by them!!) He doubted that was what caused my problems and didn't want to write it on the service ticket. On the service ticket it said "drain and refill oil to proper level per customer request". I had him write and sign on the order that it was overfilled. "Oil was overfilled per inspection" and had him sign it. I wanted it documented that it was overfilled to protect myself in case some seals blow our or something. After driving back to the office I checked the oil again (warm). It was at the F mark still. So all the bs about the oil expanding to that level doesn't float. The car did feel smoother and I bet my mpg will go back up to 22 or so. I hope this is what caused the problems and the problem doesn't show up again. I also made a call into Subaru of America and they are going to follow up later with the dealer. hehe. I wonder how many quarts does it take to reach up that high on the dipstick when its cold? This is why I hate taking my car to the dealer! end of rant.

latest update. I just checked my oil this morning. There are 2 holes on the dipstick and one notch. The 2 holes (low and full) are supposed to be used to check the oil when cold. The notch is higher up on the scale and it is the limit of oil when its at operating temp. The oil was 1/4 inch above the highest notch. At least there is no disappearing oil. I'm taking my car back again and I'm going to point to manual where it says it should be at the F mark when cold. I really hope they didn't damage the engine by putting too much oil in. Oh, and the thing about bmw's putting extra oil in when racing to prevent starvation. That may not affect a normal inline as much but for a boxer engine with the crank at the same level as the pistons I think you are going to have a different outcome.

Just what I thought, they found nothing wrong.They had "the best subaru mechanic in the nation" on it and he ran full diagnostics etc. So, what brand of reader is good? What do they run for? I guess its time to buy a shop manual too.

latest: They are keeping the car for another day to see if they can find anything wrong. They checked the oil and the dipstick says the correct amount is in there, right between the dots. (cold) Oil doesn't expand that much when its warm. If they don't find anything what do you think I should do? The car is only a year old. Suggestions? I'm thinking about buying a code reader and leaving it hooked up to the car so if it does happen again I can give them the code. What do you guys think?

I didn't pull the cap on the coolant level but the plastic jug showed it had coolant. The oil was about a quarter inch higher or so than the second dot. Also, there was no smoke. Also, get this, the service advisor states that "in the winter time we use alaskan gas and they put more sulfur in it so it's easier for the winter so that could attribute to your lower gas mileage". I corrected him and said they put ethanol in the gas not sulphur. omg!!!

Hi, This is my first post and also my first subaru. I've been working on cars as a hobby for 17 years so I'm not going to ask stupid noob questions. I've been searching through the forums but couldn't find anything pertaining to the problems I've experienced. 2004 Forester X, AT, 8,000 Miles. History: 2 weeks ago took it into the dealer for an oil change and a transmission noise problem (They replaced some valves in the tranny and the "transpack"). Noticed 2 mpg less per tank but attribute it to them testing the car etc. I don't think they are using winter fuels yet... Problem: Sunday I was driving in hilly downtown seattle. After going up a pretty steep hill I got on the freeway. I didn't jump on the throttle or anything like that because there was another car in front of me on the on ramp. So I'm accelerating moderately and the car starts to shudder. It feels like crap. The check engine light starts flashing every few seconds, but all the gauges seem to be normal. I have the air on (just vent, not AC) and I smell something burning. I drive for about 5 minutes and call subaru roadside. After being on hold for another 5 minutes they finally answer. Meanwhile I've pulled over in a parking lot. The car idles like it is on 2 cylinders. I pop the hoodl. It doesn't smell like antifreeze or oil, but still smells burnt. I check the oil and see that's it's past the two dots on the dipstick. I wipe it off and check it again and still it's past the two dots. I'm thinking they overfilled it and after going up that steep hill, the oil was doing something bad like hitting the crank. maybe?!? I dunno. I stop and start the car a couple of times and it still idles like crap. I check that the spark plug wires are on tight and they are. Roadside assistance was useless. I decide to drive it to the dealer that is less than 10 miles away. On the way to the dealer, the car smooths out and the check engine light stops flashing. Ok, I decide to take it home to drop off my wife, baby, and her grandparents. Car is running fine still. Dealer states, they can't find any codes. wtf is that all about? Doesn't the computer store codes?! Service advisor: "If you have a flashing check engine light and the problem goes away you won't get a code stored." Is this true or are they trying to hide a mistake they made? They took it for a couple of test drives and couldn't replicate the problem. Do they have mechanics there or just people that know how to use a code reader? sheesh. This could become a serious problem I don't want my wife to be driving this car, trying to get on the freeway and getting run down because the car decides to crap out on her. Anyone have suggestions on how to get this taken care of? Do I have to talk with a district service manager or something? help. TIA, Gav