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TheGoodShepherd

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  • Location
    Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Biography
    I like pie.
  • Vehicles
    Forester Wagon

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  1. Thank you, one and all. The Subaru was at a smaller used car dealer, and my gut told me not to get the car. Additionally, we almost bought a 2002 RAV4 before learning the 01-03 models were notorious for having the ECU and transmission go out around 90K. We instead went to a larger dealer and found a 2013 CR-V EX-L, which we felt safe buying. Personally, I hope 2019 brings changes to Subaru that will drive me back.
  2. The seller purports to not knowing much. The original owner had been so punctual with oil change maintenance that neglecting other, very important maintenance creates something of a double bind. And there is a bit of confusion online regarding belts and chains, when it was this or that. I looked it up, but the "expert" I read must have been incorrect.
  3. I drove one, looking to replace a 2005 Forester. The maintenance history was strange: they replaced engine oil like clockwork, but I didn't see any other maintenance. I had to ask about that timing chain, but they just shrugged their shoulders. I can't believe anyone would pay nearly a grand to get that done and there not be a record of it, or any way to easily inspect if the work had been done. Isn't 2012 also when they started having the engine oil consumption issues? We got lucky with our '14, as the engine replacement (because of excess oil consumption) was a warranty repair, but a '12 would not be covered. Don't want to buy the car and then pay $5K for a new motor. That said, the car ran well, for what that's worth.
  4. 2014. And the maintenance schedule is a bit off, as the fuel filter is inside the gas tank and cannot be replaced. I had everything else done, saving me hours of travel and waiting. New air filter, brake fluid, spark plugs, and other systems inspected. Thanks, again
  5. I'm not going to do my own; those days are over. However, what do you think about having maintenance done outside the Subaru dealership? I need my 60K maintenance, but it's a two-hour drive if I go to Subaru to do it. Am I OK getting the fuel and air filters from someone other than Subaru? Thank you!
  6. Ultimately, the engine was replaced under warranty. After 3,000 miles, the engine had consumed nearly a quart and a half of oil. I had one of the bad engines. The work was done very quickly. I dropped the car off in the morning and was given a free rental. The car was ready in the evening. When you are accustomed to getting screwed over by dealerships, you tend to be distrustful and defensive. At one point, these guys assured me that it was virtually impossible anything was wrong with my car, and that excessive oil consumption was mere hysteria, which is not truthful. I'm grateful that they did not manipulate or misrepresent test results once that ball was rolling, but I'd rather they had been more up front initially, as that lead me to believe they could not be trusted. And I have noticed that the car runs differently after every oil change—there is a slight change in throttle response, which normalizes in a day or two.
  7. Honestly, I'm not hoping for an engine replacement. I'd rather not have to bother. But, when you are more than a quart low after just 3,000 miles, it's worrisome. It's not even that I have to drive an hour for an oil change. That oil doesn't just disappear. Like you describe, it ends up fouling the entire engine. Four or five years from now, I don't want to have to put in a new engine on my own dime because some engineer miscalculated a tolerance or recommended an ineffective method of galvanization. Fingers crossed. Would still like to know: If the car's been running, shouldn't the oil level be between the low and full notches? It's OK to be as high as I described after sitting over night?
  8. No, there was no wax seal. I even asked if they sealed everything when done, and they said they did not. They told me not to add oil. First and foremost, these aren't just "complaints" to readily dismiss. Subaru has agreed to a settlement in a class-action lawsuit (without admitting that there is a problem). I had my warranty extended as part of that settlement. If I start putting a heavier oil in the car, do I not void the manufacturer's warranty? If Subaru calls for 0W-20 synthetic, and only 0W-20 synthetic, how else can we interpret that? I know that using a heavier oil reduces gas mileage, which was the reason light oil was engineered in the first place—to improve gas mileage. I checked the oil first thing in the morning. The car had sat in the drive for a dozen hours. The oil was at least half an inch above the top fill mark. A shop in town looked at it as well, and said it was over filled by roughly half a quart. I drove to the dealership, which is an hour away, They had the car sit for about fifteen minutes. They told me that the proper method to check the oil was to bring the car to operating temperature and then allow it to sit for five to ten minutes. When they checked it, it was only slightly high—according to their method. I understand this method may leave a considerable amount of oil in the engine where it cannot be measured. And there seems to be no consensus on the subject of when to check the oil: morning or while hot, and what you should read at BOTH times. Equal amounts of "I've always checked it in the morning" and "Check it with each stop for gas." When I was told that this dealer no longer attempts to rebuild defective engines related to this consumption issue, but instead replaces them entirely, because doing so was faster, more successful, and cheaper overall, I assumed the financial disincentive to do the work had been resolved. But there are a lot of accounts out there of people still having a hell of a time getting a dealer to agree to do the work. These accounts breed distrust. But perhaps the over consumption solution is not universal? Perhaps Subaru settled the lawsuit but intends to minimize losses on the back end, or continues to pass those losses onto dealers who have more to lose, relatively speaking? Hell, I just want to know how to check the oil. Can't even get a consistent answer on that.
  9. If they were willing to add something to cheat the test, I'm supposed to believe they'd be honest about it? I know about the class action lawsuit. I received the same letter everyone else did. I just checked the oil after letting the car sit over night. It was more than half an inch, maybe an inch above the full line. And it seemed thick. I had a funny feeling when I left, because the serviceman was being overly nice. Now I have to take it back and have them start over, hoping all the while it doesn't just happen again. I'll post the name of the dealership if I continue having problems.
  10. 2014 Forester, not turbo. Had the oil changed a while back. Three thousand miles later, I get the warning that the car is low on oil. It turned out to be over a quart low. Dealer topped it off and recommended consumption test when I returned for the regular scheduled oil change. I did return, and there was a slight reservation about doing the test. But they didn't argue beyond telling me a little consumption was normal with 4-5,000 miles, with certain driving conditions, and so on. I explained the car how low the oil had been after 3K. I noticed the car drove more smoothly as I left the lot. The next day, just driving around town, I noticed it wasn't "jumping" the way it normally did from a stop. This "jumping" is normal for the Forester—it seems to have quite a bit of power for a four cylinder. Other owners have shared my observation. In fact, you have to learn to touch the gas lightly from a stop. The car doesn't seem to do that since taking it in for the consumption test yesterday. In fact, acceleration throughout the low end just seems reduced. I've read dealerships are overfilling to avoid replacing engines. Are there other tricks as well? De-tuning? Using a heavier oil?
  11. For the record we have an '05 Forester and a '14 Forester. Simply wondering if there's ever reason or advice to use gasoline rated higher than "Regular" 87 octane. This would be for either or both cars.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
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