I'm sure GD would know this off the top of his head.

My Brother is thinking of a newer Subaru for his better half.  Any issues New after Subaru fix the Oil consumption issue and go from a Belt to timing chain?

Thanks, Larry

FB engines got the timing chain. 2011 in the Forester, 2012 Impreza, and 2013 Leg/OBK. And it was those early ones that had the class-action lawsuit leading to extended warranty coverage to get a new shortblock. I believe the lawsuit covered through MY 2015, but many newer than that were getting warranty shortblocks for the same reason.

The Foresters did not have an oil level sensor/indicator. So if the owners did not check their oil (maybe I won't if I ever have a new car, too...), the first indication was low oil pressure warning light, at which point, it's really too late. So it's not uncommon to see Foresters with blown engines. The others did have a low oil level warning light, which helped, considerably.

 

My mom's 2012 Impreza is knocking on the door of 200k miles, with the original engine. She has to add about 1-1.5 quarts between changes. Hers is a salvage, so was not eligible for the extended warranty, but I don't think the consumption would have been enough to get a free engine, anyway.

Having been a Subaru Tech ( still call myself a mechanic ) for many years and leaving there in 2015. We Remember the Failures and Bad things, Not all those who had no problems. So here are my observations ..... first 2 years of each FB engine had it's issues. From the 2.5L 2011/12 Forester leaks, oil consumption, noisey chains ( TSB for that ) and failing to fill the gas tanks. The 2012/13 2.0L  Impreza, 2013 XV/Crosstrek added valve springs but quieted the noisy chains and fewer front engine oil leaks. fewer here came in for oil consumption, but the issue was still there. Finally the 2.5L 2013 Legacy/Outback, mostly here for Oil consumption. I would have liked to report it was solved by now, but my experiences it was not completely.

 

Now I left in 2015, so the 2014/2015 years may have been too new to show any chronic issues, But these are my observations. And owning a 2014 Impreza now with 150K and a 2016 Forester with 100K, we have not seen the issues of the earlier productions.

 

My $.02 ......

Thanks!

 

I have a 2014 forester and it is an awesome vehicle. It does consume about 2 qts between oil changes though... i was unaware of the issues with the early fb engines. Whenever it is down a qt the oil light on the dash comes on. Not sure if this info helps but i figured id share in case it does. 

On 12/11/2021 at 6:47 AM, Liftedlego96 said:

I have a 2014 forester and it is an awesome vehicle. It does consume about 2 qts between oil changes though... i was unaware of the issues with the early fb engines. Whenever it is down a qt the oil light on the dash comes on. Not sure if this info helps but i figured id share in case it does. 

If it has under 100k miles, take it to your nearest dealer for an oil consumption test. It likely is still under warranty.

Good to know. It has 123k on it and has never had an issue of any kind since i bought it 3 years ago. I didnt even know about the oil consumption thing. Figured it was just a subaru thing. My older 03 forester used just alittle more oil then the 14 does now but thats an ej25, whole other monster. Thanks for the insight.

Well, then it's not covered. That said, it's not a death sentence as long as you keep an eye on it. I've also heard of people switching to 5w30 with considerably reduced consumption.

On 12/9/2021 at 8:43 AM, lmdew said:

I'm sure GD would know this off the top of his head.

My Brother is thinking of a newer Subaru for his better half.  Any issues New after Subaru fix the Oil consumption issue and go from a Belt to timing chain?

Thanks, Larry

It's my understanding the newer ones have addressed weak oil control rings.  They're still filling them with 0 weight oil and if they just tweaked low friction rings, they're still low friction rings.  But the learning curve, recalls, and extended warranties are over.