My 99 obw uses about 1/2-3/4qts of oil every 3,000 miles. It currently has 80,000 miles- I first noticed the consumption with about 50,000 miles. The car does not burn oil, neither does it drip oil. Is it possible that there is some seepage, but not dripping? There is no oil smell in the engine or the car itself. I would find it hard to believe that I am using this amount of oil without noticing any dripping or burning. Does anyone else's vehicle do this?

Ours has used about that much oil for a long time, probably over 100k miles (192k miles now). It uses significantly less of 5w-40 than 5w-30, and it uses virtually no 10w-40 or 15w-40. I have settled on 5w-40 for the summer and 0w-30 for the winter, and I just deal with the oil consumption. Some is leaking, some is burning. The car is past the point where I am going to worry about it. My Jeep on the other hand recently used 0 quarts of 5w-40 oil over a 12,500 mile oil interval.

Mine is a 99 Forester and it does that too. right after a change it seems to be good for quite a while and then likes a small top up every few weeks. I don't like to let it get down far as these cars have the scareiest dipstick reading I have ever seen. the thing will be down a third of a quart and look empty. Add just a bit and up in the middle.

My 99 obw uses about 1/2-3/4qts of oil every 3,000 miles. It currently has 80,000 miles- I first noticed the consumption with about 50,000 miles. The car does not burn oil, neither does it drip oil. Is it possible that there is some seepage, but not dripping? There is no oil smell in the engine or the car itself. I would find it hard to believe that I am using this amount of oil without noticing any dripping or burning. Does anyone else's vehicle do this?

 

I would do a compression test wet and dry just to make sure everything is ok. You can also have a dye put in the oil that shows up with a black light. It will show any oil leaks that you may not be aware of.

It sounds like otherwise the valve stem seals are gone. Has anyone driven behind you and noticed any blus smoke?

 

nipper

That kind of consumption is nothing to worry about.

 

You can experiment a little to find the brand and weight of oil that reduces consumption to minimum. Shell 10W-40?

 

The only "danger" involved is forgetting to top off the oil level.

I have one friend who claims he never burns a drop. As far as I know he never opens the hood between changes. Every other late EJ 25 owner I know adds at least a quart between changes. I suspect a couple of the women here in the building also never open the hood and are perilously down when they go in for a change.