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Subaru’s oil consumption issue case against the automaker affects more than 665,000 Subaru owners with Forester, Outback, Crosstrek, Impreza and Legacy, models from 2011 to 2015. If you are one of them, what should you do?
According to a report from Pittsburgh’s Action News 4, Subaru is offering to settle with drivers of the affected vehicles to put an end to a class-action lawsuit. Under the deal worked about by their attorneys, Subaru would extend manufacturer’s warranties to 100,000 miles and pay for all repairs related to the defect. This will automatically kick in unless consumers opt out.
What should you do?
If you're part of this class action case, you have until tomorrow (June 13) to opt out of the class action law suit. If you do nothing, you will automatically become part of the settlement, which will prevent you from filing a Lemon Law complaint.
Automotive Lemon Law attorney Bob Silverman says, each effected Subaru owner needs to decide whether to accept the settlement based on their own individual situation. “It’s great for you if you don’t have a problem,” he says. “If you’ve already had a problem with your car, and it’s burning a lot of oil already, I would opt out,” he says.
If owners don’t opt out, they will only be covered for the expense of the repairs and it will prevent you from filing a Lemon Law complaint. If owners do opt out, they can hire an attorney and file a Lemon Law case against Subaru. What is the benefit of filling a Lemon Law case?
Go to PAGE 2: What is the Lemon Law?
There are Lemon Laws in every state and these laws provide relief to consumers whose cars, trucks, and motorcycles are in the shop repeatedly for the same repair or for an extended period of time. Legal remedies can include monetary compensation, a complete refund, or a new vehicle to replace your defective one.
Statement from Subaru spokesman Michael McHale
"Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) and counsel for plaintiffs have agreed to resolve a claim that alleges certain Forester, Legacy, Outback, Impreza and Crosstrek vehicles may experience oil consumption beyond expectation. Although fewer than 1 percent of Subaru owners raised this concern, the company has extended the powertrain warranty from 5 years, 60,000 miles to 8 years, 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. Additionally, the company agreed to reimburse owners for certain expenses such as repairs and rental.”
"Additionally, if a Subaru owner believes that their vehicle is exhibiting this condition, we recommend that the vehicle is presented to an authorized Subaru retailer for an oil consumption test and if necessary, a repair will be performed at no cost. We believe that this proposed resolution affirms SOA’s reputation for standing behind its products and taking care of its customers."
The Subaru settlement for 2011-2015 Subaru Forester, Outback, Crosstrek, Impreza and Legacy models is expected to be made final at a court hearing in July. After that, drivers will be notified of their rights. For information on the Lemon Law go here.
Source: Action News 4-Pittsburgh
Image source: Subaru
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Comments
My Subaru Impreza has
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My Subaru Impreza has excessive oil consumption. It has passed the test. But that is a bad test, as I still run out of oil half ways before it's time for the next oil change. Thank you.
Barbara, that's correct. My
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In reply to My Subaru Impreza has by Barbara D. Johnson (not verified)
Barbara, that's correct. My 2015 legacy has excessive oil consumption and low oil lamp cones on with 1000miles left before next oil change.
3 oil consumption tests I had, all passed. This means nothing's wrong. Well my light came on again few days ago so I'm taking it back for the fourth time. I guess this is still OK???
We're screwed and beholdened to the dealers test results. If they keep feeding Corp"good " tests results we'll never be able to add our cars to the class action lawsuit going on
We're screwed
Dave
Be sure to check after each
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In reply to Barbara, that's correct. My by Dave R. (not verified)
Be sure to check after each consumption test- my dealership swayed the test and over filled the oil by an gross amount. Pure fraud. I have lost every bit of trust in Subaru.
here it is 2019, we bought a
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In reply to My Subaru Impreza has by Barbara D. Johnson (not verified)
here it is 2019, we bought a brand new 2014 subaru forester for my daughter and it has been non stop constant oil lights on, shes had to stop at pit stops to have oil applied to the car on her travels, and has been to the subaru every couple months as of lately, am I to late for this law suit, ? after going there 3 times in the last 2 months with oil lights on and them checking everything out finding nothing wrong, they state she may need a new motor! I AM STILL MAKING PAYMENTS ON THIS CAR! all this time going back and forth and subaru never said anything to us about a oil problem these cars have had Now im worried I may be stuck with having to put a new motor in a 2014 subaru forester were still making payments on !
2010 Forrester Engine blew!
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In reply to here it is 2019, we bought a by malia (not verified)
2010 Forrester Engine blew!
Oil Consumption Issue for sure.
901-361-5523
I have a 2013 Impreza and a
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I have a 2013 Impreza and a 2014 Forester with VINs included in the settlement. The Forester is burning 1 qt every ~4K miles, which is just within the acceptable range. How it is acceptable to have to add oil at least twice between oil changes when the cars have less than 25K miles is ridiculous. Watch the consumption tests. Check the starting level. I caught my dealer overfilling at the start of the test.
Subaru knows exactly when the
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In reply to I have a 2013 Impreza and a by Mark (not verified)
Subaru knows exactly when the oil level starts to drop...in my case 2013 outback 19k miles its around 2500 miles....so they make the failure at 1200 miles!! Oh Subaru of America tells you it is your right to start another consumption test for up to 8 years or 100k miles....what that means is going to the stealership and have them change the oil for 120$.... oh and add 2qts between service intervals! I FEEL THE LOVE
The engine will fail well before it should and if you keep doing the 1200 mile consumption test I bet
by 80k when the engine dies you have basically paid for a new short block.My case ...20,000 miles on my outback ...to get to 90.0000 miles ....90,000 divided by 2100 ( when my oil lite comes on) equals 43 (rounding up)...I would start a new consumption test because when light comes on ...into dealer you must go. so 42 times 120$ equals $5,160 roughly the cost of a new short block!! FEELING THE LOVE NOW!!!
THINKING OF HAVING MINE WRAPPED IN A LEMON WRAP, dealer won't give you but pennies on dollar toward trade, there is no resale value
Hey all,
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In reply to Subaru knows exactly when the by John H Williams (not verified)
Hey all,
GOOD NEWS, at 1700 miles into consumption test my oil light came on!.It passed the original 1200 mile test. Our 2013 Outback has 25k on the clock. I called dealer and they said come right over...I did and they checked it...I was almost a qt low ...new short block is scheduled to be installed on Monday, they need one week and will provide a loaner during this period!!
I FEEL THE LOVE SUDDENLY!!
There is a faster way to get
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In reply to Hey all, by John H Williams (not verified)
There is a faster way to get it to fail. Keep it two weeks and drain the oil down a quart or two, take it back and raise hell. just sayin . . .;-)
And then, people wonder why
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In reply to There is a faster way to get by David (not verified)
And then, people wonder why this test is so restrictive on it's parameters. Because of people like David, Oil consumption issues are dealt with promptly at the dealership I work at. Test's are conducted immediately at the first sign of an issue, and short blocks are ordered as soon as the test is completed. But of course, people like David who drain their oil will get priority cause his is "burning a dangerous amount of oil" so then John who is actually have a consumption issue is delayed due to a priority on David's. Thanks David
I just took my 2013 Subaru
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I just took my 2013 Subaru Outback into the dealer yesterday, Nov. 29. My car did not pass the test and was told that my Subaru used excess amounts of oil. I was told that the part will take about 7 days. They are just replacing the bottom part of the engine only. Is that right?
My wife's 2011 forester used
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My wife's 2011 forester used 2 qt. on a 750 mile drive and we buy oil by the 5qt jug to add oil and the dealer said if we don't have oil change recipts they won't cover it so I'm looking for another engine or buy a Nissan rogue. VERY DISSAPOINTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm in the process of having
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I'm in the process of having an oil consumption test done on my 2012 Subaru Impreza. I was instructed to bring it back to the dealership within 1,200 miles, and it was OK to bring it in at 1,000 miles into the test. Just before reaching 700 miles yesterday my low oil light came on and I called my dealership to notify them that it's already burned through a qt. at 700 miles. I have to take it in today, I'm curious to see what they come up with.
I sold my 2014 Forester and
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I sold my 2014 Forester and let the buyer know all the problem with the oil. It was burning oil and had been for most of the time I owned it. I had to sell it because I travel long distances for work, sometimes in rural areas where there would be no service stations and my oil light would go on, even in the first year of owning it. I took it to the dealer's service department several times and they would say things like, "it might be the way you drive the car," or "maybe whoever changed the oil didnt put enough in." Then my friend told me about the class action suit and I was furious that the dealer had been trying to blame me all this time and they obviously had known there was a problem. I demanded they fix the car or trade me a car at no cost -- one that didnt have the problem, but they refused, saying they would need to do an oil consumption test over several months, which sounded like probably a year. I didnt trust them at all by this point, so I sold the car. I will never buy a Subaru again. Lots of cars have manufacturing problems, but most manufacturers do a recall and fix the problem. this one denied there was a problem and blamed the car owner. Bad faith business tactics. They got off too easily in the settlement. It disgusts me that they can get away with business tactics like this.
My 2012 forrester has use oil
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My 2012 forrester has use oil since day one, not all the time, just hit and miss.....now it has 120,000 miles on it and has run empty at 4,000 miles twice....local mechanic told me about consumption policy.... but according to above, I'm too late which sucks, I can't really afford to trade right now, have 2 in college....So I guess I just keep putting a quart of oil in every 2 weeks.
We also bought our car brand
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In reply to My 2012 forrester has use oil by Pam (not verified)
We also bought our car brand new in 2014, this is the last year of payments we are still making! and its been some times she can go for a while after the oil change, but a couple years ago my daughter had an oil change at subaru, drove to Las Vegas with her friend and had to stop in some random pit to have more oil put in the car, this is dangerous! 2014 subaru forester premium , our last payment is in april and I will be damn if we need a new motor , like subaru told us! we always brought in for service, and complained about this oil light, no one said a word, now they want her to drive a 1000 miles and come back for re check, they said she may need a whole new motor! on a new subaru! 6 years old is pretty damn new to us! still making payments ! If I have to start another class action on this I will ! because all these years I wondered why this oil light keeps coming on so fast
My husband bought me a brand
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My husband bought me a brand new 2012 Subaru Forrester. We live in Georgia and took our first trip to New York. My husband happened to check the oil and noticed it was low in oil. We mentioned it to the dealer but was told it was normal and nothing was wrong with the car. To make a long story short with lots of complaining on our part they finally agreed to do the oil consumption test. The car failed. They were suppose to have fixed the problem. RIGHT!,,, we were happy and thought all was well.
We just took another trip to New York. Guess what there's no oil on the stick. So much for the so called fix. Next week I guess we will start all over again. I can't wait for the line of crap we will get this time.
I just read the lawsuit and if you did not opt out you can't file a lemon lawsuit.
I might add I have a 1999 Subaru Forrester that has 243,000 miles on it. I have never had to add oil to the car except oil changes.
I will keep you posted on what they say this time around.
Thanks for the update Linda!
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In reply to My husband bought me a brand by Linda (not verified)
Thanks for the update Linda! Keep us posted.
Just finished our 2nd oil
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In reply to Thanks for the update Linda! by Denis Flierl
Just finished our 2nd oil consumption test. Guess what it failed AGAIN! Looks like there fix did not fix the problem. The service manager came out and said it failed. That they were going to fix the short block. I said it didn’t work the first time what makes you think it’s going to work the second time. He said oh this was fixed before. (Same dealership) I said yes. He opened the door to the service mechanics and said this had the fix done before. Then the mechanics said oh it’s leaking at the gaskets. We only had a short walk and talk down the hall for the stories to change. Will be following up with headquarters where I filed my complaint to see what they have to say next. In the mean time they gave us a loaner today. Good luck is all I have to say to everyone. I will keep this updated.
So sad to hear of all the oil
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So sad to hear of all the oil consumption news. Just had major repair done to fix oil consumption issue on my 2013 Forester. Issues with oil started at 41,760 miles and had repair done at 42,940 miles (after consumption test). Just got my car back, but had to return it due to weird knocking/hammering noise when starting engine. It only started making noise after I picked it up from oil consumption repair. Does anyone else have a noise issue related to the oil consumption repair?
My daughter bought a 2014
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My daughter bought a 2014 Forester at Herb Gordon Subaru in MD. Worst decision. Oil leaks bad, am in the middle of fighting with Subaru now. First time she brought it in, the mechanic blurted out, yes we are aware of problems with this car, and despite all the stuff on the web, they claim they did not know this car had a problem. Very saddened to see how they handle this. Dealer says it is totally normal to dump quarts of oil into it between changes. Insult to my inteligence.
We bought a 2013 outback used
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We bought a 2013 outback used in August 2013, we were not notified of the class action lawsuit or given the option of the opt out. Currently we are having the short block replaced due to a failed oil consumption test- but my question is, since we weren't notified how does the lawsuit and ability to claim lemon law affect us? we did purchase this as a certified used vehicle from Subaru directly.
Do the 2018 Foresters still
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Do the 2018 Foresters still have this oil burning problem?
I've the same problem with 13
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I've the same problem with 13 Legacy. I had the oil consumption test done three times. Each time, the dealership tried to cheat me by overfilling it, denying overfilling it, telling me blatant lies about the engine oil that needed to be added (after the lamp came on and I verified with my local mechanic that the level was below the minimum dot on the stick--they said it burnt only 1/5 of a quart!!). I see that this is a common experience with Subaru owners who had the same oil consumption test.
I'm trying to organize a group of people with the similar experience, and hire a lawyer to represent these owners. Also, I'm contacting news organizations to find a reporter who would investigate this issue and disclose this shady dishonorable practice by Subaru of America. Please reply to this and leave an email if you would like to participate in this.
Shame on you Subaru!!
I'm late to the game. I have
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In reply to I've the same problem with 13 by Joe (not verified)
I'm late to the game. I have a 2012 Imprezza Hatch just paid off. Always ate oil and now recently leaking every week to 10 days. Mechanic tells me cracked head or gasket probably. New engine $4000. I don't know what to do. Any reply would be appreciated. Thank you.
YES, add my name to hire
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In reply to I've the same problem with 13 by Joe (not verified)
YES, add my name to hire lawyer for those who didn't opt out. I didn't because at the time, I did not notice the oil consumption problem. Shame on you, Subaru. I feel the HATE!!!
2014 Outback started adding
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In reply to I've the same problem with 13 by Joe (not verified)
2014 Outback started adding about a quart between oil changes after owning it for about six months. Now the low oil light comes on around 350 to 400 miles and it takes over a quart to reach the full mark. I was never informed by Subaru about this defect and I believe that is fraudulent. They have to own up to it and make it right for all of us loyal customers.
I have taken my 2015
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I have taken my 2015 Forrester on several occasions to Maple Hill Auto in Kalamazoo and have been told the consumption is norma. Another auto shop said that this is not normal
I just purchased a used 2012
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I just purchased a used 2012 Subaru Forester. I took the car in last weekend for a multi-point inspection and to have the airbag recall fixed. I was told I have oil leak and 2 gaskets need to be replaced. In order to do so, the engine has to be pulled. Wondering if this has anything to do with the Class Action Lawsuit filed against Subaru and if this would be covered under the lawsuit. I JUST purchased (and should have done my homework prior) so I don't know if it's been using a lot of oil and I don't know if I have time to do the oil consumption test. I'm coming up on the 8 years and 100,000 miles. Thank you.
I have a 2015 Subaru Outback
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I have a 2015 Subaru Outback tht has been using excessie oil. I have taken it back to the dealer ship numeriuos times to no avail, The dealer ship was sold and I don't know if I have any recourse. If anyone has an answer , please reply. Thank You