Why Subaru’s excessive oil consumption issue could spoil their party

My Subaru Forester 2014 was bought in Canada, and suddenly began consuming a litre (quart) of oil every 2,000 kms; the local dealership claims one every 5,000kms is normal. I took it in for a 'compression test' and the problem has abated. I'd love to know what the did. Because my mechanic would not touch the car with it burning so much oil, and he hesitant to return to it.

Be careful, and don't trust the warning light. My engine blew due to an oil issue and no light every came on.

If it consumes only 100ml per 1500miles and the light comes on then I have a question.

When do you perofrm your regular oil changes ? With that king of consumption, you do not need to add oil between oil changes. If you do them on a regular basis the light will never go on.

I recently purchased a 2013 Certified Used Subaru Outback that had only 22,000 miles on it. I was told to expect to do an oil change as infrequently as every 7500 miles but typically no sooner than 6,000 miles. Next thing I know, at less than 3,000 miles after I had purchased it a "low oil" indicator went on indicating that the vehicle was getting to the low range when I would have to add a quart of oil! I waited until it was a quart and added it. When I went in for an oil change before 6000 miles it was more than a quart low,meaning I had burned up more than two quarts of oil during the time I would need an oil change. My local dealership was different than the one from whom I had purchased the car, and they reassured me that the oil consumption test would begin immediately after the oil change. Inexplicably the first one said it had not lost any oil; however the next two were both down a half quart at around 1200 miles. Interestingly, the service attendant raised all kinds of red flags when she said it was "only 'point' five of a quart of oil" - as if it was just a "fraction" of a quart of oil - nothing to worry about!! I pointed out that for the 6000 mile oil change mark it would be down 2 and a half quarts of oil. She indicated that she would discuss the results with the service manager and get back to me early the next morning - asking how early I would be up so as not to wake me!! A week and a half later, after not being called, I called her. She apologized for possibly calling the wrong number but went on to say this was "normal oil consumption" for "that vehicle" and that, if I wanted, I could do the oil consumption test again in the future if I thought it was worse than that! She also said the oil should be changed every 3,000 miles - or that is what Subaru is recommending - for synthetic oil!! I was going to call the dealer from whom I bought it to see if this is the stance all of them are taking, but had a minute to google this and came to this site. This "certified used car" is clearly defective and it was sold to me most likely after having high oil consumption for the first 22,000 miles of it's ownership. This is sickening.

Having the same problem with my 2013 Outback
It is COMPLETELY unacceptable, shame on Subaru. I am going out of my way to tell EVERYBODY I know not to ever buy a Subaru
Tim

I have owned 4 Subaru Outback and on my 5th 2015. This is the first car that I have had to add oil every 3,500 miles. Oil changes were to be at 7,000 miles, and I have never made it to 7,000 miles. I have the oil changed at 4,000 because oil light came on and have to add oil myself. It takes 0W-20 oil. The dealer has done an oil consumption test twice now. Always comes back and says it is normal to add oil anytime after 1,200 miles. This vehicle only has 31,000 miles. I asked if they are having problems with the 2016 outback, his reply was yes. I don't believe my next vehicle will be a Subaru unless this is fixed within the next year.

It will be very interesting when Subaru starts loosing core customers over to other brands.

I too will never own another Subaru. I own a 2014 outback and suddenly at 60k miles it started burning a lot more oil. I am burning about a quart every 1200 miles, which Subaru states as NORMAL. I called Subaru today and was told there was nothing they could do. I explained that this car should easily run to 300K miles with NO oil consumption. However, the oil consumption is not the only issue with this car. The fact that the headlights burn out quickly and are virtually impossible to replace is a pain, the eyesight doesn't work in direct sun, therefore cruise control cannot be used AT ALL, and the CVT transmission is clunky. Needless to say, I am dumping this car as soon as I can and going back so Nissan. Good riddance subie.

Im going through the oil consumption test on my 2014 Outback. It uses 1 quart of oil every 6000 miles. I currently have 52,000 highway miles on the car. This is not acceptable. If Subaru does fix the car, Ill sell it as well as try to be added to the lawsuit.

Our 2014 Outback is also having a serious oil consumption issue. Four quarts in 18,000 miles. I carry a spare quart of the recommended oil, because I will need it, and as another commenter noted, it is not widely available. Was not aware I have to monitor coolant levels, also. Wow, If we have known about this issue and Subaru's stonewalling we definitely would not have bought the Outback. I am starting the dialog with our dealer about getting a fix. Based on most of the other comments it appears this will be an uphill battle.