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

"If the oil usage is over their acceptable specifications, they could replace the piston rings. "

New TSB says to replace the short block.

Max, the question is, are you feeling lucky? If this were a problem with an identifiable culprit as to cause, then it would have been resolved several years ago. Instead, it appears to have gotten worse. I say this because real-world trade-in values are suffering and the brand is tarnished. The primary Forester forum has pundits claiming that this was fixed in '12, '13, & '14, only to be proven wrong. It does not affect every vehicle, but I am too busy to dedicate time for "oil consumption tests" nonsense and overfilling and other excuses. This is a systemic problem within Subaru, especially the denial, deception with the overfill, and blame deflection to the owner.

This can also happen if you don't properly break in the engine. I had an 07 Subaru Impreza WRX STI I bought with 10k miles on it. That car burned a quart of oil every month and I suspect it was because the previous owner didn't break in the engine correctly. If you do not follow the manufacturers recommended break in instructions it is your own damned fault when this very thing happens. You have to follow the directions so that the dang oil rings can seat correctly, otherwise they will not seat correctly and the rings won't work as intended. It is a wonder thought that Subaru doesn't use different rings or seat the rings in the factory before shipping the vehicles.

So my wifes 2012 Legacy has been fine in the past 3 years of owning the car no complaints. Then one day the oil light comes on. The car was almost 2qts low after an oil change was done 2 months ago? So she might have done maybe 1500+ miles in 2 months.

We bring the car to the dealer I ask them to do a oil consumption test they changed the oil and were good to go come back in 1200 miles blah blah. I am driving behind her in the car all I am seeing is white smoke. We get home I check the oil and they over filled the car!!!! They put in at least an extra qt of oil in the car so when we would arrive back it would seem that we did not burn any oil... unreal.

So I brought it back to the dealer the next day. Now we are waiting to bring it back again Im sure it will fail and they will have to do a rebuild but it does not sound like anyone has had much success that route either.

After a re-ring, short block replacement, they are now replacing my 2014 Forester with a new 2015!!! I have been persistent with bringing it in and with communicating with corporate. They have been very understanding. I have emphasized how much by family loves Suburus (4 7 kids have them) and that we want to be loyal. I have stressed how unreasonable it is to expect people to check their oil every other fill up! Also that we paid for a new car in order to be worry free and how disconcerting it is for me to have oil warning light come on in the middle of the night on country roads, esp. as an older woman.

After researching IIHS safety ratings along with the latest Consumer Reports evaluation, I was convinced that the 2015 2.5 Legacy was the perfect car for me. That is, until I came upon the oil consumption issue. Instead, I'll be putting new tires on my 2010 Honda Civic, which has never used a drop of oil. Come to think of it, it's been more than 40 years since I've had a car that burned/consumed oil, and I'm not about to start now. No thanks Subaru.

I hear you... I just traded my 14 outback on a 2015 Honda pilot.... I literally just drove it home....Bluetooth setup is nicer too! Hahaha

Previous owner of three Subaru's. The fact is that Subaru is throwing all their loyal customers under the bus. When it is considered "normal" for a "new" vehicle to consume up to one quart of oil in 1200 miles, guess what happens when that vehicle has 20, 30, 40k miles on it! It only gets much, much worse. Subaru has decided not to fully disclose or admit to the nature of the problem, be it piston rings, the cylinder bock or whether it is a manufacturing and/or design issue. Subaru has decided to take the low road, downplay the issue and continue to sell defective products. Will never purchase another Subaru product. Subaru, you lost this customer and I suspect many, many more. When this problem is fully exposed in Consumer Reports magazine, sales will definitely crash. So keep hiding behind your corporate mouthpieces and lying to your customers. The Subaru brand is severely tainted and the treatment of your once loyal customers will be the ones to rightfully drag it down.

My 2014 Forester averages needing 2-3 quarts between oil changes. The dealership says this is "normal" and there is nothing they can do for me. I have taken it to them three times and complained, each time getting the same response. Yet I have a family member who went to the same dealership once, complained about using 1-2 quarts between oil changes and got a new engine under warranty.

I am planning to buy an Outback to replace my 16 y.o Accord with 260k miles. I was researching the common Subaru mechanical problems so that's how I ended up in this site. Now, the oil consumption problem will make me think twice before put my money down on the Subaru. My aging Accord still working fine but with some rust parts and staff BUT it does not burn even 1 oz of oil in between 6,500 mile oil change.

Bought a brand new 2015 Forrester manual transmission . Oil light and dash TV said dangerously low oil levels. Dipstick registered nothing . Subaru dealer changed oul and set up 1500 oil consumption eval. Right Before eval came due again oil light oil levels dangerously low and nothing on dipstick. Will update what comes next.

i am an ex subaru sales person,
i am on my 10th subaru.
my 2010 forester engine lost a connecting rod bearing on a road trip...they replaced the engine.
i bought a 2014 forester when they cam out. this morning on a local trip the oil light came on.
way too much oil gone in way too few miles.
i guess i will go see the dealer for a test...but will check the oil level before i leave.
i love the way they drive and handle.....the oil consumption issue needs to be resolved.
as they are one of the few cars that have a true all wheel drive system, what would you replace it with ???

i understand what you mean about how great the car drives. When I was buying, I had to have all wheel drive and a manual transmission. Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 only offered automatic CVT trans. Even outback didn't offer manual trans. I've resigned myself to topping and checking oil for the life of the car. Not the end of the world I guess. Most of the experimental fixes out there short block rings blah blah nine out of ten times makes things as bad or worse. Subaru has had this oil consumption problem for a few years so does Mercedes and they haven't found a fix.I've heard the synthetic oil is too thin but they use it to increase milage these cars use oil from the tech guys. I'd rather trust the robots who built my 2015 manual trans Forrester (one step above base with moon roof and ass warmer) and keep it in one piece unless I get desperate. I love driving it!!

My 1998 Honda Accord started using oil at around 120,000. It still uses less than my 2015 Subaru Outback. Mine only has 4000 miles on it and it already uses oil. I would guess that the head gasket issue that the Subaru Crime family has had for 30 years or so is also not gotten any better. I just plan on selling my POS before I get to the head gasket problem (80K).

2013 Legacy - same issue as everyone else. Burning, fill, fill, fill... Make sure your close to a auto shop so you can fill, fill fill the oil burner....

Feel like I could make some money off Subaru owners on the list. Maybe create an extra snap on quart oil holder for the boot. Thoughts? I always keep the oil in the trunk, but it's all over the place and one day I think it's gonna explode in the boot...

This is not just a Subaru problem I have a jeep also and chrysler says the same thing 1000 mi 1qt of oil if you Google oil consumption on new cars a lot of manufacturers have this problem don't know its if its caused by the new government EPA standards or not .

I have all your complaints beat. I purchased a brand new 2011 Forester. When I took it for an oil change I was told there wasn't any oil registering on the dipstick. I told them that my 2002 Toyota Tundra with 284,000 miles on it doesn't require any oil in between oil changes. I was told that its because it is a different motor design. What a bunch of donkey poop. I'm so unhappy with my Forester. I have to add 1/2 quart of oil every 4-5 days.

Pathetic Vehicle, I will never purchase another Suburu.

I read all these posts and then my son drove up with his 2014 Outback. "How many miles since last oil change", I asked, "it's about due, 7,000 miles". "Lift the hood. I want to check your oil". "OK" It was almost a quart low, in my book that is not abnormal, even though I checked the level on my 2013 Nisan Rogue with, coincidentally, the same amount of miles and it registered full. I really hope Subaru does right by those affected as I love their product.

The Subaru Corporation will not do right by anyone. I'm more disappointed with at the Corporation than I am with ,my 2015 Outback. The corporation will tell you that a quart every 1200 miles is 'normal'. The corporation doesn't stand behind their products.

I don't know about a 2014, but if you had 7,000 miles before you changed your oil in a 2015, you would have voided your warranty. How Subaru 'fixes' the oil consumption issue in 2015 is that they changed the interval to 6000 miles. Pure synthetic oil, about $65 for an oil change.

Subarus are a scam.

2015 Subaru Outback - I have the same oil issues. Adding 1 quart every 2000 to 3000 miles from the moment I drove it off the lot as the oil light comes on all the time. Been to the dealer each time and get the same story. This is normal. Really? Never owned a Subaru and while I can appreciate that it burns hotter, this is excessive. Very frustrated as I drive a lot. Have NEVER had this issue with any of my other cars

I own a 2013 CrossTrek. The oil light comes on about every 1200 miles. I end up adding at least a quart of oil each time. I cannot believe Subaru can say that this is normal. If I knew about this problem before hand I would not have bought a Subaru. VERY DISAPPOINTED

I have a 2014 Subaru Forester. It started consuming oil when it had 1900 miles on it. They had me do the 1200 mile test, then pulled the engine and said it had the wrong size gasget from the factory. Then after less than another 5000 miles it happened again. this time they had me run the test again and pulled the engine again replacing the short block. Now I am at about 5000 miles since they replaced the block and the oil light came on again. Now they tell me that this is normal and I can come in at about 3000 miles to get it topped off. This is ridiculous! I've never had a car that burned oil as a matter of course! There is something wrong here. They say their hands are tied and they can't do anything else. I wish I had never bought this car!

Yeah I was really leaning towards getting a 2015 Forrester, the price and options were very good compared to Honda and Toyota. But this oil burning thing turned me away. I just can't justify spending 25k+ on a car and have it possibly burning a quart of oil every 1200 miles off the lot. Sorry Subaru, fix your engine and maybe I'll buy one later on. Until then gotta stick with Toyota.

Thanks guys !! I was a day away from buying a 2014 Premium 2.5 !! I THINK NOT !!

2012 Impreza WXR STI owner (or used to be) ....just took it in...or towed it in...my engine blew with no warning whatsoever. Not even a light. We had a good year though." LOVE" my A**

Has Subaru fixed this now? I have a 2006 Toyota Sienna minivan 3.3L engine with 127,000 miles and it uses ZERO oil between changes. And I often wait 8-10K miles before I personally change the 5 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic oil. I mention this because I am considering a 2016 Subaru Outback as my next car and I do not want to have to deal with such excessive oil consumption on a brand new vehicle. As it is, I'm a bit hesitant to spend $33K in the fall and will be looking more deeply into the issue. Recently fell in love with Subaru after watching Youtube videos of their cars plowing through snow and mud. Head gaskets, CV joints and oil consumption seem to be the issues with these cars I quickly learned.

I have a 2006 Forster that burns oil rather quickly. About a quart a month or so. Its all because the head gasket seals get blown. I could fix them, but in 2-3 years they will start to leak again. Thats just too expensive to fix every few years of normal operation.1 quart of oil per month is a much cheaper solution.

The worst offender I ever owned was a 1986 doge ram with a slant 6. i bought it with over 300,000 miles on it and it was only hitting on 5 of the 6 cylinders. Gave it an oil change after deciding to keep it and it no longer burned a quart a day. It was about 2 quarts a month of driving to work an back @ 55 mph any faster and you quite literally could see the oil burning out the side pipe. Funny to see a big burly guy in a typical red Doge burning oil down the highway. The cops would just shake their heads as a waved to them.

Thanks to all for posting. I had been planning on buying a new Impreza, but after reading this, Subaru will not get my business. I will probably go for another Honda, likely the HR-V.

Stop your whining. The owner's manual states that 1 qt per 1000 miles is normal. Even though it is extremely excessive for modern cars, you should have been aware of this possibility when you purchased the vehicle...