Hi all,
Hi all,
I'm responding to this thread late as the year is now 2023 and my 2011 Forester is 12 years old. I bought the car used in 2017 and at first didn't know about the high oil consumption issue until I noticed the oil light on the dash came on only a month after purchasing it. I drove the car to the dealership to explain the problem but they were mum about any type of oil issue. The one thought going through my mind was that I was screwed. I researched the problem and found out about the extended warranty to replace the short block but I had gone past it. After haggling with my Subaru dealership they finally agreed to an oil consumption test at their expense, which was a good sign because now I had their attention. At that time I always made sure to keep a quart of oil in the car in case of an emergency. I don't care what type of car you have but in my 50+ years of car ownership I had never owned a car with this issue. Can you imagine buying a car and the salesperson tells you to always keep extra oil for this model? I could see this gravitating toward the sales department getting involved and offering to sell me a new car but that wasn't an option for me. When I bought the car I was just outside the warranty coverage and at that point I knew I was in trouble because Subaru wasn't obligated to fix the problem at their expense. Since I was a regular customer at this particular dealership, they agreed to a free oil consumption test. That was about the time I discovered the class action suit brought against Subaru to do the right thing and replace the short block. Obviously Subaru was aware of the problem and not once admitted any culpability. Subaru did nothing but back-pedal, deny, and shrug their shoulders. I nagged the service department and told them that I couldn't afford to buy a new car and asked if there was anything they could do. They got Subaru USA involved and they agreed to replace the short block in my car for a $500 deductible. I still wasn't thrilled about it but to put into perspective it was a lot better than paying $5-7,000 out of pocket. I'm good with Subaru now and still drive my 2011 Forester. It's still reliable (165,000 mi.) and with the newer short block hope I can keep on driving it for another 3-5 years. So, if you're driving around town in a 2011 Forester with the oil issue, all is not lost. If you bought the car at a Subaru dealership throw yourself at their mercy. This has a better chance for a positive outcome if it's where you purchased your car or take it for service. If they see you're a loyal customer they may be more inclined to work with you, at least that's the intended outcome. It's at least worth a shot if you have nowhere else to turn,