Synthetic Oil Issues??

We've been running synthetic oil in our 2.5GT for 25,000 miles. When my wife took it in for an oil change last week (Village Subaru) the service manager told her that they would not recommend running synthetics because of reported issues, engine light comes on, ruff running motor, and sticky valves. So I decide to call another dealer, North End where we bought the car. Their service manager said that he hadn't heard about issues with the 2.5GT but many with the 6 cyl. powerplant. However, because of the issues with the 6 cyl., he won't put synthetic oil in their 4 cyl. either. I asked whether Subaru would warrenty cars running synthetic? His response, "can't answer that". Final question was where is all this coming from? He said, "Subaru of New England".

There is no problem in running syn in our cars. Call Exeter Subaru 603-778-0300 and ask to speak with Scott the Service Manager (25+ years experience w/ Subies) and he'll tell you the same thing.

sticky valves.

 

lol

 

service managers like to flap their gums with all sorts of nonsense.

 

dR

MO_RON behind the counter:rolleyes:

Sounds like a steaming pile of dealer bs. 15K with Mobil 1. Zero issues.

 

The only time it can be an issue is if you put synthetic in a brand new car as the synthetic oil molecules are smaller and could penitrate through virgin seals. Once your seals are set...after 1-3K miles you should be fine to switch.

40k mobil1 the whole time. Issues = 0

Village Subaru sucks, never buy a car from that jerk kevin the salesperson that works there. That place is a joke will never buy from there again, got my 2nd subie from subaru of nashua the salesperson ed was alot more knowledgable and friendly.

Is this a recent thing at Village Subaru about synthetic? I ask because last fall/winter they did two oil changes for me with Castrol Syntec and never mentioned anything. I've had good service there and have always had a new Subaru loaner (Legacy, Outback, and B9).

Yes, this appears to be a recent development. We've had the oil changed multiple times at both dealers I mentioned, each time with Mobil 1, with no previous stated cautions. Last week at Village we were told about these issues for the first time and it was recommended we not use synthetic. I double checked this story with another dealer, North End Subaru, and they confirmed issues with the 6 cyl. engine, not the 2.5GT yet, but they also said they were discouraging the use of synthetics in the 2.5 as well.

I use mobil 1 in my OBXT and in my dad's LL Beanie with the H6. No problems whatsoever. I change oil every 3k miles...he changes every 7k.

BTW, we've had no issues running 25K miles with synthetic. However, when the dealer suggests you may have warranty issues if you continue running it, you at least have to re-evaluate.

 

Has anybody else called another dealer in New England to confirm what both North End and Village have said?

there's another thread floating around about SOC (Subaru of Canada) with an ad campaign with Mobil 1

 

 

So if Subaru is cross promoting with Mobil 1.... I think it's ok to use

They can't make warranty threats if the oil you use meets the requirements as set forth in the owner's manual.

They're just trying to get you to wear out your engine sooner by using inferior oil (flame away) so you have to buy another car.

M1 synth used in numerous cars (turbo and NA) with zero issues, and none of these symptoms.

 

How can a valve "stick" with a camshaft pushing down on it? Think about it... it will simply jam the camshaft. Unless he thinks the valve sticks open, which makes even less sense, since synth is a better lubricant than regular oil, and gums up less too... if anything, the plain oil will cause sticking more than synth.

 

I know... preaching to the choir...

[singing choir]

 

50k as of yesterday, many autocrosses, many twisty roads, many highways, many city blocks. All on Mobil 1 synth, and zero problems. I think Pillboy is on the right track with that statement...the Service Manager is full of ...well not oil...