Burning oil smell after oil change

Over the weekend I had the dealer do the first oil change and just noticed today in traffic the smell of burning oil. I know with all the transverse inline 4's I owned before this was kind of normal since the exhaust manifold runs right under the engine...but I thought with the flat fours the exhaust runs around the sides to the back then up to the turbo. Seems to me like there wouldn't be anything near the oil drain to burn it off. Is this normal? I checked the oil level but it seemed OK but I also noticed the exhaust tips are pretty black for a car with 1500 miles. Also as a side note I noticed the paperwork said they put 10W-30 in....I know the manual indicates it is OK for warmer conditions but being that the dipstick says 5W-30 I would have thought that would have been what they used.

they probably spilled oil all over your engine while pouring it in

Over the weekend I had the dealer do the first oil change and just noticed today in traffic the smell of burning oil. I know with all the transverse inline 4's I owned before this was kind of normal since the exhaust manifold runs right under the engine...but I thought with the flat fours the exhaust runs around the sides to the back then up to the turbo. Seems to me like there wouldn't be anything near the oil drain to burn it off. Is this normal? I checked the oil level but it seemed OK but I also noticed the exhaust tips are pretty black for a car with 1500 miles. Also as a side note I noticed the paperwork said they put 10W-30 in....I know the manual indicates it is OK for warmer conditions but being that the dipstick says 5W-30 I would have thought that would have been what they used.

 

12K on mine and it stinks like you describe after every oil change. I've complained with each oil change with no explanation or change. I wonder if some oil pools on the aero panels under the engine and smells. The odor last too long for it to be oil splashed on the exhaust, that should burn away quickly. Since I've always had the dealer change the oil I don't really know what things look like under there. The stink eventually goes away, but it is great to pull into your garage and smell that all the time. Wish someone could fix that.

yes, change the oil and filter yourself. takes about 20 minutes

 

 

12K on mine and it stinks like you describe after every oil change. I've complained with each oil change with no explanation or change. I wonder if some oil pools on the aero panels under the engine and smells. The odor last too long for it to be oil splashed on the exhaust, that should burn away quickly. Since I've always had the dealer change the oil I don't really know what things look like under there. The stink eventually goes away, but it is great to pull into your garage and smell that all the time. Wish someone could fix that.

yes, change the oil and filter yourself. takes about 20 minutes

 

I'll be doing that eventually but this one was free unfortunately it came with the nasty stink

free is rarely good (if ever)

The oil filler mouth is actually a funnel on the Legacy which is pretty cool. There should be no excuse for spilling the oil. You're supposed to have the slope in the oil bottle pointing down when pouring from a quart bottle to prevent spill as you start to tip the bottle and pour, but I have seen mechanics screw it up by leaving the slope on the up side. The slope in the bottle is there for a reason!

 

Also when you take the oil filter of on my NA it can get messy if you are rushing. I did my cars second oil change yesterday with synthetic blend, we have to go on a long trip no time to go to the dealer, it was a walk in the park. That filter was stuck on fast.

 

Check around the filter area, the oil cap and the oil plug for residue.

...I also noticed the exhaust tips are pretty black for a car with 1500 miles...

 

They're black due to the excessively rich(approx. 10.2:1) fuel mixture SOA engineer's run to help protect the engine from pinging in almost any situation. Subaru isn't the only one to do this, Mitsu EVO's run pig rich as well....

 

I have a 12.5-12:1 AFR running alky injection, and although my tips are pretty clean, they too still show a little carbon soot.

maybe they pour from 5qt bottles... thats what i do. it is pretty much impossible to not spill when starting a pour from a newly opened 5qt bottle, no matter which way you hold the slope. i use a funnel.

They're black due to the excessively rich(approx. 10.2:1) fuel mixture SOA engineer's run to help protect the engine from pinging in almost any situation. Subaru isn't the only one to do this, Mitsu EVO's run pig rich as well....

 

I have a 12.5-12:1 AFR running alky injection, and although my tips are pretty clean, they too still show a little carbon soot.

 

I guess that makes sense but what is that going to do to our cats? If there is unburned fuel in the exhaust the cats are going to run too hot and self destruct, no?

Odds are the burning smell is coming from the oil filter area. There's probably a little that made its way onto the exhaust.

Odds are the burning smell is coming from the oil filter area. There's probably a little that made its way onto the exhaust.

 

If so, the smell should not last long. I smell mine weeks after an oil change.

I guess that makes sense but what is that going to do to our cats? If there is unburned fuel in the exhaust the cats are going to run too hot and self destruct, no?

 

Don't forget that this is under open loop fueling(WOT, over 7psi, over 3.7k rpm). When in closed loop, the ecu is targetting stoich(14.7:1).

 

The time spent in open loop pales in comparison to closed loop operation. So your cats will be working harder, but for only short bursts, so that's how they can getaway with it....

Are you using the white or the black oil filters? There were issues with the larger white filters that caused oil to seep around the seal and drip onto the exhaust. Unfortunately I can't remember the part numbers right now.

 

If you do have a white filter that is leaking, take it back to your dealership and exchange it for a black one.

Are you using the white or the black oil filters? There were issues with the larger white filters that caused oil to seep around the seal and drip onto the exhaust. Unfortunately I can't remember the part numbers right now.

 

If you do have a white filter that is leaking, take it back to your dealership and exchange it for a black one.

 

I would have to take a look since they changed the oil, but I will definately check that.

They're black due to the excessively rich(approx. 10.2:1) fuel mixture SOA engineer's run to help protect the engine from pinging in almost any situation. Subaru isn't the only one to do this, Mitsu EVO's run pig rich as well....

 

I have a 12.5-12:1 AFR running alky injection, and although my tips are pretty clean, they too still show a little carbon soot.

 

Wait...I just realized even if this was the case....I only have 1500 miles and only for the last few hundred have I opened her up, would this really build up that quick?

I use the 5 quart Mobil 1 Synthetic from Walmart and I spill some on occasion, and it will stink for a few days.

I got my oil changed and the dealship got a batch of bad filters and missed the Service Bullet saying dont use certin batch. I got burnt oil smell for awhile. Took it back in and they fixed it, no problem

I would suspect oil that gets on the plastic splash shield when the oil is drained eventually blows back onto the exhaust while driving the car? I would bet most techs do not wipe up the splashes after they drain the oil. Just a guess.