2015 Legacy 2.5 oil burning

So I guess Subaru didn't fix the problem even in the new generation legacy's. Yesterday my 2015 Legacy, with less than 20k miles, had the oil light come on and yes, there was hardly any oil on the dipstick. I immediately took it to the dealer and they told me that they would like to do an oil consumption test. I asked them what would happen if they found it to be an issue and they said they have to change the short block of the engine. (basically rebuild it)

 

My car has less than 20k miles and my engine has to be rebuilt?? Seriously Subaru! I'm grateful that Subaru is willing to warrantee this, but come on - this is a BRAND NEW CAR with less than 20k miles. I did not pay $30k+ to have an engine reconstructed on a new car! And for what it's worth the oil consumption test is for only 1200 miles, NOT the 6k mile change (synthetic). I highly doubt the oil will move much at 1200 miles, but we'll see. (One thing to note also, I found out Subaru lowered the mileage for Synthetic oil changes in 2015 - they reduced the interval from 7,500 miles to 6,000 miles - most likely so people don't notice it's burning oil!)

 

Consumer Reports also lists Subaru engines as one of the worst for burning oil and has stated that this is NOT normal.

 

Subaru in 2015 was just dropped from JD Power completely. My guess is that this oil issue is to blame. This is not what I expected from a new car. My second subaru and most likely it will be my last until I see a good 10 year run from Subaru with no more oil burning or gasket issues.

 

Very upset subaru!

Edited March 25, 2016 by sf.basilix
clarification, confusing verbiage

Been dealing with this for 190k now on my 2009, my consumption is around 1qt - 2qt over a 4500mi-5000mi oil change interval... I understand your frustration. Unfortunately it's common for Subaru's to consume oil, and is nothing new really. Good thing you have a low engine oil light though, a number of 4th gen owners who are new to subaru have blown their engines from oil starvation.

 

The thing I have noticed with my car is, there is not much consumption for the first 1500 miles or so. After the oil has sheared/thinned down a bit, the consumption starts to increase. My consumption is worse when the weather is hot, too. A thicker oil would reduce the consumption, but after reading the owners manual, they really want people to run 0w-20 it seems.

 

How many miles were on the oil when the light came on?

It must be how the cars are being driven, we don't usually drive them above 3,000rpm. I know you didn't want to hear this sf, but our 2014 Crosstrek has 19,000 miles and I change the oil every 6 months or 5,000 miles (we don't drive a ton) and we don't have oil consumption issues. My Legacy is 10 months old with 6,800 miles and no oil issues either. I have a consistent coolant smell and both cars are coolant alcoholics, but that's another thread... So I'm wondering, are the cars that are consuming oil at a fast rate being driven hard?

 

I will note - An acquaintance of ours has a 2014 Forester with the 6spd stick and has about 15,000 miles. She's on her 3rd (yes THIRD) engine due to oil consumption. So it leads me to believe that the cars that are consuming oil at rate of an alcoholic hobo, are being wrung out.

Edited March 9, 2016 by SubieN8

My wife's Leg has 9500k on the meter and has used at least 1.5 qts of oil between changes. Dealer did consumption test and it barely passed. Service manager suggested doing another test in 10k miles. While in the waiting room another owner was telling me that his 2015 was approved for a new short block because of oil consumption. By the way the car was broken in according to manual recommendations. My wife is an excellent driver, she doesn't beat the car nor drive like a grandma, even though she is one. Also there is an antifreeze smell when the engine is shut down in the garage. Dealer has topped off antifreeze to proper level at each visit, but can't locate leak. I doubt these problems are related, but who knows. We were hoping to keep this car long term but I am concerned with damage that excessive oil consumption does to engine and emission parts. We really love this car but are really concerned with build quality. We already had the following problems: cracked windshield, wind noise, gas filler lid and the sound system issues. Subaru has repaired all items at their cost, but the recurring trips to the dealer has become very aggravating.

Been dealing with this for 190k now on my 2009, my consumption is around 1qt - 2qt over a 4500mi-5000mi oil change interval... I understand your frustration. Unfortunately it's common for Subaru's to consume oil, and is nothing new really. Good thing you have a low engine oil light though, a number of 4th gen owners who are new to subaru have blown their engines from oil starvation.

 

The thing I have noticed with my car is, there is not much consumption for the first 1500 miles or so. After the oil has sheared/thinned down a bit, the consumption starts to increase. My consumption is worse when the weather is hot, too. A thicker oil would reduce the consumption, but after reading the owners manual, they really want people to run 0w-20 it seems.

 

How many miles were on the oil when the light came on?

 

So for clarification, no I do not beat on my car. In fact I baby the vehicle because I keep my cars until they die. My last Honda Pilot had well over 200k miles on it and I did every service required in the manual. I even break in the vehicles per what they asked me to do (don't rev the engine, don't keep the RPMs steady, etc).

 

I have never beaten on this car ever. The only modification I ever did was add a stronger rear sway bar - not because I take turns hard, but because the vehicle cannot stay in it's lane when I'm going over 60mph and there's high wind or I'm passing a truck (yes, the alignment is correct, and yes the sway bar helped alot)

 

My car has about 14k miles on it. I have had oil changes consistently according to the book - every 6k miles - in fact, I even changed the oil the first 400 miles (through the dealership) because I've read many places that shards of metal can come loose on new components and damage other components. The same dealership has all my records.

 

When this happened, I was about 5k miles through the actual 6k mile oil change - so I had another 1k left before the oil should have been changed. When they pulled the dipstick out, there was barely a drop of oil on the bottom of the dipstick - way below the bottom dot.

 

What really irritates me is that the one mechanic actually told me that for some Subarus that have this problem, replacing the short block fixes it and he's never had a complaint about it reoccurring with the same owners. That being the case, why doesn't Subaru acknowledge this manufacturing defect?

 

What irks me even more is my wife has the EXACT same engine in her 2015 (same year) Outback. She's not burning ANY oil at all.

 

I noticed someone else commented on smelling anti-freeze in their vehicle when they run it for a while. I have noticed this also. When I go on long trips (2+ hours) after I turn off my vehicle I also smell antifreeze. In addition, I was never able to achieve the MPG stated when I purchased the vehicle. My wife's Outback states 34 highway and we get that every time. My car *no matter how much I baby it* can get 36 MPG. In addition, the meter built into the vehicle is always off by about 2 MPG AVG. Some may say that's acceptable, but again when my wife's car is doing everything perfectly well, and my car is not - it's telling me that Subaru has a manufacturing issue.

 

I recall many years ago that Ford had a similar issue with their Mustangs. Certain models were producing more HP and better quality than others. As it turned out, they found the problem to be the machining around the pistons. If they didn't swap out the drill soon enough, the threshold for error was increased and engines were not working as advertised.

 

In any event this is absolutely killing me. If Subaru won't fix this problem I'm thoroughly done with Subaru and will contact any lawyer I can to get this resolved. I don't have time to babysit a 13k mile BRAND NEW vehicle. I buy new cars because I don't want to deal with the troubles of used cars. This is officially a waste of my money and time.

Edited March 9, 2016 by sf.basilix

I am not being sarcastic... But I wish you the best with this situation^. I doubt a lawyer will be able to get much done, that's why there's the Warranty and Lemon Law, etc. I would contact SOA and talk with them. If you don't get what you want, then you can explore other options like the Lawyer and BBB.

Sale it. Problem corrected.

I completely agree with you sf.basilix and I understand your frustration. I guess the reason for my post was to say that Subaru's have a history of oil consumption problems, unfortunately. Some subaru owners report zero consumption, while others like me, go through 1qt or 2qt's of oil every oil change interval. I can't blame you if you get rid of your Legacy.

 

I really love my legacy, and for the money, there isn't much else out there with a stick shift that's like it. That's why I haven't traded in my legacy, even though to this day, 6.5 years later, the oil consumption issue still drives me nuts.

 

Over the years on these forums, and from a few friends with legacies, consumption does seem to be worse on the MT's SubieN8. My guess is that the consumption might be worse on the MT's because I think their rpm's are usually a little higher than their AT counterparts, but again, just a random guess. Part of me has to wonder if the shifting in a MT increases oil blowby too, but I'm not sure.

Edited March 10, 2016 by apexi

Bought a Forester XT last week and a 3.6R this week, was told by the Salesman to check the oil weekly due to the know consumption issue; that would be too impractical but i will make sure to check at least monthly for sure.

Sorry to hear this and I m sure it s aggravating to the OPer. I have had three, 08, currently a 14 and 15 and none use oil , at least not enough to add between changes. It s amazing they can t get this right. I would assume the % of oil burners is very very small. I am different from the OPer as I lease all my cars and if and when I get a bad one I just drive it until turn in time. Due to replace the 14 within months and having to roll the dice on a burner or not stinks....

Subaru is likely not going to cover a replacement short block from burning a quart of oil in 5000 miles. I would check you oil more often and it seem like you will likely need to add a quart between oil changes.

 

 

With 0W20 oil being used to help reduce friction and increase fuel economy, many consumers from auto manufacturers are dealing with the increase consumption. The difference between your Legacy and your Wife Outback is probably just manufacturing tolerances..

Slow day so I ve been thinking, LOL, these are Boxer design engines correct? I am a Porsche owner with a 911 boxer engine also. Only two manufactures that use this design I think. Interesting that Porsche engines also have a high usage tolerance set by the manufacturer. Just like with the Subi s there are some Porsches that use more oil than others. I am lucky, mine use NO oil. My Subi s are light if any oil users too. But I am wondering if the boxer engine is by design more apt to use oil? (which is why the manufacturers call a qt per 600 miles (or whatever) normal.). LOL

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/06/excessive-oil-consumption/index.htm

 

A good read on oil consumption. Look at the last oil chart , subi is not that bad or widespread, maybe 1% in 2014. Far better than others.

Also the OPer may want to try a different brand oil at some point. Some say it made a difference for them.

Edited March 10, 2016 by cerbomark

I've come across that consumer report article before and it kills me that Subaru can claim this is "normal" when only 1-2% of their vehicles have this "problem". If the majority of vehicles DONT have this problem, then those who do are the exception and it's *not* normal. This is clearly a manufacturing quality control issue.

 

I wish I could find out what's triggering the consumption all of a sudden. My first two oil changes didn't have this issue, just this last one. I don't know if anyone else has this issue can comment on whether it's long distance driving, hot temperatures, cold temperatures or can indicate any type of conditions which worsen it.

I've come across that consumer report article before and it kills me that Subaru can claim this is "normal" when only 1-2% of their vehicles have this "problem". If the majority of vehicles DONT have this problem, then those who do are the exception and it's *not* normal. This is clearly a manufacturing quality control issue.

 

I wish I could find out what's triggering the consumption all of a sudden. My first two oil changes didn't have this issue, just this last one. I don't know if anyone else has this issue can comment on whether it's long distance driving, hot temperatures, cold temperatures or can indicate any type of conditions which worsen it.

 

different oil??

it's the same oil - at least I suppose it to be. Went to the same dealer I bought the vehicle from to change it all 3 times.

Just curious - has anyone done anything to their legacy's to stop oil consumption? Has anyone tried using Lucas oil additive or even a thicker oil? Was anyone successful and if so, was your MPG affected?

I think that I'd stay within warranty range if I was to try anything. I'd maybe try half 0W20 and half synth 5W30 a couple thousand miles before the oil change is due, as 5W30 is also "allowed" in the engine as per specs.

A thicker oil is not a good idea. You may notice slightly less burning oil, but quite a few new and much more expensive problems.

 

I'm not a big fan of additives either. If I am within spec that the dealer won't help me, I would sooner try a different brand of oil and see if that makes a difference. Can't explain why, but some engines like some oils better than others.

Unfortunately Subaru won't do anything for my car until it's gulping oil at a rate of 1/3 quart per 1200 miles. (Absolutely absurd)

 

I'm also curious - can anyone tell me what your oil looks like after 200 miles? After 500 miles? I know color means very little, but in all my vehicles I've had before Subaru I could change the oil and go at least a thousand miles before the oil started going from a honey color to a brown color. The other day I did about 150 miles and when I checked my oil it was already brown. There has to be something wrong.

My oil stays honey color for the first several thousand miles of each change.

 

I'm on the third change at about 12,000 miles, due in a month or so for the next.

Unfortunately Subaru won't do anything for my car until it's gulping oil at a rate of 1/3 quart per 1200 miles. (Absolutely absurd)

 

I'm also curious - can anyone tell me what your oil looks like after 200 miles? After 500 miles? I know color means very little, but in all my vehicles I've had before Subaru I could change the oil and go at least a thousand miles before the oil started going from a honey color to a brown color. The other day I did about 150 miles and when I checked my oil it was already brown. There has to be something wrong.

 

Almost no oil change shop completely drains your oil, it takes hours for all the oil to drain out. Most likely the person who changed your oil rushed it didn't drain as much oil as normal.

Dgoodhue is correct, but there's another thing to consider: brown oil is not automatically a bad thing. It also may be an indication that your oil is high quality and is doing its job by removing older stuff and preventing friction by suspending it. That is what oil is supposed to do and what several manufacturers expect when they specify 10,000 mile OCI and mandate high quality oil.

 

 

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Unfortunately Subaru won't do anything for my car until it's gulping oil at a rate of 1/3 quart per 1200 miles. (Absolutely absurd)

 

Actually the limit from Subaru is 1 Qt per 1200 miles. If you fall below this, it is "within spec". I am consistently and accurately burning about 1/2 qt every 1200 miles. Actually closer to 6/10ths of a quart every 1200 miles.

I did the consumption test at my dealer and it falls below the limit.

Unfortunately Subaru won't do anything for my car until it's gulping oil at a rate of 1/3 quart per 1200 miles. (Absolutely absurd)

 

Actually the limit from Subaru is 1 Qt per 1200 miles. If you fall below this, it is "within spec". I am consistently and accurately burning about 1/2 qt every 1200 miles. Actually closer to 6/10ths of a quart every 1200 miles.

I did the consumption test at my dealer and it falls below the limit.

 

1 Qt is about a litre; if Subaru is burning 1 litre of oil per 2000Km, then sorry Subaru fans, but that car is not for me.

None of my cars EVER burned oil and I do not want to have car burning anything else than benzin.