Consumer Reports: Excessive oil consumption

Consumer Reports: Excessive oil consumption

 

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

That made me laugh a bit when they said Subaru had the least consumption of the cars being discussed. Let me steer WELL clear of Audi and BMW then.

If you look at the chart, they based it on adding a quart within the oil interval. The FB25 (2.5i) in the Forester, Legacy and Outback that has the TSB which Subaru is replacing the motor doesn't even make the list.

after 87k very hard miles and forgoing a break-in i still do not have problems with burning oil.

 

i may have a head gasket problem though as of sunday.

 

i only use amsoil 5-30 signature what have you. theyve changed the names over the years but ive always purchased the full synthetic.

 

im curious what brand and viscosity of oil the cars are using and then switch it out for a different brand and include another for viscosity.

 

we need more variables than deciding the car is a pos because it burns oil.

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after 87k very hard miles and forgoing a break-in i still do not have problems with burning oil.

 

i may have a head gasket problem though as of sunday.

 

i only use amsoil 5-30 signature what have you. theyve changed the names over the years but ive always purchased the full synthetic.

 

im curious what brand and viscosity of oil the cars are using and then switch it out for a different brand and include another for viscosity.

 

we need more variables than deciding the car is a pos because it burns oil.

 

I hear ya. Mine consumes very little over the course of an OCI.

However, I know people with newer Outbacks that are not so lucky.

One has already had the engine swapped. The others are not terrible, but

still higher than would normally be expected.

If you look at the chart, they based it on adding a quart within the oil interval. The FB25 (2.5i) in the Forester, Legacy and Outback that has the TSB which Subaru is replacing the motor doesn't even make the list.

 

#25 has Subaru Forester. The 2011 Forester X was first year with 2.5i FB25 engine.

Still a mile away from top of list...yikes but it could just be BMW owners a little whiny crybabies.-

 

My wifes current 2015 has burned over 1qt from her 5,000-10,400mi oil change interval. 1.25qts for 5400miles is a bit much.

My 2015 Leg is down 1/4qt after 2kmi which I would consider normal. It will be down a little over 1/2qt after 5kmi. Again, normal especially how hard I've been on it this oil change with higher rpms and such.

buy an electric vehicle...problem solved

My parents are kinda sorta in the market for a new car and I've been talking up the Outback 3.6r. Stories like this have me feeling like backing off...

You could find stories like this, and much worse, on any car enthusiast forum. The fact that Subaru is fixing cars makes this particular problem a non-issue for a new car buyer (too bad for the guys who are already out of warranty).

My 112k mile 05 LGT, which has been stage 2 most of its life.. is now consuming about a quart every 1k miles or so. It has gradually gotten worse over the course of its life.. although I dont like it, I feel that the mods I have done and the life it has lived that I cant really get mad about it. I would like it to stop of course, spending 5 bucks for a quart of rotella t6 every month and a half or so isnt nice.. but what are you gonna do lol.

The $ on oil isn't bad as long as no damage is happening. Turbo cars...

My '16 comes in at the end of August and I still have time to change my mind. After questioning my dealer about the oil consumption issue I received an e-mail from my salesman from the official Subaru press release. "You may have seen news coverage related to oil consumption in Subaru vehicles. Oil consumption is an inherent feature of all internal combustion engines and the rate of consumption can be affected by such factors as transmission type, driving style, terrain and temperature. Our internal data shows that very few of our owners have experienced above-expectation oil consumption, much less than 1% of Subaru vehicles overall. As the data in the article shows, we have continued to develop our products and our data suggests that this already low rate has been further reduced. The Subaru owner's manual includes a normal consumption example of 1 qt per 1,200 miles, and most owners will experience consumption at lower rates with normal driving. However, if an owner feels they are using more oil than they should be, retailers will assess the situation on a case-by-case basis and can perform a consumption test to determine what actions should be taken. Different drivers in the same car may experience different results. However, Subaru will continue to offer assistance to customers who feel they are experiencing above-expectation consumption".

My Question to Subaru 2.5l owners: If you had this knowledge would you purchase the car?

I heard Subaru has trained their service writers how to gently guide disgruntled oil burner owners out the door. Kocourek Subaru of Wausau, has the service writer take em outside and walks back in. Lol. Oil burning problem solved.

I am burning about 1 qt every 2000 miles, and I have 53,000 miles on my 2013. The consumption has increased with mileage, so I am concerned about longer term. I have contacted SOA but not response yet.

What is everyone else on here doing, if you are not consuming the >1qt per 1200 miles yet?

I think ill switch back to not so expensive Rotella T6 for the remainder of my cars life. No sense of burning up expensive oil I guess. But Rotella T6 was supposed to be the oil that didnt burn, or burnt off at a lower rate than other oil.. so maybe switching to cheaper oil will end up costing me more money if I start burning oil at an increase rate.

 

:::HEADSPIN:::

I saw an article about the oil consumption in the earlier Subaru engines and they had one torn down to show where the oil was going. It was a valve guide port drilled off center so it could not seat properly. If this is the case, how many engines were installed with that problem? Too many complaints to just say it is normal to use a quart every 1000 miles. I have owned dozens of cars in my 60 years of driving and never had an issue of using excessive oil. Now SOA wants their customers to believe this is acceptable? My 2015 Legacy doesn't use any oil between changes and in MHO that is the way it should be.

I saw an article about the oil consumption in the earlier Subaru engines and they had one torn down to show where the oil was going. It was a valve guide port drilled off center so it could not seat properly. If this is the case, how many engines were installed with that problem? Too many complaints to just say it is normal to use a quart every 1000 miles. I have owned dozens of cars in my 60 years of driving and never had an issue of using excessive oil. Now SOA wants their customers to believe this is acceptable? My 2015 Legacy doesn't use any oil between changes and in MHO that is the way it should be.

 

 

 

Your 2015 a 2.5 or 3.6?

 

Only car I had that burned was a VW Jetta (shocker I know).

 

My 07 Impreza 2.5i, never a drop burned in it's 100k miles.

 

My 07 LGT does burn some.

 

Now my 3.6R is starting to burn oil at a fast rate. It's going to the dealer for it's 30k service with oil change. I'll track the rate and tell them it's burning. They can cough up #YNANSB.

 

These may be my last Subby's :/ But then what to buy...ughhhhhh oh well have plenty of time on that.

There are a few reasons for oil consumption......mainly this has become an issue because car makers are using "low tension" rings to improve economy by reducing friction.

 

The most important factor I have found is proper break in. The first 50 miles on an engine can make or break oil consumption.

GTTuner, proper break-in isn't the issue with the 2012-213 engines, trust me. I have a new short block thanks to the known design flaw that has been corrected.

But combine the rings you mentioned and 0w20 oil, among other things, and I'm afraid burning small amounts of oil will be quite common.

Yeah Subaru went with low tension/friction rings trying to get higher mpg out of the engine. Backfired on Subaru. Failed experiment. I would be pissed as hell if my new car used oil like that. I've owned 20+ cars over the years and only had one Jeep that used oil...leaking like a sieve.

 

The oil consumption issue has to be a nightmare for service managers. Pissed off customers coming in and Subaru saying...it's normal to use oil. Manufacturing and materials are far too good nowadays to accept oil burning. Let alone that extra oil blowby burning and causing problems with catalytic converts, oxygen sensors, etc.

Looking at Consumer Report's latest findings, It seems like Subaru was addressing the issue over the past two years and has brought down the oil consumption issues on the FB to levels below that of the EJ which didn't have an oil consumption problem.

 

It's interesting to see some of the other vehicles on the list like the XC70 and all the luxury cars

 

http://static3.consumerreportscdn.org/content/dam/cro/magazine-articles/2015/August/CRM_Page_63_Thirsty_30_08-15.png

Were things actually redesigned and resolved, or is there not enough data for a complete picture for the 2013 and 2014 models?

2013 models went on sale in 2012. 3 years is probably enough time as the oil burning crops up right away.

Parents are thinking about a new car and I've been pushing them to a 3.6r Outback. It'd be hard to suggest one if the oil consumption issues weren't resolved.