2015 2.5i Oil Consumption

Where in my post did I blame Subaru?

 

I asked, what kinda of oil are you running that is cheap to change out

 

So far I have heard Mobile 1

 

Rick

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=subaru+oil+0w-20&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=198230948103&hvpos=1t3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8764043509883132658&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9011775&hvtargid=kwd-295449253133&ref=pd_sl_2gy85ntvn5_b

Laughing at oneself and with others is good for the Soul![emoji2]

On 1/21/2019 at 2:24 PM, Point37 said:

 

 

I have been doing the same as you minus going to the dealer...I have 140,000 on my 2013 right now and do 7,500 mile oil/filter changes...I typically add 2 or 3 quarts within the 7,500 miles when the light pops (1 quart each time the light pops on)...I hate carrying 3 extra quarts of oil in my trunk all the time...at the rate it’s consuming oil I wonder why I even bother changing the oil and just swap out the filter every 7,500 miles and just keep adding oil each time the light pops on

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

On 1/21/2019 at 8:44 PM, ronemus said:

I'd try 10W-40 - higher viscosity usually cuts consumption. I used 20W-50 when my '90 & '02 got to 100k.

necrothread!...update: my 2013 with 216k miles is now consuming at a rate of 1qt/~500miles...just just replaced the catalytic converter after replacing both o2 sensors...i'm still running mobil 1 0w-20 or castrol or whatever walmart has...i drive a lot of highway miles and usually wait till the light comes on which is typically when i'm on the highway...pull off the next exit and just dump a quart in...checking the dipstick before and after it usually looks almost empty and then almost full after adding a quart...i typically use trip B to monitor my oil mileage...going to take ronemus' advice and up my oil weight...i think i'm going to try 10w-40 for the winter and run 20w-50 during the summer cause i'm getting sick of having to stop in bad weather and dump 1 in...i never remember to check it at home and i also don't want to overfill so i just use the oil light as my gauge cause it seems like 1qt makes it right...at this point i almost feel i should just keep adding oil instead of changing it and just swap out the filter every 7500 miles (i use mobil 1 filters)

1 hour ago, Point37 said:

 

... my 2013 with 216k miles is now consuming at a rate of 1qt/~500miles...just just replaced the catalytic converter after replacing both o2 sensors ...

At that rate of oil consumption, your new cat is not likely to last very long. It may be time to consider swapping out that engine. 'Till then, when was the last time you replaced the PCV valve (and hose)?

31 minutes ago, ammcinnis said:

At that rate of oil consumption, your new cat is not likely to last very long. It may be time to consider swapping out that engine. 'Till then, when was the last time you replaced the PCV valve (and hose)?

i'm hoping it does...the original lasted 216k miles but i don't recall when the oil consumption issue began...as far as the PCV valve and hose...never replaced...can you enlighten me on what it actually is?...how hard is it to swap out?...cost?

edit: found on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdkzUySjlxo

do i need the valve and both of these hoses or just part 1AD69A as the video shows?

https://parts.metrowestsubaru.com/a/Subaru_2013_Legacy-25L-CVT-4WD-Premium-Sedan/_54102_6023892/EMISSION-CONTROL-PCV-13MY-/B14-082-04.html

this says if you pull the pcv valve and it doesn't rattle then it's bad...i'll probably replace anyway...looks pretty simple

https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/How-to-do-a-PCV-valve-test

low oil light came on monday...put a quart in...low oil light came on again today (thursday)...250 miles later so i dumped another quart in...switching to 10w-40 to see if i can slow it down a little...next step will be 20w-50...next step will be new car

ordered the PCV valve and hose connected to it...my hose doesn't look bad but i can't say i won't tear it when trying to remove it to get the PCV valve out...better safe than sorry

19 hours ago, Point37 said:

ordered the PCV valve and hose connected to it...my hose doesn't look bad but i can't say i won't tear it when trying to remove it to get the PCV valve out...better safe than sorry

If you did not know Point37, these cars are know for bad short blocks. that is why they burn oil. The FB25 in the Outback, forester, and Legacy have the issue. I also have a MY13 2.5i that burns oil. I took it to Subaru because of the warranty, and  because they do the free test oil consumption test, and my car failed and I have a bad short block. Subaru was going to pay half to replace the motor because I was 1100 miles past the 100k mark, but I wanted the whole thing replace and they would not budge. This came down from SOA. 

I have only had my oil light come on twice in the 5 years I have owned the car. My car is not as bad. My tuner that build my 06 LGT said to just keep an eye on the oil and drive it. It has been fine, but it does have a bad cat. They are also know for bad cats.

You seem to have a bad problem if your burning oil and the oil light has come on so often or you have a bad sensor. I would drain the oil, and add in 5.2 quarts with a fresh filter and see how many miles it takes for the light to come on. Good luck!

My forester fb25 has 175k miles and doesn’t use much oil, approx a quart over 5k mile intervals. Bought it with 138k miles and use 5w30 synth all year.

20 minutes ago, BoozeRS05 said:

My forester fb25 has 175k miles and doesn’t use much oil, approx a quart over 5k mile intervals. Bought it with 138k miles and use 5w30 synth all year.

Not all but many do. I have many friends at the dealer, and they showed me that they keep the FB25 block ready. they had 4 new ones because they do them under warranty so much lol. 

Yeah it’s definitely a problem. I’ve read cam seal leaks are starting to show up a lot, I think mine are leaking, and it requires motor removal.

I definitely support a more substantial oil weight than the manufacturer recommendation though.

21 minutes ago, BoozeRS05 said:

Yeah it’s definitely a problem. I’ve read cam seal leaks are starting to show up a lot, I think mine are leaking, and it requires motor removal.

I definitely support a more substantial oil weight than the manufacturer recommendation though.

I agree with you, I do not and have not used what they recommend for these motors. I switched long ago and it seems to have got much better. I do plan on a new short block if it ever gets real bad. I really like the car and it runs very well. I have 149K and I got my trans all flushed out and she really runs great. I know they say it does not need to be done, but thats because most people never keep there cars that long. My shop has seen many of these cars with 250K miles on a well taken care of trans (CVT). I kept my outback to 267K and it ran great. Cheaper than these new pieces of junk  

2 hours ago, NORULZleggy said:

If you did not know Point37, these cars are know for bad short blocks. that is why they burn oil. The FB25 in the Outback, forester, and Legacy have the issue. I also have a MY13 2.5i that burns oil. I took it to Subaru because of the warranty, and  because they do the free test oil consumption test, and my car failed and I have a bad short block. Subaru was going to pay half to replace the motor because I was 1100 miles past the 100k mark, but I wanted the whole thing replace and they would not budge. This came down from SOA. 

I have only had my oil light come on twice in the 5 years I have owned the car. My car is not as bad. My tuner that build my 06 LGT said to just keep an eye on the oil and drive it. It has been fine, but it does have a bad cat. They are also know for bad cats.

You seem to have a bad problem if your burning oil and the oil light has come on so often or you have a bad sensor. I would drain the oil, and add in 5.2 quarts with a fresh filter and see how many miles it takes for the light to come on. Good luck!

thanks...great info...i know my car would fail an oil consumption test but i'm way over the mileage so it doesn't matter at this point...i have 1 more 5qt jug of new 0w-20 that i bought a while ago and 1 5qt jug of 10w-40 and 4 1qt bottles of 10w-40 that i just bought...i keep the 1qt bottles in the trunk for when the light comes on...i am going to try and return the 0w-20 jug to walmart without a receipt cause i bought it over 90 days ago (store policy limit for returns)...then i'll do my next oil change with the 10w-40...if they don't let me return it i will use it for my next oil change and just mix in the 10w-40 bottles when the light comes on and i will refill the 1qt 10w-40 bottles with the 5qt of 10w-40...hopefully this slows the issue

what sensor would you be talking about?...in one of my previous posts the low oil light came on when it was a monday...put a quart in...250 miles later on the thursday the same week the low oil light came on...right when i got home i checked the dipstick and it was barely above the low oil hole in the dipstick...i dumped in a quart in and it was full...i took photos but it's a pain to upload photos on here...i typically use tapatalk to upload photos onto forums but this forum doesn't work on there anymore

1 hour ago, BoozeRS05 said:

Yeah it’s definitely a problem. I’ve read cam seal leaks are starting to show up a lot, I think mine are leaking, and it requires motor removal.

I definitely support a more substantial oil weight than the manufacturer recommendation though.

thanks...maybe that's the issue with mine...but at this point its not worth diagnosing cause it will cost more than the car is worth

52 minutes ago, NORULZleggy said:

I agree with you, I do not and have not used what they recommend for these motors. I switched long ago and it seems to have got much better. I do plan on a new short block if it ever gets real bad. I really like the car and it runs very well. I have 149K and I got my trans all flushed out and she really runs great. I know they say it does not need to be done, but thats because most people never keep there cars that long. My shop has seen many of these cars with 250K miles on a well taken care of trans (CVT). I kept my outback to 267K and it ran great. Cheaper than these new pieces of junk  

what oil weight are you using?...i'm doing mostly highway driving at 80mph so the rpms are higher for most of my driving which probably contributes to the oil consumption i'm guessing

2 minutes ago, Point37 said:

thanks...great info...i know my car would fail an oil consumption test but i'm way over the mileage so it doesn't matter at this point...i have 1 more 5qt jug of new 0w-20 that i bought a while ago and 1 5qt jug of 10w-40 and 4 1qt bottles of 10w-40 that i just bought...i keep the 1qt bottles in the trunk for when the light comes on...i am going to try and return the 0w-20 jug to walmart without a receipt cause i bought it over 90 days ago (store policy limit for returns)...then i'll do my next oil change with the 10w-40...if they don't let me return it i will use it for my next oil change and just mix in the 10w-40 bottles when the light comes on and i will refill the 1qt 10w-40 bottles with the 5qt of 10w-40...hopefully this slows the issue

what sensor would you be talking about?...in one of my previous posts the low oil light came on when it was a monday...put a quart in...250 miles later on the thursday the same week the low oil light came on...right when i got home i checked the dipstick and it was barely above the low oil hole in the dipstick...i dumped in a quart in and it was full...i took photos but it's a pain to upload photos on here...i typically use tapatalk to upload photos onto forums but this forum doesn't work on there anymore

thanks...maybe that's the issue with mine...but at this point its not worth diagnosing cause it will cost more than the car is worth

what oil weight are you using?...i'm doing mostly highway driving at 80mph so the rpms are higher for most of my driving which probably contributes to the oil consumption i'm guessing

I use 5w-30 and that really helped my car. there might be a faulty oil sensor. I have pushed my CVT HARD, it see tripple digits here and there, but it still runs very smooth. I do plan on keeping the car and putting in a new shortblock. 

Agreed on servicing the cvt regularly. For a $200 dealership cost, it’s on my 30k mile maintenance checklist.

3 minutes ago, BoozeRS05 said:

Agreed on servicing the cvt regularly. For a $200 dealership cost, it’s on my 30k mile maintenance checklist.

I did mine at 110K lol 

On 3/22/2023 at 11:47 AM, NORULZleggy said:

I use 5w-30 and that really helped my car. there might be a faulty oil sensor. I have pushed my CVT HARD, it see tripple digits here and there, but it still runs very smooth. I do plan on keeping the car and putting in a new shortblock. 

thanks...i was driving yesterday and the oil light popped on again...i decided to just use the 5qt jug of 0w-20 up...i had an empty 1qt 0w-20 bottle in my recycle so i pulled it out and pulled out a measuring cup that i use for oil in the garage and measured out 1qt dumped it into the car and then dumped a quart into the empty bottle to put in my trunk...i'll get into the 10w-40 once i use up all the 0w-20...maybe in the winter i will try out 5w-30 and see how it goes

could an oil sensor cause oil to be consumed?...like i said when i checked the oil dipstick after the light turned on after 250 miles it was down to the bottom hole (low oil) on the dipstick before i added oil...i will try to upload the photos

23 hours ago, BoozeRS05 said:

Agreed on servicing the cvt regularly. For a $200 dealership cost, it’s on my 30k mile maintenance checklist.

23 hours ago, NORULZleggy said:

I did mine at 110K lol 

i have never serviced my cvt...but i did have to replace the throttle body in the transmission not long ago due to a faulty solenoid...that was a fun repair

after light came on before adding 1 qt of oil

after adding 1 qt of oil

gdamn that is BLACK

1 hour ago, silverton said:

gdamn that is BLACK

Black does not mean the oil needs to be changed. Amsoil will turn black and still protect for a long time. My 2013 does this after 5k miles and the engine runs very smooth. Also you need to let the car sit overnight and then check the oil on a flat surface.  You not getting a good reading. 

4 hours ago, Point37 said:

could an oil sensor cause oil to be consumed?

No.

37 minutes ago, ammcinnis said:

No.

if we are talking about the sensor that is telling the low oil light to turn on, that seems to be functioning properly as you can see from the photos above...so what is the oil sensor are we talking about and what is its function?

4 hours ago, silverton said:

gdamn that is BLACK

3 hours ago, NORULZleggy said:

Black does not mean the oil needs to be changed. Amsoil will turn black and still protect for a long time. My 2013 does this after 5k miles and the engine runs very smooth. Also you need to let the car sit overnight and then check the oil on a flat surface.  You not getting a good reading. 

the lighting isn't great in my garage and it was late in the day but i'm nearing a 7500 mile oil change so it's not going to look great anyway...i realize i'm supposed to wait till it cools and the oil drains back down but i don't have that luxury when i'm on the road and the light turns on, so i just dump a quart in...plus it drops so fast that i'm not sure it matters unless i overfill...also according to the info below i am 1.3 quarts low when the light comes on while driving and stays on...i had read this somewhere a while back so i knew it was safe to just dump a quart in when the light pops on

https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/low-oil-light.506945/#post-5792255

"According to the manual, that's normal.

In my case, and in the case of the OP, the warning light comes one for a few minutes, then goes off. This happens when the oil level is getting close to the LOW mark on the dipstick, but still in the normal range.

My '13 manual says:

2.5L:
Engine not running: Light will come one when approx 2.2 qt (US) remain.

Engine running: Light will come on when approx 3.8 qt (US) remain.

3.6L:
Engine not running: 4 qt (US)

Engine running: 5.6 qt (US)

---

2.5L:
Capacity: 5.1 qt (US)

Low level on dipstick: Approx 1.1 qt (US) below full, (4 qt). Oil level light should come on at approx 3.8 qt when running.

3.6L:
Capacity: 6.9 qt (US)

Low level on dipstick: Approx 1.1 qt (US) below full, (5.8 qt). Oil level light should come on at approx 5.6 qt when running.

---

In both cases, the oil level light should come on when oil levels show just below the LOW mark on the dipstick. But I have a feeling that the word "approximately" in all the documentation means to expect a little variation. In my case, even though I'm about 1/4 way above the LOW mark, that's when my oil level light starts to alarm. And the last time I was due for an oil change, I was starting to see that behavior.

Rather than get the oil change early, I just added 1/2 qt, the light stopped coming on, and I continued until my next oil change interval."

My interpretation of the oil light coming up on the dash is - Too late!

replaced the PCV valve and hose this morning...the old one had oil in it which sounds like it was stuck open...the car has 4 of the symptoms...hopefully it helps...i will be taking the car to a meeting today so i'll find out how it runs and report back...

https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/How-to-do-a-PCV-valve-test

Symptoms of a Stuck Open PCV Valve

If the PCV valve gets stuck open, or a system hose gets disconnected or ruptured—producing a vacuum leak—you'll notice one or more of these symptoms.

Engine misfires at idle

Lean air-fuel mixture

Presence of engine oil in PCV valve or hose

Increased oil consumption

Hard engine start

Rough engine idle

Possibly black smoke

Oil fouled spark plugs

7500 miles is too long of an OCI buddy, switch that up to 3000-4000!  hopefully the pcv valve takes care of your oil consumption, from what you have mentioned about it, it does sound failed.

23 hours ago, NORULZleggy said:

Black does not mean the oil needs to be changed. Amsoil will turn black and still protect for a long time. My 2013 does this after 5k miles and the engine runs very smooth.

Here's what our shops synthetic 5w30 looks like after 1000 miles. AFAIK black oil is holding contaminants or has been heat cycled excessively. Have you sent a used oil sample to blackstone for an analysis? I'd like to see what they've said about it!

Here is what my thid gens oil looks like after 1,000 miles on whatever is delivered to our shop, it's either a semi or full synthetic 5w30.

Here's my 3.6R, on ~11 degree incline... bone DRY buddy...truly showing the importance you need to be on a flat surface, i like gas stations if you don't have access to a shop. I was a little bored before needing to leave for work and needed to check my third gens oil anyway... the girlfriend drives it and she's known to drive things straight in to the ground.