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Slightly off topic: A 1995 is a "classic" car. The reality of supply and demand means that the ideal used car age for parts is around just above the median car age of the US fleet (so 12 years plus a couple). That's what the parts aftermarket will concentrate on, and also a steady supply of...

If you're putting 26k miles a year on it then that car is in "light" service. IME and IMO drain and fill every 75k is perfectly fine. It is exactly what I run on my automatic transmissions.

Manufacturers have to meet CAFE regulations in the USA. If that means increasing the warranty period by 50% but specifying a lower viscosity oil than they would in another country they'll just do that. So IME when your car is about 7+ years old you should research potential possible alternatives...

2016 and later resolved all problems (and Subaru did the right thing and extended warranties on 2015 and earlier). I retract my statement. http://www.subarucomplaints.com/cvt/

I'd like to know also. On the back of an almost empty old 5qt Valvoline jug I have it has a picture with 2 stars for the synthetic blend and 3 stars for the full synthetic. So Valvoline is claiming more effectiveness for high mileage in their full synthetic vs. blend for high mileage, but not...

The way I dealt with my lead foot is get an electric car; regen braking gives me 80% of the energy back. And solar panels with net metering gets me 2.3 cents per mile fuel. Some people should shop by best fuel economy per horsepower (BMW often won that in the past) and horsepower to weight lol.

I’ve developed the opinion that the most economical “fix” to known unreliable CVTs is that they have a transmission cooler installed/upgraded. EDIT: Subaru CVTs are unreliable.

Cars should have an audible alarm if they get even 15% low or if they have a check engine light. Almost none do. That’s defective by design IMO.

I’ve used this XADO stuff as a “Hail Mary” fix on a failing automatic transmission before. It actually worked (got over 45k more miles before the car was junked for other reasons). This is their engine version. Maybe worth it as a last ditch try...

Denso is 12 months. RockAuto has specials where you can get a lower price without the warranty like so: https://www.rockauto.com/en/parts/denso,3436,spark+plug,7212 A “Wholesaler Closeout” for $9 or pay regular $13.xx and get the regular warranty.

First thought is do not drive a car when the check engine light goes on until you’ve read and understood that code. Your friend shouldn’t have driven home. Sorry if you agree and I’m preaching to the choir. As wild guesses go last time I had something like that it was both upstream O2 sensors...

This stuff has worked for me before on an old Ford Escort (Mazda version). https://www.amazon.com/XADO-Revitalizant-Conditioner-Transmission-Protectant/dp/B0079KRFAW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=xado+automatic+transmission&qid=1595800404&sprefix=xado+automa&sr=8-1-spons completely...

The Grand Caravan went to an unlimited miles and years powertrain warranty in 2006+ because these motors had such a bad rep by then. Adjust expectations accordingly...

Try swapping the relay with another in the fuse box (make sure they’re identical part numbers). I’ve had a relay go bad before (it was sticking) and this was an easy way to troubleshoot it (the weirdness moved with the relay).

Those Chrysler 3.8 motors are kind of notorious for it. I know two different people who lemon lawed vehicles over those motors chugging oil. I don’t know anybody who has lemon lawed a Honda motor of that era. Come to think of it I haven’t even heard of anybody lemon lawing a Honda over a motor...

You should listen to Trav. He had the focus and discipline to address your concern (the smoke) without being led astray by wanting to fix the high oil consumption (like me). I can tell already he’s a top notch troubleshooter and I just “met” him.

One more thing I forgot. Get some of that Lucasoil Synthetic Oil Stabilizer snot. It’s like 90 weight pure oil base. Add a quart. Idle for 10 minutes. If it cures/improves this on your next cold start, it’s definitely the valve stem seals. I don’t recommend using that stuff as a long term cure...

Stuck injectors are kinda grey smoke in my experience though?

Valve stem seals being old/stiff. Add some ATP AT-205 or LiquiMoly Oil Saver to help restore them. They may be damaged at this point and need replacing to truly solve the problem - so instead you can run heavier weight oil to help. Valvoline HM Maxlife works too. I like, use and recommend...

Seems you’ve run E85? That is known to potentially clog injectors (and sometimes fuel filters). Ethanol is a great solvent (too good), and one dirty/bad tank of E85 will immediately get all that crud dissolved into suspension and then clog your fuel system. I see you are in France? I’m not sure...