2013 Subaru 2.5L oil burn

[Overfill]

got a catch can? the PCV valve bypasses a lot of mist, which you could cut down on with that.
Also there's a slew of 'update' PCV valves for the FB25... hint hint..

 

[subaruoilburner]

FYI, I have been using valvoline restore and protect for over 6-8 months now (3-4 oil changes).
I think it did make some improvements, but nothing sort of curing the oil burn issue.
I used to get low oil light around 11-1200 miles, now it's usually around 1400 miles, so it did some cleaning. I think it might not fully restore the engine, or solve oil burn issue at all, but figured it's worth an udpate.

 

[bmwtechguy]

Our retired dentist noticed his 6 cyl Subaru burning too much oil years ago, and so he went straight from 5W-30 all the way up to M1 15W-50 year round here in S. Carolina. Oil burning solved. At well over 200,000 miles now and no engine issues or problems, I think he did ok, although I might have taken a less radical approach. My wife's brother rebuilt the trans a few years ago, but that was because he never had it serviced. Crazy how people are religious about oil changes, but neglect other stuff...

 

[subaruoilburner]

Our retired dentist noticed his 6 cyl Subaru burning too much oil years ago, and so he went straight from 5W-30 all the way up to M1 15W-50 year round here in S. Carolina. Oil burning solved. At well over 200,000 miles now and no engine issues or problems, I think he did ok, although I might have taken a less radical approach. My wife's brother rebuilt the trans a few years ago, but that was because he never had it serviced. Crazy how people are religious about oil changes, but neglect other stuff...

I like this idea. Worth a shot. All of the people on subaru forums kept tell me, the engine will be fine, but didn't tell me about the unintended consequences (catalytic converter). lol I think I might change to a higher viscocity in future.

 

[GSCJR]

My wife's brother rebuilt the trans a few years ago, but that was because he never had it serviced. Crazy how people are religious about oil changes, but neglect other stuff...

The tranny lasted over 200k miles, what more could you ask for? I'll take that neglect as a testament to durability.

 

[NOTEVIL81]

Several years ago when my daughter was at college. The neighbors gave her a two thousand twelve subaru forester. Driving from lake errowhead to college Up-and-down the mountain.She burned a quart every two weeks. Took it to Subaru San bernardino They changed the oil and marked the plug and fill cap. I believe it had sixty thousand miles on it. Return the car to subaru after three thousand miles. They pulled the dipstick Saw no oil And said they would. Replace the engine. They gave her a new outback to drive for a week. I rode my roadglide to the Dealership and pulled in back. Struck up a conversation with the mechanic you also rides. I questioned him how the new engine would be better. He told me it was a design flaw. Subaru Used forged pistons with 5to6 thousand's clearance. Very low tension oil rings.
They replaced it with a long block not a short block. He pulled the head and showed me the pistons. I could actually rock the piston in the cylinder. My point is, how is a thicker oil Going to mitigate a design flaw? The forester now has.
A hundred and thirty thousand miles. Does not burn a drop. He recommended 5/30 only And six thousand mile changes.. The car runs like a champ. And it's only had one coil replaced.

 

[subaruoilburner]

To add on the above response, I have tried rotella oil which I beleive was 5w-40 and it still burned oil. I can't remember how much, but enough for me to find bothersome. I have not tried 15w-50 as suggested above. Maybe it will be fine, but having to fill oil around 1500 miles is ridiculaous and I believe it started happening right after I purhcased. lol My first oil change was at 3500 miles, and promptly went downhill from there. ha! The vehicle is fine otherwise, but it is still a major flow in the engine design. :/

 

[Ranger83]

FWIW we ran Castrol High Mileage in our ‘98 Subaru H4. Worked well.

Supposedly they were replacing short blocks because they used low tension oil rings that allowed too much oil consumption. We have a ‘17 Forester that does not use any oil at all between changes (5,000-6000 miles).

They extended the warranty to 100,000 miles.

If you complained about oil consumption, the dealership did an oil change and had you come back after a certain mileage, and checked oil level. If it consumed too much, they replaced the engine at no charge.

Our real estate agent had a burner and I told her about the program. Then spoke to her husband: “You understand that if the oil is low, you get a free engine, and if it isn’t low, you get nothing, right?”

Think he did full throttle launches from every stop for the next two weeks, but they got an engine.

 

[bmwtechguy]

The tranny lasted over 200k miles, what more could you ask for? I'll take that neglect as a testament to durability.

No it failed at 150k miles. Now it has over 200k. It would have likely lasted much longer if it had been serviced a few times along the way.

 

[GSCJR]

it failed at 150k miles

No, I don't believe you.

 

[Olinskis]

My dad has a 2015 outback pushing 200k miles. When it was around 135k or so we were driving it around when the light came on. We put in a quart from the closest gas station and he tells me it does this every 1-2k miles. The dealer told him it's normal! I convinced him the 0w20 in this engine isn't good, to use m1 0w40. Consumption dropped to roughly 1/2 quart per 5-6k OCI within his first 2-3 OCIs. These days he's rarely adding oil.

 

[notharry]

My dad has a 2015 outback pushing 200k miles. When it was around 135k or so we were driving it around when the light came on. We put in a quart from the closest gas station and he tells me it does this every 1-2k miles. The dealer told him it's normal! I convinced him the 0w20 in this engine isn't good, to use m1 0w40. Consumption dropped to roughly 1/2 quart per 5-6k OCI within his first 2-3 OCIs. These days he's rarely adding oil.

We know oil matters. An example... I have a old generator with a 6 hp techumsh engine. When the power in the area goes out because of a major storm, it runs sometimes for days. I typically ran 5w30 conventional in it for years. After 2 days of continuous running toping off the oil a couple oz every fuel fill I decided to change the oil. I had some rotella synthetic that was on the shelf 30 weight i typically used in a diesel genset. So i used that. Every fill i checked the oil and it wasent down a bit. I was puzzled. After 2 more days of running and not adding anything but fuel I was sold and thats all I use in this genset. Went the remaining days without a change and when I did it wasent real dirty. I always respected Rotella and an old truck driver freind said there was no other oil for his old 290 cummins.

olinskis this is the same thing that happened in our 2008 outback Mobil 1 5w30 extended performance was the win for me. I had a 2006 Mercedes Benz sprinter and that all i ran was the 0w40 and i used this in the subaru for a while and because we are in Mass settled on the 5w30. Still have the 0w40 and run that in my 2006 Polaris Four Stroke Turbo (FST). Polaris recommends 0w50 and its a dealer item as its rare. Weber who makes the 2 cylinder 135hp turbo engine (you read that right) recommends the 40 weight. 6 years zero issues.

Some people rave about the new natural gas oil. My subaru drank this and many many others like water when i had my consumption issue. Peace

 

[ChiTDI]

I have already replaced PCV valve 2 years ago.
I check oil every few days out of curiosity.

You have tried a lot of fluids and procedures.
What worked for me was a factory OEM PCV valve AND hose.

 

[notharry]

I replace the pcv valve every 2 yrs as a maintenance item. New hose a few years back but yea a bad PCV will suck out out of the crankcase.