I do not believe that Idemitsu makes an oil that is not synthetic for the U.S. Same goes for a Subaru labeled version.
https://www.idemitsulubricants.com/idemitsu/engine-oil
Dealer service said synthetic oil will cause my 2003 Subaru to leak.
- Thread starter lokijoker
- Start date
https://www.idemitsulubricants.com/idemitsu/engine-oil
So I called this dealer service again to make an appointment for the $29.99 full synthetic oil change deal that they once again are offering. I asked (again) what oil is recommended for my low mileage 03 Legacy and he told me synthetic blend! The service writer I talked to 2 months ago told me that they only use conventional and full
Synthetic and that synthetic blend is a scam! He also said that my car should only get conventional oil or it will leak. This guy today said that full synthetic should be fine in my car! This is one of the biggest Subaru dealers in the Denver area and the service dept is highly rated but this makes you wonder about their service.
I wonder about all dealer service, frankly, and I don’t know how service writers get the job when they know so little about cars - they are really just service salespeople.
These days, to meet any of the modern specs, every single oil on the market is a synthetic blend. So if your engine can’t handle synthetic, then it can’t handle synthetic blend, and you can’t actually change the oil unless you find something antique.
Alternatively, your service writer was completely wrong about what your Subaru should get.
That generation Subaru is going to leak oil regardless of what you put in it.
- former 2001 Subaru owner
- former 2001 Subaru owner
It hasn’t leaked oil yet. We bought it in 2010 used with 10k miles on it. It now has 43k miles. So you think this vintage of Legacy’s are prone to oil leaking?
It makes you leery of what they’re going to put in it! The online coupon is for a full synthetic oil change of up to 6 quarts for $29.99, but are they going to put in syth blend or conventional and say it’s full synthetic? I don’t do extended OCI but I’d like to know whether I could run it for a longer interval if I wanted.
My '99 Legacy GT wagon got only Mobil 1 full-synthetic right from the very first oil change. It didn't consume any oil until it reached about 100k miles. Switching to HM version of Mobil 1 cured that.
Op,
Service advisors have bigger fish to fry and oil formulation is not their area of expertise and shouldn't be. I wouldn't talk oil with them and they are not oil geeks. That job is assigned to bitog. lol
They probably get some bulk oil suited for most cars and look at some charts and do the paper work ... Hopefully the mechanics will follow that or don't overrule but that's another story.
Make up your mind before you go and ask them what kinds of synthetic oil do they have and pick one. If they said that oil is not suited for your car, then you go from there and basically accept responsibility and tell them you've used it before with no issues. Again don't get into major oil discussions with them. That's why you are on bitig.
Service advisors have bigger fish to fry and oil formulation is not their area of expertise and shouldn't be. I wouldn't talk oil with them and they are not oil geeks. That job is assigned to bitog. lol
They probably get some bulk oil suited for most cars and look at some charts and do the paper work ... Hopefully the mechanics will follow that or don't overrule but that's another story.
Make up your mind before you go and ask them what kinds of synthetic oil do they have and pick one. If they said that oil is not suited for your car, then you go from there and basically accept responsibility and tell them you've used it before with no issues. Again don't get into major oil discussions with them. That's why you are on bitig.
check around to some local car repair places and ask if you brought in your own oil and filter, of your choice and what is the labor rate,,I have been doing this for a couple of years, and they let me watch the process, or do it yourself and maybe have a friend help , I totally understand the feeble minded people at the dealerships with their low end oil and filters ,been through it myself,,
There’s as much misinformation in this thread as there is from that dealer. Modern “synthetic” oils do not cause seals to leak.
If your Subie doesn’t have the HG oil weep, congrats. First thing I would do is clean all the engine & frame ground mounts & install new ground cables on every spot from frame to engine block. Also change coolant and thermostat every 2 years regardless of mileage. If your engine is on original HG, it’s only because the ground loop is in good shape but they quickly degrade. Galvanic corrosion murders those original single-shim HGs, and the only thing that keeps them livable is multiple solid, low-resistance electrical paths from the engine block to the frame, and from the negative battery post to the frame. If that current isn’t given a direct path back to the negative post it will quickly degrade the HGs and start externally leaking oil, and then coolant.
Bad juju. Be proactive now with that gem you’ve got!
If your Subie doesn’t have the HG oil weep, congrats. First thing I would do is clean all the engine & frame ground mounts & install new ground cables on every spot from frame to engine block. Also change coolant and thermostat every 2 years regardless of mileage. If your engine is on original HG, it’s only because the ground loop is in good shape but they quickly degrade. Galvanic corrosion murders those original single-shim HGs, and the only thing that keeps them livable is multiple solid, low-resistance electrical paths from the engine block to the frame, and from the negative battery post to the frame. If that current isn’t given a direct path back to the negative post it will quickly degrade the HGs and start externally leaking oil, and then coolant.
Bad juju. Be proactive now with that gem you’ve got!
When I went to try to get this deal a couple of months ago, they refused to put synthetic oil in my car because of the year. And then when I asked, hasn’t my car had synthetic blend oil? (Since I’ve had the oil changed there in the past). And that’s when he said synthetic blend oil is a scam and they don’t use it. I got another coupon in the mail for the $29.99 full synthetic oil change and I called to make an appointment and after telling the year of my car, the service writer said nothing. So I asked if synthetic was ok for my year car and he said it was ok but he would probably go with a synthetic blend for an 03! I also asked what brand synthetic oil they use and he said Subaru brand. I asked, “You mean Idemitsu?” And he said yes. At this point I don’t believe that.
Yes it’s on the original HG with no issues yet but I will take your advice.
Sounds like the second service advisor had no issues with using synthetic ... but then you asked if it is ok and he gave you his syn-blend opinion. Like I said before, don't ask them any questions especially after they agreed to use synthetic.
I would also be surprised if they have any conventional oil and at a minimum, you will be getting a syn-blend. The paper work should show what they used after you get the car back. Mine showed 5W-30 Syn-blend every time I took my old truck to the Toyota dealer and this is after I had specifically asked for dino. They most likely didn't have any dino and used their bulk syn-blend.
Ask for syn and leave it at that. They will look at their own (Subaru?) charts that shows what's the "right" oil for your car ... You will get the car back and the paper work may show syn-blend which is not what you had requested but still not a bad deal for $29.99 and the oem oil filter. You have to give it try once and see how it goes.
Normally I don’t but the first guy was so adamant about not using synthetic on my car, I was checking to see if I was going to waste a trip to the dealer service if they were again going to refuse to use synthetic on my car like before.
My Dad had the oil changed at the dealer a few times and I still have the invoices and they just say 5w 30 oil without specifying blend or conventional.
I imagine at least some of the claims from oil change places that FS will cause leaks in older car stems from people coming back with leaks after an oil change. That is not to say the oil caused it but maybe it was more noticeable or cleaned up things a bit making more it prevalent.
My daughter’s +200K miles Hyundai has lived on pretty much cheapo quick lube blend its whole existence based on the previous owner. It has some noticeable gunk around gaskets and seals that I would not be surprised if it is holding back leaks. Now some oil change place puts some quality FS in and it “starts leaking.” Then the next week I’m up there complaining about oil stains in my driveway demanding compensation. Let’s not pretend that event hasn’t unfolded before.
My daughter’s +200K miles Hyundai has lived on pretty much cheapo quick lube blend its whole existence based on the previous owner. It has some noticeable gunk around gaskets and seals that I would not be surprised if it is holding back leaks. Now some oil change place puts some quality FS in and it “starts leaking.” Then the next week I’m up there complaining about oil stains in my driveway demanding compensation. Let’s not pretend that event hasn’t unfolded before.
Synthetic oil doesn’t cause leaks. Because the molecules are are uniform in size, unlike conventional oil, in some cases those smaller uniform oil molecules can squeeze past seals but nothing is caused by the synthetic.
More like they get the cheapest bulk swill they can find and pass it off as some "quality" top shelf oil! BTW, major oil company 5W30 has been synblend for ~10 years now-that's likely what's been in it.
The molecule size doesn’t have anything to do with it, chain length gives rise to viscosity and that’s similar between synthetic and conventional. The whole “synthetic causes leaks” came from inadequately additized Group IV synthetics from years ago.
I did go ahead and do the oil change myself with the help of my neighbor and I put in Pennzoil Platinum full synthetic high mileage 5w30 (even though my 03 Subaru only has 46k miles.) This was about a month ago and so far no leaks.
My 08 Element had all of its oil changes at the dealer’s quick lube station, every 5k with 5w20 synthetic blend. Once it was out of the dealer’s 10 year, 100k powertrain warranty (as long as you did oil changes with them). I switched to Pennzoil Ultra Platinum at around 105k miles and have stayed with full synthetic switching around from Pennz to Mobile One and back with no leaks and my Element now has 150k miles.
My 08 Element had all of its oil changes at the dealer’s quick lube station, every 5k with 5w20 synthetic blend. Once it was out of the dealer’s 10 year, 100k powertrain warranty (as long as you did oil changes with them). I switched to Pennzoil Ultra Platinum at around 105k miles and have stayed with full synthetic switching around from Pennz to Mobile One and back with no leaks and my Element now has 150k miles.
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