Filter Question for the Subaru nerds... (2026 Crosstrek Wilderness)

[earlyre]

so my Best Friend just bit the bullet and bought his first NEW car. ( his brother talked him into new instead of used, with the old "you could wind up with someone else's problem" line)
he was down to 2 models to choose from, Toyota Rav4, or Subaru CrossTrek.
the Rav was out for him as soon as he found out the 26 MY is Hybrid Only. he likes the "hum" of an engine as he put it.

so he got a '26 Crosstrek Wilderness.

i have a very passing familiarity with some Subaru peculiarities, and know him well enough to know he'll use either Walmart, or a Quickie Lube of some sort.
I know that Subies can be a bit picky about oil filters ( specific bypass pressures, etc that few aftermarket filters nail close enough)

what should I be recommending to him? I know it takes 0w16, and not sure if the dealer included any OC's in the deal, or not.
does Walmart Carry the right Subaru Filter, if not what's the general consensus of the "right" aftermarket filter for a modern Subaru?

if his past pattern follows through, and especially with this being his first new car, and $$$, He'll probably be in this car for the long haul. ( bought an '03 Vibe (120k mi in 2010), drove it for 13-14 years and put another 150k mi on it, until he wrecked it a couple years back. ) Traded in a 2012 Mazda 3 he got from his Mom a while back ... they gave him a whole $1500.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Walmart carries OE Subaru oil filters, or you can get the popular Ecogard S4615 (though it's not green anymore like the pictures)

 

[earlyre]

reading through the owners manual online, this kind of made me say, What?

0W-20 conventional?? Didn't know that was a thing.... I could of sworn all 0W-20 was synthetic.... really that all 0W-XX was synthetic....

 

[ClutchDisc]

I run the Wix XP filters on my Subaru and my friend’s Subaru (that I maintain). The Wix XP has the higher bypass pressure.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

I like Premium Guard/EcoGuard options or Hengst H345W. Also Napa Gold 7055 works too (rebranded PG).

 

[Rand]

reading through the owners manual online, this kind of made me say, What?

0W-20 conventional?? Didn't know that was a thing.... I could of sworn all 0W-20 was synthetic.... really that all 0W-XX was synthetic....

Thats the standard subaru manual
used to say the same thing for 0w20 and conventional 5w30

 

[RobbS]

When it comes to oil changes, cheapest is deadliest. Walmart: Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter with Mobil 1 Extended Performance oil is fair price range and fair to the car.
On an ecolab budget, MicroGard Select filter with oil from a full synthetic you can change every 5k miles.

 

[earlyre]

If it was my car, and I lived where he does, it would be going to one of the AAA owned shops in his area ( Columbus ohio. I'm 100 mi away, none near me, or I'd be using them)
They only use synthetic, and Napa filters.
( Used to be Napa oil and filters, but the last time I used them, they had switched to havoline, and they only charged $45-50..)

Unfortunately the one that was about a mile from his house closed down... Not sure where the next nearest is.

 

[Wheel366]

I bought a 12 pack of regular WIX a few years ago. Supposedly has the correct bypass pressure valve. Almost out of them so I bought a 12 pack of the Tokyo Roki Subaru OEM filters and will be using those soon. Since both my cars take the same filter, I go through 4 per year. That 12 pack gives me 3 years.

 

[D60]

I don't know if '26 is extra picky but the bypass pressure thing seems to be much ado about nothing -- or at least that was my conclusion after my research.

However if he's in warranty and YOU do an OC for him, I'd use OEM only to avoid an "ever since...." scenario. Looks like even O'Reilly can get them, albeit ~$20 for a filter