Oil Temperature Range

[JS2000]

I just got my first car that has an oil temperature gauge, while it is very cool to have I don't really know what is considered to be an overly high oil temp. This is a 2019 Subaru WRX, brand new , turbocharged 2.0 L DIT engine. This car runs 5w30, it is on the factory fill right now, but will run synthetic on the next run.

I just got the temp gauge to show up on the center display. Having driven around today, temp seems to show up as soon as it reaches 30 degrees Celsius, below that it doesn't seem to display any numbers. We are still the late stages of winter in my region, ambient outside temps were 3 degrees C today. Driving around in normal city driving shows about 60-80 degrees C, with some highway and turbo use the temps rose up to 95 degrees C..

Can anyone suggest an oil temp reading that would be the upper end of the high range. I would like to make note of the high temp range in case oil temps ever get really high in the future, then I would know to let things cool down if possible. I have it reading Celsius right now, but I may switch to F., despite being Canadian I still like temps reading in F as we switched to metric part way through my school education so I grew up with both systems.


Thanks for any reply.

 

[Ken42]

That car runs and comes with 5w-30 synthetic oil Not sure what its made out of though

 

[Propflux01]

220-ish isn't that bad for turbo. Get worried when it goes over 275F. I am also willing to bet the factory fill is synthetic as well. Most turbo cars sold nowadays are FF synthetic.

 

[JS2000]

Yeah not sure what oil they use from the factory or what oil my dealer will use going forward, I guess they just call it Subaru oil ?

 

[ZeeOSix]

What's the owner's manual say about oil over temperature warning? Usually when a modern car has an oil temp gauge it will also incorporate some kind of warning if oil temp starts getting too high.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Your oil did not even reach the coolant temperature which is probably 100 Deg C. The 275 F mentioned above would be 135 deg C.

You'll need to wind it out on a hot summer day to get some hot temperatures going. Does it have a factory motor oil cooler?

 

[JS2000]

Originally Posted by Propflux01
220-ish isn't that bad for turbo. Get worried when it goes over 275F. I am also willing to bet the factory fill is synthetic as well. Most turbo cars sold nowadays are FF synthetic.


ah okay thanks very much for the info, that gives me a good idea of what to look for if temps ever get overly high, then I can give it a cool down period if that happens. I rather like having an oil temp gauge built into this car. I know this car has an alert for overly high CVT fluid temps, a low oil level monitor, a low oil pressure alert, some kind of oil filter monitor, a tire monitor, and oil temp gauge, not too shabby for a factory setup.

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted by JS2000

Yeah not sure what oil they use from the factory or what oil my dealer will use going forward, I guess they just call it Subaru oil ?

You're a member HERE, and you're going to accept THAT?

Seriously though, I'd certainly want to at least confirm what they're using. There are just enough cases of ignorant (or fraudulent) dealers putting the wrong stuff in customer cars that I'd recommend some diligence. Especially so with a high-performance, turbo engine where real harm could be done.

Cool new car, by the way -- I hope you enjoy it to the fullest!

 

[JS2000]

Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
What's the owner's manual say about oil over temperature warning? Usually when a modern car has an oil temp gauge it will also incorporate some kind of warning if oil temp starts getting too high.


I haven't seen anything in the owner's manual about a temp range for the oil, or any alert for oil temp. It just provides an oil temp gauge as an optional gauge, which provides a temp number no real high or low range indicated.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by JS2000

Yeah not sure what oil they use from the factory or what oil my dealer will use going forward, I guess they just call it Subaru oil ?

Idemitsu supplies Subaru.

 

[JS2000]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Your oil did not even reach the coolant temperature which is probably 100 Deg C. The 275 F mentioned above would be 135 deg C.

You'll need to wind it out on a hot summer day to get some hot temperatures going. Does it have a factory motor oil cooler?


Good point on the coolant temp, the outside ambient temps being cool likely affected things today. Thanks for confirming the high temp , that gives me a good idea of what to look for. I've had the car for a few weeks now, and just figured out how to get the oil temp gauge to show up on the center display.

 

[sloinker]

My diesel Golfs run 200-230F with a 190-200F water temp.

 

[JS2000]

Originally Posted by ekpolk
Originally Posted by JS2000

Yeah not sure what oil they use from the factory or what oil my dealer will use going forward, I guess they just call it Subaru oil ?

You're a member HERE, and you're going to accept THAT?

Seriously though, I'd certainly want to at least confirm what they're using. There are just enough cases of ignorant (or fraudulent) dealers putting the wrong stuff in customer cars that I'd recommend some diligence. Especially so with a high-performance, turbo engine where real harm could be done.

Cool new car, by the way -- I hope you enjoy it to the fullest!

You are totally right on that, while I trust the factory using a high quality from Japan (vehicle is made in Japan), I have less faith in local dealers. I will definitely be asking them before the first oil change, making sure it is a high quality oil and the cost is in line with the quality.

This is a cool car, I've come from owning many Hondas in the past, this is my first Subaru and I really enjoy the driving experience of this WRX, I wish I had checked it out sooner. lol.

 

[JS2000]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by JS2000

Yeah not sure what oil they use from the factory or what oil my dealer will use going forward, I guess they just call it Subaru oil ?

Idemitsu supplies Subaru.


That would be a good oil for the factory fill, I will see if my local dealer gets that oil here, not sure, something tells me they probably don't unless they get a Subaru branded oil made by Idemitsu. You have my curiosity peaked now, I need to look into this.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by JS2000
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
What's the owner's manual say about oil over temperature warning? Usually when a modern car has an oil temp gauge it will also incorporate some kind of warning if oil temp starts getting too high.


I haven't seen anything in the owner's manual about a temp range for the oil, or any alert for oil temp. It just provides an oil temp gauge as an optional gauge, which provides a temp number no real high or low range indicated.

There's no "normal" range. There's not much you can really do to control it, but I guess it's supposed to be something that you get used to and then find a safe place to shut down if there's something you don't normally see. The temperature will be dependent on your driving/ambient conditions as well as coolant temperature. It's more or less controlled by the coolant temperature. With an oil cooler it should warm up the oil faster on startup, and when the oil is hotter it will bring it down (somewhat) in the direction of the coolant temperature.

I'd watch the coolant temperature first. If that starts rising then you know something is wrong that you need to immediately address. Not in a Subaru, but I've encountered a cooling fan that (temporarily) wouldn't turn on in stop and go traffic. The strange thing to do is to try to turn up the interior heat.

 

[JS2000]

Originally Posted by sloinker
My diesel Golfs run 200-230F with a 190-200F water temp.


Thanks for the reply, my coolant gauge doesn't have any numbers on it, but I assume it runs about 200 F give or take.

 

[JS2000]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by JS2000
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
What's the owner's manual say about oil over temperature warning? Usually when a modern car has an oil temp gauge it will also incorporate some kind of warning if oil temp starts getting too high.


I haven't seen anything in the owner's manual about a temp range for the oil, or any alert for oil temp. It just provides an oil temp gauge as an optional gauge, which provides a temp number no real high or low range indicated.

There's no "normal" range. There's not much you can really do to control it, but I guess it's supposed to be something that you get used to and then find a safe place to shut down if there's something you don't normally see. The temperature will be dependent on your driving/ambient conditions as well as coolant temperature. It's more or less controlled by the coolant temperature. With an oil cooler it should warm up the oil faster on startup, and when the oil is hotter it will bring it down (somewhat) in the direction of the coolant temperature.

I'd watch the coolant temperature first. If that starts rising then you know something is wrong that you need to immediately address. Not in a Subaru, but I've encountered a cooling fan that (temporarily) wouldn't turn on in stop and go traffic. The strange thing to do is to try to turn up the interior heat.



yeah the reason I wanted to post this thread is to give me an idea of when the oil temp may get too high if it was ever to happen in the future, if that happens then I would pull over and allow things to cool down, shut down any a/c operation , turn on the heater etc. Thanks !

 

[ekpolk]

That is pretty bizarre that they go to the trouble of giving you the ability to monitor the oil temp, but at the same time, give you no parameters by which to assess the information the gauge provides. I'm going to speculate that WRX discussion forums might be a good place to start. Of course, you might just ask Subaru directly. You might catch them on a day when the liability fear mongers are taking a day off. . .

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by JS2000
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by JS2000
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
What's the owner's manual say about oil over temperature warning? Usually when a modern car has an oil temp gauge it will also incorporate some kind of warning if oil temp starts getting too high.


I haven't seen anything in the owner's manual about a temp range for the oil, or any alert for oil temp. It just provides an oil temp gauge as an optional gauge, which provides a temp number no real high or low range indicated.

There's no "normal" range. There's not much you can really do to control it, but I guess it's supposed to be something that you get used to and then find a safe place to shut down if there's something you don't normally see. The temperature will be dependent on your driving/ambient conditions as well as coolant temperature. It's more or less controlled by the coolant temperature. With an oil cooler it should warm up the oil faster on startup, and when the oil is hotter it will bring it down (somewhat) in the direction of the coolant temperature.

I'd watch the coolant temperature first. If that starts rising then you know something is wrong that you need to immediately address. Not in a Subaru, but I've encountered a cooling fan that (temporarily) wouldn't turn on in stop and go traffic. The strange thing to do is to try to turn up the interior heat.



yeah the reason I wanted to post this thread is to give me an idea of when the oil temp may get too high if it was ever to happen in the future, if that happens then I would pull over and allow things to cool down, shut down any a/c operation , turn on the heater etc. Thanks !

Ideally the oil temp shouldn't be that much hotter than the coolant temp, but I don't think there's anything terribly unusual about it getting really hot if the turbo is working hard. Turbo housings can glow red and that heat is removed by both the coolant and the oil.



I'd worry far more about the coolant temp going higher than it normally does. Coolant temps are controlled by the thermostat and almost universally stays at exactly the same temperature after it gets to operating temps. If the coolant temp is solidly at the thermostat temperature, I don't think turning off the A/C nor turning up the heat is going to help cool down the oil any more than it normally would. That's more a trick for if you've got cooling system problems.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

Unless something is drastically wrong you won't get oil temp even close to too hot while street driving. On track I'd probably start to back down when I got to 125c or so and even that is probably quite safe.