Originally Posted By: sicko
Talk on Subaru forums is that the FB25 engine has a tendency to burn oil. It doesn't affect all engines, for some reasons some burn oil and some don't. So the talk is that Subaru reduce the OCI to ensure that the engine oil is changed before it gets too low. You can find more info on Subaru Forester forums.
If that is in fact the case, then you can safely go 7,500 miles as long as you keep an eye on your oil level between oil changes and top up as needed. I think doing as you planned of getting a UOA done with TBN after 5-6k miles, then going from there, would also be a great idea.
I figure I'll update this thread...
The OCI for the 2013 models is 7500 miles, newer model years are 6000 miles.
The FB25 engines, especially made before May 2013 (as indicated in Subaru TSB documents), are known to burn oil, with some of them burning several QTs between changes. TSB: 02-143-13R
Moreover, they have lowered the OCI and are actively swapping out the oil level sensors and reprogramming the ECU to trigger the low oil warning light so that it turns on with LESS oil in the engine. This is being done on cars that are burning lower amount of oil (anything under 1/3 QT per 1200 miles).
Then there is another issue at play for cars that are deamed to be burning oil and need to be diagnosed:
The biggest issue at the moment is that Subaru’s dealers dont get paid full rate for the engine work. They also dont get allocated enough hours that make sure doing the short block is really cost effective for them. In addition, the dealer has to repair any issues resulting with replacement of the short blocks, which seems to be frequent. As such, many dealers are resorting to adding too much oil to the engine during the oil consumption tests (which are performed as per the “FB Engine Oil Control Ring TSB Oil Consumption Test” document). They are appear to be doing this to prevent having to replace the engines on vehicles that only burn oil at a rate of two QTs evey 7200 miles, which is the replacement threashhold.
So, what I'am actually saying is that there is more to the story of the change to 6000 mile OCI change, and that extended oil use may not be wise with the FB25 engines.