Subaru oil change

[Donald]

Subaru Forester was at 5750 miles and wife needed to drive it to NYC. It was a QT low. Added a QT and now think I can adjust up from my normal 6000 OCI. When I had 4 QTs in oil pan I added a QT which was 25% of remaining oil so I can go to 7250. Does my math hold up to scrutiny? Seems cold now to change oil. Might be warmer in 1500 miles.

 

[krismoriah72]

I test drove the 2015 a couple of years ago and we were going to buy for the wife but got scared off with the class actions on oil burning.. looks like you have an oil burner?

 

[Donald]

A QT over almost 6K would not be considered an oil burner.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: Donald

now think I can adjust up from my normal 6000 OCI. ...so I can go to 7250. Does my math hold up to scrutiny?

Yes, you have just raised the TBN a fair bit and replenished many additives. Good to go! (probably to 8,000 now)

 

[NormanBuntz]

You have a 2015 Subaru that calls for 6,000 mile oil changes, and it's under warranty. The 2015's have no OLM. Stick with the 6K intervals to comply with your manual and warranty. BTW, I had a 2015 Outback and oil changes were a breeze, especially with a Fumoto valve.

 

[krismoriah72]

Originally Posted By: Donald

A QT over almost 6K would not be considered an oil burner.

Understood. According to Consumer Reports https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/06/excessive-oil-consumption/index.htm "Subaru considers a quart burned every 1,000 to 1,200 miles to be acceptable" That statement is what made me not buy a Subaru in 2015.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72

I test drove the 2015 a couple of years ago and we were going to buy for the wife but got scared off with the class actions on oil burning.. looks like you have an oil burner?

Yes this alone is reason enough not to buy Subaru they've had plenty of time to fix this problem and it just seems they haven't stepped up to the ball!

 

[Audios]

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72

Originally Posted By: Donald

A QT over almost 6K would not be considered an oil burner.

Understood. According to Consumer Reports https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/06/excessive-oil-consumption/index.htm "Subaru considers a quart burned every 1,000 to 1,200 miles to be acceptable" That statement is what made me not buy a Subaru in 2015.

This is typical across all manufacturers, its not really a measure of their engine quality. BMW says 850 miles per qt is acceptable as does Audi! On BMWs M cars, it can under 500 miles per qt and be ok!!!

 

[bigjl]

I always found on my Subarus that when used around Town and driven sedately they would use no oil. If I drove them at sustained high speed they would use a little bit. Both were bought new.

 

[raytseng]

Why not tell us what oil was used and what was put in and how you got to 6000 as your oci? Did your 6000 come from was a aggressive extension with the cheapest conv. oil or is it a mild extension with a premium full synthetic. I think that has more bearing then saying you habe a quart of new. A quart of new what added to what? If you want to play hypothetical math, and asking for a review, the math going on with the majority 75% of the oil should be reviewed first as a prerequisite before the math with the minority topoff. It is like a man asking his doctor if he should stop smoking while he has a massive head wound. you asked for scrutiny all the details need to be looked at

 

[HondaBroMike]

The SM version of the Subaru pour was an elite- top 3, sure hall of famer, candidate and remember I am saying candidate, so you do not necessary endorse or agree but if Viscosity Index of over 200 intrigues you, that is why I would put it in that category. Here is the thing, not everyone drives city majorilyas you have the highway haulers as well as non-New York stop and go, which is very these less viscous yet stellar concoctions excel at. I mean, even the heavier oils shear and then what happens, it doesn't blow up and if the TBN is right, it still continues to protect. I really do not get being enamored with thick oils, like that 80s commercial, where is the beef, you know what I mean. You have to figure engine tolerances and manuf recommendation too as they are not liver and onions either, if you catch what I mean.

 

[Donald]

The Subaru requires synthetic so that's a given. It happens to be NAPA 0W20. Subaru OEM filter. I think 6000 mile OCI is in the owners manual. I shoot for 6000 but sometimes a little more or less.

 

[JustN89]

Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72

I test drove the 2015 a couple of years ago and we were going to buy for the wife but got scared off with the class actions on oil burning.. looks like you have an oil burner?

Yes this alone is reason enough not to buy Subaru they've had plenty of time to fix this problem and it just seems they haven't stepped up to the ball!

Honestly, this is why I don't buy the brand. I really want to like Subaru, but it just feels like that if it's not one thing, it's another. At least their CVT seems solid.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Originally Posted By: JustN89

Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72

I test drove the 2015 a couple of years ago and we were going to buy for the wife but got scared off with the class actions on oil burning.. looks like you have an oil burner?

Yes this alone is reason enough not to buy Subaru they've had plenty of time to fix this problem and it just seems they haven't stepped up to the ball!

Honestly, this is why I don't buy the brand. I really want to like Subaru, but it just feels like that if it's not one thing, it's another. At least their CVT seems solid.

I suspect that the newer 2.0l engines might have been a step forward as far as low oil consumption goes, I'm sure there are some losers in the population out there but there seems to be a lot less squawking about them in general than even the newer 2.5l engines (which were supposed to be big improvements over the EJ engines). It's only two vehicles and, therefore, statistically insignificant, but neither my 2.0l turbo nor my daughter 2.0l NA engine consume an appreciable amount of oil over 5kmile intervals.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I agree with bigjl... none of my Subarus has ever "used" oil, more than maybe 0.5 qts per 3k miles. My 01 Forester is by far the worst at 0.5/3k in normal use, but if I drive 2+ hours at 70+ on the highway, I check it at every fillup. RT6 almost entirely eliminated this usage. All the people saying 1qt per 1200 is outlandish obviously haven't been RTFM much, as Audios politely pointed out. But you don't hear any M3 or RS7 owners complaining...? That's right, because they read the manual and know it is par for the course. I love double standards.

 

[Pajero]

I'm not familiar with newer vehicles. But, my loyal 1994 Montero, has never burned any oil. Prior, to my Montero, I had an Eclipse. Neither vehicles burned any oil. Also, I had a 16 Ford Taurus and it never burned oil. Please forgive my ignorance and I mean no disrespect. But, is it acceptable for new vehicles today to burn oil? I've noticed it with the Audi's also. I peruse various forums and this is a common anomaly. Or is it because of direct injection? Respectfully, Pajero!

 

[crainholio]

My '09 Forester EJ25 has a predictable oil consumption pattern...near zero for the first ~3K miles each OCI, then it starts burning oil at a rate of 1/2 quart per 1,000 miles thereafter. Manual says 7,500mi OCI, I do around 6K miles. However, this only seems to happen on prolonged highway cruising at 2800-3000RPM. When I flip work contracts and I'm not running a weekly 480 mile commute (230 on Monday, 230 back home on Friday, misc local mileage), it's all short trip mileage and holds the level all the way to ~6K mile oil change. Prolonged high-rev operation seems to drive oil consumption. I've replaced the PCV valve with a Subaru part, no effect. It seems to burn the least when running Valvoline synthetic high mileage 5W-30 in Winter, and same flavor in 10W-30 in Summer. The worst consumption was with Mobil-1 High Mileage 5W-30, and the valvetrain was noisy at hot idle. I tried 3 OCIs with this M1 and it chewed up oil at nearly 1 quart per 1K miles after it got past 2K miles each OCI. The engine has 109K miles on it and runs well, 24-26MPG if I keep the tach around 2500 RPM on the highway.

 

[T-Stick]

I have a 2016 Crosstrek. Breaking Subarus in to properly seat their rings will typically help ensure very minimal oil consumption (I'm not going into that right now). I've also noticed that thin 20 weights such as Castrol EP tend to use up to a quart in a 6k OCI. However using Valvoline, Mobil 1 EP, and Castrol Magnatec has always yielded less than a 1/4 quart of oil consumption in 6k i.e. virtually zero consumption. Maybe you want to try one of those oils.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Originally Posted By: crainholio

My '09 Forester EJ25 has a predictable oil consumption pattern...near zero for the first ~3K miles each OCI, then it starts burning oil at a rate of 1/2 quart per 1,000 miles thereafter. Manual says 7,500mi OCI, I do around 6K miles. However, this only seems to happen on prolonged highway cruising at 2800-3000RPM. When I flip work contracts and I'm not running a weekly 480 mile commute (230 on Monday, 230 back home on Friday, misc local mileage), it's all short trip mileage and holds the level all the way to ~6K mile oil change. Prolonged high-rev operation seems to drive oil consumption. I've replaced the PCV valve with a Subaru part, no effect. It seems to burn the least when running Valvoline synthetic high mileage 5W-30 in Winter, and same flavor in 10W-30 in Summer. The worst consumption was with Mobil-1 High Mileage 5W-30, and the valvetrain was noisy at hot idle. I tried 3 OCIs with this M1 and it chewed up oil at nearly 1 quart per 1K miles after it got past 2K miles each OCI. The engine has 109K miles on it and runs well, 24-26MPG if I keep the tach around 2500 RPM on the highway.

Ah man, you just reminded me that I promised myself that I would change the PCV valve in my FXT this winter after a dealer broke their promise to do it for me at my 60kmile servicing...the service advisor was all like, "It's under the intercooler, that's too hard!!!" I don't have any consumption issues as of now, but I like to be proactive about these things and the valve itself was under $10. Pulling the IC off intimidates the crud out of me because I've seen for myself how easily those vanes bend, but I need to just grow a pair and do it.

 

[Balrog006]

Originally Posted By: crainholio

My '09 Forester EJ25 has a predictable oil consumption pattern...near zero for the first ~3K miles each OCI, then it starts burning oil at a rate of 1/2 quart per 1,000 miles thereafter. Manual says 7,500mi OCI, I do around 6K miles. However, this only seems to happen on prolonged highway cruising at 2800-3000RPM. When I flip work contracts and I'm not running a weekly 480 mile commute (230 on Monday, 230 back home on Friday, misc local mileage), it's all short trip mileage and holds the level all the way to ~6K mile oil change. Prolonged high-rev operation seems to drive oil consumption. I've replaced the PCV valve with a Subaru part, no effect. It seems to burn the least when running Valvoline synthetic high mileage 5W-30 in Winter, and same flavor in 10W-30 in Summer. The worst consumption was with Mobil-1 High Mileage 5W-30, and the valvetrain was noisy at hot idle. I tried 3 OCIs with this M1 and it chewed up oil at nearly 1 quart per 1K miles after it got past 2K miles each OCI. The engine has 109K miles on it and runs well, 24-26MPG if I keep the tach around 2500 RPM on the highway.

What speed nets you highway cruising at those RPM’s? My K24 in my 3500lb CRV only runs just over 2000 @ 70mph.