Class Action Lawsuit Targets Subaru Oil Consumption

[RLGL]

A quart per thousand is normal, one needs to pay attention to the vehicle fluids. Mine get checked monthly as do the tires

 

[Jumpem]

Subaru will soon go the way of Saab. Any car maker that claims a defect is normal should go extinct.

They won't. They are incredibly popular, selling near every vehicle they can produce. It is also common to have to wait for the model you want to be in stock.

 

[Jumpem]

I need to go out and try 65 on the highway for a long period and see what I get, the problem is around here all the speed limits are 70/75 and going 5 over is still slower than traffic. It may just be that the Forester/CVT has a bigger drop off at higher speeds than I am used to. I am just used to my 06 and 99 legacy that would get 5-6mpg better than sticker at 75-80, and now I am getting 4-6 below at those speeds. Now I get about the same highway mileage as my old 5.0L 91 Grand Marquis.

It also seems that no one who owns a Forester drives over 70, since I haven't ever seen someone post good numbers above 70. But most states have speed limits of at least 70 on the interstates.

Speed limits must be higher out west. In NY it is 65, and well enforced. I drove all the way to SC, and only encountered a 70mph speed limit once while going through WV.

 

[senseamp]

Yeah the subaruforester.org forum is very defensive about the mileage and shoutdown anyone that claims to be getting poor mileage.

On the open highway I get about 28.5 at 70, 27.5 at 75, 25.5 at 80. I've been very unhappy with the mileage, really like the car otherwise but never had a car that was so far blew the estimated mileage doing pure highway driving. Even my other Subarus were much better than EPA at 80 mph, as long as it was a consistent speed. I've taken the car to the dealer, but they won't even check it out because "its normal, there are a lot of variable, blah blah." I wonder if the torque converter isn't engaging, but I don't know how to check that with a CVT.

I have a co-worker that bought a 2014 Legacy with the CVT and he gets about the same mileage as me.

EPA MPG is at ~55MPH. Going 70 is a huge difference in drag compared to 55, especially for a non-aerodynamic car like an SUV. 28.5 at 70 in an AWD SUV is good mileage.

 

[NutBucket]

They won't. They are incredibly popular, selling near every vehicle they can produce. It is also common to have to wait for the model you want to be in stock.

And head gaskets are cheaper to fix than blown transmissions Not sure what to make of this oil consumption issue.

 

[hans007]

2009 -2010 a4s had this exact same problem . Audi forums types were absolutely defending vw for all the ea888 engine defects and Audi USA would just claim burning a quart every 1000 was normal.

I wouldn't doubt they need their engine blocks replaced as Audi started doing after much complaining. Hope the subaru owners get the new engines and compensation.

When it burns up oil it will destroy your cats prematurely as well

 

[NutBucket]

Btw, first tank in the Fozzy was about 32mpg. Sounds good to me!

 

[heymrdj]

A quart per thousand is normal, one needs to pay attention to the vehicle fluids. Mine get checked monthly as do the tires

Building an engine to that spec is just trash and cost cutting measurements. An engine should burn 0 oil when new. Period. At 75k I could see maybe a .5 quart every oil change. This is especially true for the price commanded for Subaru's relatively spartan cars.

 

[RLGL]

Building an engine to that spec is just trash and cost cutting measurements. An engine should burn 0 oil when new. Period. At 75k I could see maybe a .5 quart every oil change. This is especially true for the price commanded for Subaru's relatively spartan cars.

What you THINK and what IS are two different things. Get real. Oil consumption is normal
Dream on...join the real world, cost cutting.
A quart to a thousand is a normal standard and has been. In the marine field a quart to 10 hours is not considered excessive.

 

[heymrdj]

Dream on...join the real world, cost cutting.
A quart to a thousand is a normal standard. In the marine field a quart to 10 hours is not considered excessive.

Nope, screw that. If Ford can build the 5.4 and burn no oil even at 145K miles, if I can run a 2.8L with 110K miles with no oil burned, if I can run an early Mercury 4 cylinder with no oil burned, Subaru, who commands a huge price with their very crappy interiors, can build a half decent engine.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Below ~150k miles there shouldn't be any oil leakage.

To put this in perspective, my 07 Honda Fit with 147k doesn't leak a drip of engine oil. With all the work that tiny 1.5L engine has to do, you'd think there would be issues, but there isn't. Saturns were known to eat through oil, and my 99SL1 consumed a quart every 2500 miles at 160k.

New engines though? They messed up, clearly.

 

[MrX8503]

Burning oil is not normal. If it does, then the car is a POS.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

I have a 2012 Cruze 1.4L turbo with 50k miles on it. The oil level has absolutely NEVER changed between oil changes. (More anecdotal evidence, I know)

1 quart in 1000 miles is old beater territory.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

Consuming one quart of oil per 1000 miles is unacceptable for a passenger car made in the last few years. 1 quart per 2.5k is about the upper limit of what I would consider acceptable for newer cars.

 

[bryanl]

For anyone, do you consider adding a quart per thousand miles a defect?

That rate of burning oil will age the catalytic converters prematurely, and engines since the late 1990s have been designed to burn no more than a quart per 5000-7500 miles.

 

[SparkyJJO]

What you THINK and what IS are two different things. Get real. Oil consumption is normal
Dream on...join the real world, cost cutting.
A quart to a thousand is a normal standard and has been. In the marine field a quart to 10 hours is not considered excessive.

Seriously, 1 quart every 1000 miles is ridiculous no matter which way you cut it.

I don't care if they consider it "normal" it most certainly should not be for a new engine. I've never had that kind of consumption even with old, higher mileage engines.

Heck, my 2002 Trailblazer has over 200,000 miles on it and uses under a quart every 10,000 miles.

Even my first car (93 Taurus) only half used/half leaked a quart every 3000-4000 miles. My 99 Camaro has a rear main seal leak and even it doesn't go through that much.

1 quart/1000 miles is downright lousy. There really is no excuse for it.

Maybe to reach mpg numbers they are purposely burning oil since that isn't metered

 

[Zorba]

EPA MPG is at ~55MPH. Going 70 is a huge difference in drag compared to 55, especially for a non-aerodynamic car like an SUV. 28.5 at 70 in an AWD SUV is good mileage.

Yeah, I know the test is slower, but it has a decent amount of accelerations in it. So driving on cruise for long periods of time should yield better than EPA estimated. I've never had an SUV before, so maybe I am just not used to how big of an impact the aerodynamics is verses a sedan. Although my coworker who got a '14 legacy claims he gets basically the same mileage as me.

I do agree it gets good mileage for a SUV, but I was expecting more. I do generally beat the in city mileage, but most of my miles on it are highway.

Speed limits must be higher out west. In NY it is 65, and well enforced. I drove all the way to SC, and only encountered a 70mph speed limit once while going through WV.

West of the Mississippi pretty much every state is 70 or 75 on the interstates. In Texas I've driven on busy, two-lane highways that had a speed limit of 80 .

Nope, screw that. If Ford can build the 5.4 and burn no oil even at 145K miles, if I can run a 2.8L with 110K miles with no oil burned, if I can run an early Mercury 4 cylinder with no oil burned, Subaru, who commands a huge price with their very crappy interiors, can build a half decent engine.

I've never understood the bash on Subaru interiors. Yeah my '99 legacy had a pretty bare interior, but when we got our 2006 Legacy it had the nicest interior of any car in the price range, IMHO. I also think the Forester has a very nice interior compared to most of its competition. Plus sunroofs are basically standard on Subaru were they are a big upgrade on a Ford, if you can even find one.

The interior in my '99 with 165k was still in great shape when I sold it 7 months ago. My 2006's is still perfect, except for a couple small spots my dog has scratched. It has held up much better than my mom's '07 Edge.

 

[DougoMan]

My 1988 BMW 325i burns about two quarts of oil every 1000 miles. No issues related to it yet except having to keep an eye on the oil level.

 

[LTC8K6]

I think the best I have seen for acceptable oil consumption is 1qt per 2k miles. What these numbers are for is the warranty. Unless it is beyond their "normal" rate, they won't fix it.

it doesn't mean the engine is expected to burn oil. Some engines burn oil, some don't. Burning some oil is not necessarily a sign of a need for repair.

Drive normally, and you might burn very little oil.

Hoon it up, and you might be surprised.

IIRC GM said aggressive driving could burn 1qt per 500 miles.

 

[pcgeek11]

If I had a car that used 1 quart in 1000 miles I would get rid of it ASAP.

Sum Ting Wong!

 

[FiLeZz]

2010 Subaru STI here, I have never had any issues with oil consumption in the 18k miles I have on the car now.

 

[HitAnyKey]

Not to derail but I once had the Toyota Service Advisor ask me if my 2011 RAV4 2.5L 4cyl engine uses oil. I have never seen the oil low in the 60K that I have driven it. He said oil consumption was being noticed on those engines. That freaked me out.

I don't agree that oil consumption is normal in any gas powered car. If it is the Manufacturer should state that right on the gas cap. Plus the oil gauges should be very proactive in advising when oil is down a quart.

Losing a motor because of this problem would be ridiculous. I hope Subaru can be proactive and do the right thing to address this issue. Even if its as simple as providing warnings and educating owners on checking oil levels more frequently.

 

[unokitty]

Just a note that a lawsuit being filed doesn't necessarily mean that there is a defect.

Having said that, it does appear that some people are having oil consumption problems with their 2011-2014 (FB20 and FB25 motor) Subarus.

Subaru has addressed the issue with a Technical Service Bulletin concerning oil consumption. Solution is to change the piston rings.

If problem discovered under warranty, apparently Subaru pays. Out of warranty apparently owner pays... Ouch!

Though, it would seem that many people would prefer adding a quart of oil every thousand miles to an expensive repair.

Anyway, appreciate the feedback. Please keep sharing your experiences especially if you have a newer Subaru.

Uno

 

[NutBucket]

2010 Subaru STI here, I have never had any issues with oil consumption in the 18k miles I have on the car now.

That's because your car is still using the EJ motor, just like the current STi. Curious to see when that will finally change.

 

[Zorba]

Just a note that a lawsuit being filed doesn't necessarily mean that there is a defect.

Having said that, it does appear that some people are having oil consumption problems with their 2011-2014 (FB20 and FB25 motor) Subarus.

Subaru has addressed the issue with a Technical Service Bulletin concerning oil consumption. Solution is to change the piston rings.

If problem discovered under warranty, apparently Subaru pays. Out of warranty apparently owner pays... Ouch!

Though, it would seem that many people would prefer adding a quart of oil every thousand miles to an expensive repair.

Anyway, appreciate the feedback. Please keep sharing your experiences especially if you have a newer Subaru.

Uno

It'd be nice if they gave an ending VIN number, as I assume they have implemented the fix at the factory, probably before the TSB was actually released. It says you can claim it under the powertrain warranty so you have 60k miles to report the issue, which seems fair.

I also wonder if the problem can be caused by people using the wrong type of oil. Since the FB2.5 uses 0W-20, which is expensive and not all that common yet.