Subaru Forester Oil Consumption

Asked by Sierra Nov 03, 2019 at 10:53 AM about the 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Well, as of Friday... I think that the time has come to get rid of my Forester (that I love). This is my second Subaru I've bought and may be the last. I ran my 2010 Impreza to 158,000 miles and still had no issues when I sold it.

September 4th, my oil light had come on. I went home and added oil. 3 weeks later... the oil light came on AGAIN and I checked the dipstick and there was virtually nothing on the dip stick. I had looked it up and learned of the oil consumption test. I scheduled it to get tested at a Certified Subaru Dealership. They explained to me the test of bringing it between 1200-1800 miles.  Around 1700 miles, I had taken it in to get the result of the test.

I was 0.03 oz short of qualifying for a new engine block. That is almost HALF A TABLESPOON short of qualifying to get the engine worked on and fixed. The lady said there was nothing further that they could do and that as long at it was before and did not exceed 100,000 miles... I could get the test done (at my cost of course) again. Being only 0.03 oz short of qualifying needless to say I am not very happy. I have contemplated calling HQ and explaining to the what the issue was and seeing if there was anything that can be done. I told myself I would get rid of it if they weren't going to fix the issue but I am thinking of trying for another test in about 5,000 miles. The oil consumption issue has gotten worse over the last year and can project that it will worsen.

I bought it with 52,000 miles and just hit 80,000 miles and truly thought I'd keep this car until the wheels fell off. Now, having to put $60-$80 of work into it every month is not something I feel like I should have to do, especially being SO close to qualifying. I was also told by someone who had the same issue that it doesn't permanently fix the issue, as it will get worse again.

Does anyone have any recommendations for talking to HQ or just ideas in general? I do drive about 60 miles a day (highway) to work roundtrip and am looking at other AWD options such was Rav 4, Ford Fusion AWD, Taiguan and Audi A6.

Any help input would be appreciated!

4 Answers

Call of Subaru of America and talk to them. Be firm but polite. Keep track of the oil consumption but do not let it go until it is out of oil as they will blame you for any engine damage. Write down the amount and the miles and which you added oil. You can always do another oil consumption test in the future. Odds are if you change out the short block it will still use some oil. Either learn to live with it or dump the car at a big loss. A couple of quarts a month ($10) is really not the end of the world.

1 people found this helpful.

BTW. I have a 2015 Forester so I know exactly what you are going through. I add a quart or so a month and live with it.

1 people found this helpful.

Judging from my 2012, with a normally aspirated engine, burned about a quart per thousand miles starting out new, and got worse with time. Now, it has a spun bearing, and the thing is basically unfixable. I figured I'd take it to one of the Subaru engine specialist shops and have them rebuild the engine properly. After a bunch of discussion and research, the conclusion is the engine will always burn oil. Also, there's no reason to rebuild the block, because the only pistons you can get are the original junk from Subaru. Can't swap the engine for a more reliable one, because the electronics and sensors and such make Subaru swaps for this year way more expensive than they are worth. I'd say sell it to the next sucker, and buy one of the cars you mention.

Maybe the Rav4. My father bought one of these sever years back, and it passed down to my nephew. He's a pretty crap driver and beats on it pretty good, and it still runs fine.

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