Engine Burning Oil Problems of Subaru Forester - part 1

1) oil consumption. My 2015 Subaru was purchased used in 2017 with approx 56k on engine. From the first oil change I had done one month later the car’s computer would say that the oil level was low. I would check the dip and it would be at least a quart low. From that point on the car would burn oil that I would keep the 5 gallon oil container in my car. 2) my Subaru is and has been driven consistently until one week I did not use it for a few days not more than 3. The battery completely drained water and all. Filled the battery with appropriate water and trickle charged it for about 5 days. I then was able to jump start the car just to drive to the auto parts store to buy a new one. Noticed the signal lights would not work but the car was driving fine. I thought it may be a fuse so I pulled the proper fuse out and replaced it with the proper fuse. I started the car and every single light on the dash board lit up. Oil temp, check engine light, the up hill etc. I drove the car back home from the auto parts store and it was jerking, revving, stumbling all over the place. Nearly drove into the car in front of me and just about made it home without it stalling. I was scheduled to have two recalls fixed but I had to have my insurance company tow it to the dealer. They said it could be a number of things. I paid them 149 to do a diagnostics check but said they needed an additional 500 to do a thorough check and it would not go towards any fix of any issue. He printed me a list of items that needed to be done but none would fix that issue. He said maybe the wire harness but not sure. I was just basically screwed. So I have a 2015 Subaru Forester that I have no idea what is wrong with the engine. 3) seat belt warning on the passenger side will not stop alerting to fasten seat belts even though no one is in the seat. I have to keep it buckled at all times. I have notified the dealer the day the recalls were done but he said he didn’t know why it was doing that.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Subaru has been aware of an oil consumption defect with the piston rings in this model car and never notified owners that it was present. The result can be oil pressure loss, rapid overheating, and motor seizing. The motor has been replaced for some customers for the oil consumption damages, but not for many others. The parts were defective at manufacture and a recall should be instituted.

See all problems of the 2012 Subaru Forester 🔎.

We had the oil changed in July. In the middle of September I added nearly 1 quart of oil. The oil light came back on again October 15th and assuming it is low on oil again. After extensive on-line research, it seems an oil consumption program is an issue that is affecting out vehicle among countless other model years and other manfacturer's as well. It did not matter if the vehicles was turning, in motion, idle or driving location, the low oil light would remain on. The air bag light indicator has been coming on and off for the last 3 months. We brought the vehicle into the dealer the middle of July once this happened. Since the light was not on at the time, the dealer could not diagnose it. Since the indicator light is appears and then disappears, it has been difficult to get to the dealer and time when the indicator light decides to re-appear. The indicator light re-appeared and we scheduled the appointment to get for a diagnosis. The diagnostic confirmed there is a bad switch under the seat. We were asked if we have an I-phone and charge the phone while it is on the passenger seat. Yes, that may or may not have happened. We were told this is not an issue with an android phone. The dealer offered to replace this item but resulted in an approx. $1,000. 00 bill. They mentioned they would pay approx. 90% of the cost. It does not matter if the car is on, turing, in motion city or highway driving.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Tl the contact's daughter owns a 2012 Subaru Forester. The contact's daughter became aware of oil consumption on the vehicle. His daughter frequently had to replenish the oil due to the failure. The contact called maita Subaru (2912 auburn blvd, sacramento, CA 95821) and elk grove Subaru (8581 laguna grove dr, elk grove, CA 95757) where he was informed that there was a warranty extension on the vehicle for excessive oil consumption however, the warranty had expired in may of 2020. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and confirmed the dealers information. The contact's daughter had not taken the vehicle to be diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

I have had ongoing issues with the oil consumption on this vehicle. I have had a couple of oil consumption tests run on this car and they claim that it passes, (even though I can barely make it 4k without having to add more oil to the car) today the car is back at service to fix the front engine cover seal. One has to wonder if this was the oil issue all along, however it will cost me almost a grand just to get this repair done.

Excessive oil consumption. Have to add more than a 1 quart between oil changes(every 3k miles).

Smell of burning oil from the engine. Dealer says head gasket needs to be replaced at a cost of $5500.

2013 Subaru Forester. Consumer writes in regards to oil consumption issue. The consumer stated the vehicle needed oil added in between oil changes. The manufacturer was notified and offered 1500 towards a new car or repair. The consumer was dissatisfied.

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Subaru engines are using excessive amounts of oil even when new, up to 1 quart per 1500 miles. A 2014 lawsuit required them to fix this problem, which they are only barely doing. Hundreds of others with this problem are being required to simply add more oil at $9 - $12/quart 3-4 times each oil change. As the car ages, the consumption causes the car engine to seize when at highway speeds, creating the potential of serious accidents. Again, Subaru has officially acted to not address this issue in their TSB 02-157-14r, titled surface treatment change to oil control piston rings. Prior to this, dealerships were instructed to change out the piston rings. This TSB states: "concerns related to a possible oil consumption condition are generally initiated when the customer believes the engine oil level on the dipstick has dropped since the last time it was checked or when the low oil lamp illuminates. These types of complaints by themselves do not directly indicate a concern with the vehicle exists. ".

2012 Subaru Forester with 106,000 miles burns all of the engine oil dry. I have read this is due to faulty piston rings. Where is the recall for this ? it is unacceptable. Regularly, if not, over maintained.

Our Forester has been burning an excessive amount of oil. Thought it was leaks at first and have spent about 2500 fixing those. Keeps losing oil so must be burning it. Took an oil consumption test at dealer which lasts 1200 miles. Failed because it didn't make it 650 miles before it ran out of oil. Subaru did nothing to help with this problem. Soon after it is now starting to throw check engine lights. Twice now the engine has also died while I am in the middle of driving. Once was on the highway and the other was luckily before turning into a parking lot.

See all problems of the 2011 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Vehicle is burning large amounts of oil. No oil light indicator comes on to warn of low engine oil. Burns approximately 2 quarts per 1000 miles. This has been going on for several years now.

Had subra 2018 for 2 weeks oil lights come on all lights been having this oil burning for a year. Now the steering freeze up while driving it last week couldn't move car at all on the highway turning. It wouldn't move good thing we weren't going fast on a interstate. Sat on side of road with it. Read book trying to see what was going on no steering that car at all. I didn't buy a brand new car with problems like that. The oil issue been going on since I got car in 2017. Been back a forth to deal ship nothing done what so ever.

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2. 5 manual, burns oil at excessive rate. Check engine oil light turned twice so far, once at 2k miles on a car and next time at 16k miles. Both lights were well within the oil change schedule and the car has not been subdued to any unusual use. Unable to travel in the car long distances without having 2 quarts of oil in a trunk due to possible engine failure for lack of oil. Both times the low oil lights went up when traveling on roads and sunaru dealer had to add oil (still under warranty).

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Forester 🔎.

I got my regular oil change. One month later my indicator came in reading �system detects low oil�. Took it back to the shop where I got my oil changed, they told me it was bone dry and that my car is burning oil. They said that I'm not the only Subaru owner who has that problem. They just top their oil off every month. I cannot afford this. Found out it's a defective piston ring that Subaru knew they were selling. I was driving for 6 hours on the highway with this indicator. The car could have exploded. But I assumed it was just reacting to my long drive. I honestly could have been extremely hurt or killed. I don't know if I should sell the car or pay to take the entire engine apart.

I just received a call from mechanic after taking it in for oil change. There was no oil in the pan, dipstick clean! I do not have a leak as I park in garage and would see it. No indicator lights came on dash, which is a huge concern! looking back Subaru has had issues with oil burning up quickly. This needs to be fixed!.

Failed oil consumption test ,engine had to be replaced . I have the same problem with my second Subaru Forester 2011 its engine had to be replaced too. In both cars I found the problems accidentally when I took the2011 to hve new tiers I asked them to check oil level found no oil on the stick filled it with 3 bottels of oil before I drove it to the dealer I feel that they should recall all Forester also I was not end a notice that they extended the warranty for this problem. Now they offer me 1000$ to apply for buying new Subaru.

Excessive oil consumption. I bought this 2014 Subaru Forester sometime in August 2013. This was the very first vehicle I ever bought, not knowing any facts about lemon laws. I was driving back from south dakota sometime in July 2014 on a Sunday night when the low oil lamp turned on. I was on the freeway in the middle of nowhere, so I had to drive maybe 3-4 hrs more to find an open mechanic. Mechanic came back to me and said that when he dipped the stick, the oil barely registered. I had about 8,000 miles at this point. I should've filed a lemon law complaint at this point. But I was too young and naive. I went to the dealership and we did an oil consumption test, maybe 3-5 more times. Sometimes the lamp wouldn't light up, sometimes it lights up at around 1500 miles or past it. Around Dec 2015, Subaru finally decided to change my short block. I never had a chance to fully drive my vehicle as I got stationed overseas in March 2016. I came back from overseas in April 2017. Issue persisted again in March 2018. Did about 2-3 oil consumption test until the new Subaru dealership I went to got an approval to change the short block for the second time. Now, a month later after short block overhaul #2, the low oil lamp turned on again. I've pretty much gotten to know the service reps at my local Subaru shops. Subaru has no response to this issue. Except to top my oil off. Waste my time everytime I go past 1000+ miles and give me anxiety. I've emailed Subaru of America about the issue as well. All I have is a complaint ticket from them with no real solution.

Oil consumption - Subaru dealership confirmed there was an oil consumption problem over 1 qt per 1200 miles. Subaru of America would not repair under warranty or offer assistance as vehicle was just over extended warranty. 113k miles at time and the extended warranty was 8 years or 100k miles.

I did my first oil change at 1500 miles, then the next two changes at about 3000 mile intervals. Then I decided to stretch them to the 5k miles recommended by Subaru. I was about 4k miles into this change interval when my oil level light came on. I checked the dip stick and it was bone dry. I wouldn't have noticed oil consumption on the first few changes because I was doing them more frequently than needed and therefore the engine didn't have time to consume enough oil to trip the low oil light. I went to Subaru for an oil consumption test, which it "passed". I documented everything and took photos of the dip stick before and after the test. Subaru fills your oil to the top line of the dip stick. The mechanic informed me this is standard procedure. I was told that the amount of oil between the 2 lines is a quart. After the 1200 miles of the oil consumption test, the oil level was down about 20% between the two lines. Taking that out to a full 5-6k mile interval, that means it burns about a quart or more in between changes. I spoke with the mechanic who said that this is completely within spec of Subaru's standards. I told him I thought this was a lot, but he said this is normal for Subarus in his experience. A car with only 16k miles should not require over a quart of oil to be added between oil changes. When my oil light came on again, within the same oil change interval as the oil consumption test (about 4k miles into the interval), I took the car back to Subaru for a second oil consumption test. Instead of performing this, they opted to replace my short block, a very extensive repair. I am still waiting for this repair to occur under factory warranty.

I have a 2011 Subaru Forester 2. 5 premium that had been consuming an exorbitant amount of oil ever since I got it. It requires that I add up to 1. 2 qts every 2 months to stay above the empty line on the dip stick. My brother told me recently he heard that there was a recall on some Subaru vehicles during my year due to oil consumption issues. Therefore, I checked my VIN both on this website and dubaru's website, but it didn't return anything regarding the oil consumption. Can I get some help with this issue as my warranty had already expired and this issue may be getting worse.

There is an oil leak in the head gasket and camshaft seal. This causes oil to drip and burn smoke. There is a fire risk to this. The cost of repairing this is extremely high. This seems to be a faulty part of all Subaru Foresters of this time period.

Failed consumption oil test. Engine had to be replaced . I was told by Subaru that their was no recall . My second Subaru Forester 2013 had same problem and its engine had to be replaced.

My 2014 Forester has stalled on me 5 times in the past 3 years while traveling between san antonio and el paso TX. While traveling at highway speeds (80mph on this part of I-10) with and without cruise control, the engine suddenly would make a hard downshift, then another, and allowed me about 10 seconds to pull over to right shoulder, then stalled. During the downshift no warning lights came on until I was completely stalled and then they all turned on. One time it gave me a warning light that my transmission oil was hot, after it stalled. I have traveled to other places in texas with same variables other than the inclines/ declines of that part of I-10. This vehicle cannot handle inclines at highway speeds after driving an hour or two. I have been lucky that the 5 times my Forester stalled I was not surrounded by heavy traffic. This is a very bad situation and very dangerous!! a couple of years ago I notified my Subaru dealer when they did an oil consumption test (because I have to add a quart between each oil change) and they did nothing. The manager speculated some work they could do at my cost but had no answers or suggestions. I have also had to replace the ball bearings in the rear right wheel. These things should not happen to a new car with high ratings. My 86 Honda civic could go between el paso and san antonio with no problems.

Car burning oil at substantial rate between oil changes. Need to top up oil twice between 6000 mile oil change intervals. Car is an automatic transmission. Subaru provides engine block replacement for issue for 2015 Foresters with manual transmission and for previous model years with automatic transmissions. 2015 auto transmissions are obviously also affected -- our car is affected.

I have an ongoing issue with my 2014 Subaru Forester that was manufactured in 2013, in which the check oil light routinely goes on approximately half-way through a 6k oil change. There was a class action lawsuit against Subaru that stipulated an oil consumption test could be initiated following an oil change. The oil levels are checked at 1,200 miles after the oil change and if the levels are low the vehicle will fail the test and qualify for a new engine at no cost. I've had 2 oil consumption tests completed on my car, with the first one done 1 year ago. My vehicle passed both tests at 1,200 miles, but routinely is low on oil well before my next scheduled oil change. I have filed 2 complaints with Subaru of America with no success. I last had my oil changed at 71,308 miles, and brought it back for the test 1,200 miles later. I am now 3k into the same oil change and my check oil light went on yesterday and today. I brought it to the dealer to check the level and it was 3/4 of a quart low, which Subaru of America says is normal oil consumption at 3k into an oil change and they will not replace the engine. This is not an issue for Subaru Foresters manufactured in 2014, as Subaru of America changed the pistons in the engine to address the issue. I am very stuck; the dealer won't help me, Subaru of America won't help me, and the car is worthless given the service records indicating that it uses excess oil. I work full-time. I am also the main transportation for my 2 young children. I drive with extra quarts of oil in my car and have to add oil approximately 3-4. 5k into a 6k oil change when the light comes on. I have spent a lot of time and energy on this issue with no success and I just don't know what to do anymore. I am hoping you can help. I can provide you with all emails to Subaru of America and maintenance records for the car.

I was driving on the highway in portland oregon and stopped at a light, as I began to accelerate going up a slight hill I noticed an awful smell like burning oil or tranny fluid. I picked up a family members to go to an appointment and they smelled it also. It went away as I continued but then next hill and the smell came back pretty strong. I found a Subaru dealer/service dept. Near by and drove there. I was told that the front engine seal and cam carriers were leaking oil onto the exhaust. I asked if it was safe to drive and they said not too far because its leaking oil. Next day I took it to my normal Subaru service dept. And they verified what the other service dept. Had told me with the exception of saying it was ok to drive it. They couldn't get me in for at least a week. My Subaru Forester only has 61,738 miles on it and I have never missed a maintenance service. I'm afraid now because the warranty expired a few months ago and I lost my job of 10 years just before turning 62. I bought this car because I thought Subaru was a good long lasting car. I've looked and it appears that repairs could be as much as $2300. It also appears from my research that these engines have oil leak problems as well as other serious engine problems. I don't have the money for this repair. This shouldn't be happening. Why isn't there a class action law suit for these engines and all the money its costing all these folks because of failures. I am a quality rep for the aerospace industry and this just wouldn't be acceptable in any way, shape or form!.

I have had excessive oil consumption since the first 3k miles driven on the car. I have gone through a slew of consumption tests, had the short block replaced and I am continuing to have the same issues. Subaru's only offer is to go through more consumption tests and a possible 2 motor replacement. Or, they will upgrade me to a new model. This is a common issue according to the numerous Subaru owners that are posting online - and it is frustrating that they were sued for this exact issue, yet continue to manufacturer cars with defective motors, and offer little resolution to the consumer. Why would I want to upgrade to a new Subaru to have the same issues I have had since the first 3k miles on the one I have now? I feel they need to refund their customers and discontinue the manufacturing of this motor! it is not normal to burn through oil at an alarming rate (1 quart every 2000-3000 miles) - it isn't just consuming the oil, but the oil in my car is black after just 1200 miles on the new motor that has less than 12k miles on it. I camp and trail in this vehicle, and to be stranded in the middle of no where with an oil light on and no where close by to pick up synthetic oil, or any oil is very bothersome. I should not have to carry oil in my 2015 car that I got brand new! how do they get away with ripping off so many consumers and not issuing a recall?.

Unknown origin. Vehicle emits strong foul burning oil/rubber smell. Subaru has checked using an oil leak test shows it is not burning oil. There are numerous other smell complaints, but Subaru says they do not know what the cause is. There is a recall for this complaint, but says it is related to an oil leak. People nearby make comments about the foul smelling Subaru.

Excessive oil consumption. Down 2 quarts of oil before oil change is due.

At 106,000 miles the check oil level light illuminated on 3/22/2017. At that time after checking I added 1 at of oil. I reported this to the dealer after reading online that there were multiple reports of my vehicle model having oil consumption problems. An oil consumption test was subsequently performed which was negative. It was suggested to me by the dealer that I could contact Subaru directly if I still had concerns which I did. I was told that it was not unusual for cars to use extra oil and there was nothing to be done about it. Since then the check oil light has regularly illuminated prior to my next oil change and has required the addition of 1 qt of oil at decreasing mileage intervals. I am now down to seeing the check oil illuminate and adding oil at 3000 miles. I have followed the Subaru recommendations for service. I have owned cars made by Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Ford, Jeep, Chevrolet, volkswagon, Mazda and Subaru over the last 45 years and have never had a car require oil additions. I have a friend with a 2013 Subaru Forester that was told at her last service that there was no oil registering on the dipstick. That year model has no check oil warning light when 1 qt down. For my year model the vehicle was redesigned and a check oil light was added which may suggest there was a problem developing.

Abnormal oil consumption which is of the oil consumption lawsuit. The oil warning lights did not turn but the car was already out of oil in 3 months of use (supposedly 6 month window for oil changes). The car started to become jerky but still managed to get home and had it checked. If there are no warning signs, it is possible it can die in the middle of a busy highway, which is extremely dangerous.

The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that he had to change the oil every 5,000 miles and noticed that the oil level was low. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where an oil consumption test was performed. The vehicle failed and it was determined that the short block needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

See all problems of the 2010 Subaru Forester 🔎.

During an oil change this week. I was told that I was down 1. 5 quarts. I called the dealer and requested an oil consumption test. They denied my appointment and told me that this"was the new normal". I do not accept that my 2014 Subaru should be using this much oil. I checked the class action Subaru oil consumption lawsuit, but my VIN number is not included in the action. I believe there is still a problem and this needs to be further addressed.

My 2014 Subaru Forester burns an excessive amount of oil. For a new engine, I shouldn't have to worry about checking the oil every few days to make sure it isn't a 1/2 quart or more low. I'm extremely worried that the oil is going to get too low between checks, and the engine will seize on lake tahoe's icy winter mountain roads just at the wrong time.