FaderUS Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Hi, 2011 Legacy 2.5i 6mt 70k miles. Generally dealer maintained. Runs well, starts fine, drinks oil, possibly slightly down on power/mpg. I am currently dealing with Subaru on this, and have read the lawsuit/warranty threads (Mine isn't covered) but wanted to get feedback. My car is consuming 1.25 quarts in 1200 miles per the oil consumption test. The car is out of warranty but I do have Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance on it, though I haven't involved them as of yet. I am working with Subaru to determine the best remedy, and to see what they are willing to do to help me out. They have mentioned the possibility of some assistance on the repair, or a favorable trade in adjustment. My basic questions are: 1) What does a typical short block replacement at a dealer cost? 2) Has Subaru provided assistance to owners of comparable vehicles? 3) Has anyone had any experience with the Geico MBI, good or bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoodhue Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 The lawsuit wouldn't be applicable to your car because the engine EJ253 is completely different then 13+ FB25. That is a lot of oil, I have yet to add oil to any of my 7500 mile oil changes on my car with 74k miles. Yours is the 1st ej253 around here that I can remember using significant amount of oil. Has the oil consumption slowly gotten worse overtime or recently just started up? Are you using 5w30 oil? The EJ253 short block has a list price of ~$2250. So it would be that plus gaskets, misc parts and labor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaderUS Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Yes, I know its a different engine, just wanted to clarify that ahead of time. I don't remember it using a noticeable amount of oil until the last year or 2. I have always done oil changes in the 5k mile range. I am using whatever weight is recommended in the manual, I believe its 5w30. This car is generally serviced at dealer, occasionally other oil places. I haven't bothered to do the oil myself, I spend enough time playing with my turbo cars. It may have had synthetic and/or blend used but can't be sure as it's generally my wife's car. Yeah, I was curious what a reasonable installed price is at a dealership. I know what it takes to yank and swap heads and accessories and reinstall on my 4th gen Legacies, and assume this will be similar in terms of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capttris Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 I have had many, many aftermarket "extended warranty" companies call me over the last year, to see about spending $2000-3000 on a 5 year, 100K mile warranty from my current mileage and date. When they tell me that "everything" is covered, I ask ALL of them the same question. "what is your company's policy on oil consumption rate and the approval for a repair". Every single one of these "experts" on the phone, with their slick, savvy, high-pressure sales tactics, cannot seem to answer this question. Before contacting Geico, you may wish to download, read and fully understand what they cover. Is it like an extended warranty? You certainly have a defect that requires a repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy199 Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 I have a 2014 Legacy 2.5i 6mt and the oil consumption seems very ridiculous. My oil level light has come on with the first oil change and now it is at about a half stick 2,000 miles into the second oil change and the level light has been popping on a bit. I'm going to add oil obviously. Does anyone have any input or can relate to what I'm dealing with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesedil Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 There's several threads on here about oil consumption and how Subaru is offering oil consumption tests and replacing engines for those that fail. Poke around a bit and you should find plenty of information, most of it fairly recent, that people have already posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsmith Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Hi, 2011 Legacy 2.5i 6mt 70k miles. Generally dealer maintained. Runs well, starts fine, drinks oil, possibly slightly down on power/mpg. I am currently dealing with Subaru on this, and have read the lawsuit/warranty threads (Mine isn't covered) but wanted to get feedback. My car is consuming 1.25 quarts in 1200 miles per the oil consumption test. The car is out of warranty but I do have Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance on it, though I haven't involved them as of yet. I am working with Subaru to determine the best remedy, and to see what they are willing to do to help me out. They have mentioned the possibility of some assistance on the repair, or a favorable trade in adjustment. My basic questions are: 1) What does a typical short block replacement at a dealer cost? 2) Has Subaru provided assistance to owners of comparable vehicles? 3) Has anyone had any experience with the Geico MBI, good or bad? That's roughly what my 2010 2.5 6MT was doing from 60K miles through 165K+ miles. I just kept 4-5 quarts of oil in the Styrofoam container under the trunk liner at all times and added oil at almost every fill up. At first I was highly annoyed, but after a few years of it, it added character to the work horse. I had ZERO other issues with the car, no exhaust/catalytic converter issues from burning oil, and no leaks. All in all, I had no other complaints and I bought another Subaru lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaderUS Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 I just wanted to chime in with an update on the car. First of all, I highly recommend the Geico MBI. There were a few basic hoops to jump through but it turned out to be pretty painless. They had to have their rep look at the car and the dealership had to do a search for a like mileage block, but the claims rep was very reasonable to talk to and seemed to understand the hazards of installing a used long block with no warranty beyond non-doa. In the end the short block was replaced with a Subaru factory remanufactured short block with a 3 year/36k warranty. They also did the service parts that were due soon, including the clutch, pressure plate, timing belt, plugs and hoses. I had to pay dealership parts prices for the maintenence parts but labor was free. So in theory I have a new shortblock/timingbelt/clutch with a 3 year warranty for about 2k out of pocket. In theory. I am still burning oil. Less, but still too much, roughly 3.5 quarts over the last oil change (4-5k miles). The dealer is going to replace the PCV valve to see if this helps, I was a bit surprised it wasn't replaced at time of the shortblock swap but apparently it wasn't. I can't imagine that will make a huge difference. My clutch is squeaking/groaning quietly at times, and intermittently crunchy at the very bottom of travel. I am now mid oil consumption test, and the dealer is going to check out the clutch beyond the initial diagnosis of "Internal noise" when I bring it in for the test results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamario Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 My clutch is squeaking/groaning quietly at times, and intermittently crunchy at the very bottom of travel. I am now mid oil consumption test, and the dealer is going to check out the clutch beyond the initial diagnosis of "Internal noise" when I bring it in for the test results. My clutch is also producing the sound you're hearing. Please chime back in when you get an answer on that. I hope you get an answer on your oil consumption, luckily I haven't been plagued with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy199 Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 Would adding an oil stabilizer be a good idea to prevent oil consumption? like a Lucas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsmith Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Would adding an oil stabilizer be a good idea to prevent oil consumption? like a Lucas. I never found it to help all that much. What I did find to help with consumption was topping off with 20w-50. This may not work depending on your climate, but I was living in Southern California at the time and wasn't concerned with freezing cold starts. I think I had the Valvoline shop put in 10w-30 at times, and the difference with negligible... Note: I didn't have a garage now a driveway at that time to do my own changes It wouldn't hurt nor cost much for you to try a quart Lucas and see if it helps in your case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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