New Car Shopping Worried About Oil Consumption

[Point37]

hi all...i have a 2013 subaru legacy 2.5 premium with 230k miles and i'm getting close to shopping for a new vehicle...i would like to have more cargo capacity than i currently have with my legacy while maintaining good gas mileage and i don't want a hybrid...i drive approximately 86 miles round trip for my commute...my car is now guzzling oil at a rate of 500-600 miles per quart...i also replaced the catalytic converter with an aftermarket one earlier this year (replaced both o2 sensors prior to that)...currently my rear bumper is very dirty in the vicinity of the exhaust and i started getting the p0420 code again so i ran a bottle of cat cleaner through it and the code kicked off...probably have to start doing that on a regular basis...anyway, i would like to have more cargo space but i am afraid to go with subaru again due to the oil consumption issue i am dealing with currently so i'd like to get some feedback from owners who have newer outbacks with high mileage to see if they are dealing with this issue cause i would rather not have to drive around with a 6-pack of oil in my trunk dumping one in once every other week...below is what i am looking for

anyone with a newer than 2015 outback (6th gen+) with more than 175k or 200k miles dealing with bad oil consumption?

needs:
-reliability
-60/40 folding second row
-pleather/leather or seat covers (because dogs)
-be able to fit in the garage have about 18’ of space would like to have 2’-3’ of that to walk around the front or back
-awd or fwd
-not a cvt transmission if i can avoid it (toyota's planetary style cvt is fine though)
-timing chain, not belt
-would like 30+ mpg
-smaller wheels with more tire
-splash guards
-all weather floor mats and trunk tray
-no lights in bumpers
-aux input
-more cargo space than my legacy (more cargo floor area, not necessarily height, hence the want for a wagon)
-no engine autostop without a button control with memory

wants:
-dual driver memory settings
-dual bluetooth phone connections
-window rain guards
-CarPlay
-2nd row seat back protection (rubberized)
-heated seats
-cooled seats
-backup camera

list at the moment (will edit this post as i gather info):

i left some manufacturers off that i don't consider options either due to cost or reliability but let me know if you think i forgot any...(left out: Land Rover, Volvo, bmw, Mercedes, Audi, Cadillac, dodge, Infiniti, jeep, Lincoln, vw & Mitsubishi)

* = favorites

1 everything else
*-acura tsx sportwagon
*-buick regal tourx
-honda element
*-honda crv ex-l
-mazda 3 hatchback
*-mazda cx-50 premium plus or turbo
*-mazda cx-5 2.5s preferred or carbon
-subaru outback limited [for leather & seat memory]
-toyota venza (2015 discontinued old wagon style)
*-toyota rav 4 xle premium + weather package
-toyota prius v

2 sedans
-buick regal sportback
*-honda accord (no leather or memory seat unless hybrid ex-l)
-honda civic hatch ex-l or sedan touring (2022+)
*-mazda 6 touring (memory seat available on grand touring reserve and up, discontinued for 2022)
*-toyota camry xle (no seat memory)

[silverton]

Woof!  You're asking people with 8 year old cars if they have 175k on them yet??  That's 22k miles a year buddy! Maybe some dashers or uberererers are here but those cars are run hard and beat to hell so not a far comparison to someone who just needs a commuter.

I got my 2017 3.6 a little over a year ago and I've put about 12-13k on it.  I live in WA, there were a few road trips, Montana once..or twice?... the peninsula a handful of times... the car got a lot of "extra" miles this year so to say.  I worked at a subaru independent and did two or three oil changes on it during my time there.  Each time I would be .75 to 1 quart low on oil.  Ya know, I just accepted it; I thought it only affected the four cylinder cars but whatever.  I started working at a different shop, different oil, I've changed it twice in my time there.  Both times the oil was right on the full dot with zero change in driving habits or whatnot.  Independent shop had bulk oil trucked in from... Kendall maybe? whofrickinknows..  the new shop I worked at didn't have bulk oil, so both times I had them order Idemitsu for me.  Idemitsu is an OE supplier of oil so it's good shit.

So, if you do end up with another Subaru, and I hope you do!, and you fear its consuming oil... try a different brand before fulling writing it off.

[Point37]

3 hours ago, silverton said:

Woof!  You're asking people with 8 year old cars if they have 175k on them yet??  That's 22k miles a year buddy! Maybe some dashers or uberererers are here but those cars are run hard and beat to hell so not a far comparison to someone who just needs a commuter.

I got my 2017 3.6 a little over a year ago and I've put about 12-13k on it.  I live in WA, there were a few road trips, Montana once..or twice?... the peninsula a handful of times... the car got a lot of "extra" miles this year so to say.  I worked at a subaru independent and did two or three oil changes on it during my time there.  Each time I would be .75 to 1 quart low on oil.  Ya know, I just accepted it; I thought it only affected the four cylinder cars but whatever.  I started working at a different shop, different oil, I've changed it twice in my time there.  Both times the oil was right on the full dot with zero change in driving habits or whatnot.  Independent shop had bulk oil trucked in from... Kendall maybe? whofrickinknows..  the new shop I worked at didn't have bulk oil, so both times I had them order Idemitsu for me.  Idemitsu is an OE supplier of oil so it's good shit.

So, if you do end up with another Subaru, and I hope you do!, and you fear its consuming oil... try a different brand before fulling writing it off.

that mileage is about equal to my rate of mileage...got my car in may of 2013...it's now december of 2023 i have 230k (hit that today actually)...that's about 1,811 miles/month...8 years = 96 months which would equate to 173.8k miles...86 miles/commute and i can work from home 2 days a week...i'm sure there are people out there that drive more than i do so it's not really that crazy

i'd like to go with an outback cause it's the best option body style wise for what i need but like i said i def don't want to deal with this issue again...this is only the 4th car i've owned (i'm 43)...87 honda civic, 99 honda civic (totalled), 05 mazda 6 and a 13 subaru legacy...i make my cars last as long as possible...so i am looking for feedback from higher mileage owners of 2015+ outback owners for oil consumption...on my legacy the oil consumption issue started happening long ago and gradually got worse over the years...so if outback owners started having oil consumption issues at a lesser rate with less miles that would indicate to me that it will get worse over time and that is something i'm not looking to repeat it again so the more info i can get the better

Edited December 8, 2023 by Point37

[silverton]

Well you got a '13 legacy, hindsight is always 20:20.  every FB engine from 11-13 consumed oil, those were the beta engines when the EPA forced subaru to push the engine into production, forester seemed to have gotten the worst of it..  even some of the 14s and 15s.  I know your case is different since you were trying any oil to stop your consumption, but as I said .... getting my oil changed at one shop i thought had consumption issues, started changing it at another shop and boom.. no consumption, only difference was quality of oil.

My recommendation is get that Outback, but from the very beginning run a high quality 5w30 like chevron/mobil1/idemitsu/whatever.. over the 0w20 the dealer has and change the oil every 3000 miles. I think the 6000 mile interval is just asinine.

[Point37]

On 12/9/2023 at 11:33 AM, silverton said:

Well you got a '13 legacy, hindsight is always 20:20.  every FB engine from 11-13 consumed oil, those were the beta engines when the EPA forced subaru to push the engine into production, forester seemed to have gotten the worst of it..  even some of the 14s and 15s.  I know your case is different since you were trying any oil to stop your consumption, but as I said .... getting my oil changed at one shop i thought had consumption issues, started changing it at another shop and boom.. no consumption, only difference was quality of oil.

My recommendation is get that Outback, but from the very beginning run a high quality 5w30 like chevron/mobil1/idemitsu/whatever.. over the 0w20 the dealer has and change the oil every 3000 miles. I think the 6000 mile interval is just asinine.

thanks...i've heard nightmares from some of the quick oil change places so i do it myself...this way i can monitor consumption...i did all my oil changes at 7,500 miles aside from the first one to get any metal shavings inside the engine out...wouldn't using different weight oil void warranty should an issue arise?

[silverton]

No, if you read your owners manual you should find 5w30 is an approved weight, you'll notice 1-2mpg less though.  7500 is far too long, so you may have done this to yourself?

I don't know what they recommended on your car when new, but at a dealership in 2020 your car was on a 3750 interval. 15+ were 6000 miles and that's still too long to go on oil, but that's what they do to lower the cost of ownership metric..  you should go 5000 tops, definitely NOT 7500

Using a slightly thicker oil weight wont void your warranty, unless you put some 75w90 in there.... dont do that.

 

Since you do it yourself and you have concern for warranty claim, have your parts guy ring the 0w20 up, but then refund it for the 5w30

Edited December 11, 2023 by silverton

[Point37]

16 minutes ago, silverton said:

No, if you read your owners manual you should find 5w30 is an approved weight, you'll notice 1-2mpg less though.  7500 is far too long, so you may have done this to yourself?

I don't know what they recommended on your car when new, but at a dealership in 2020 your car was on a 3750 interval. 15+ were 6000 miles and that's still too long to go on oil, but that's what they do to lower the cost of ownership metric..  you should go 5000 tops, definitely NOT 7500

Using a slightly thicker oil weight wont void your warranty, unless you put some 75w90 in there.... dont do that.

 

Since you do it yourself and you have concern for warranty claim, have your parts guy ring the 0w20 up, but then refund it for the 5w30

no 5w-30 isn't and approved weight for synthetic...the manual says the following...

0w-20 synthetic oil is the required oil for optimum engine performance and protection. Conventional oil may be used if synthetic oil is unavailable.

If 0w-20 synthetic oil is not available, 5w-30 or 5w-40 conventional oil may be used if replenishment is needed but should be changed to 0w-20 synthetic oil at the next oil change

i thought you weren't supposed to switch between conventional and synthetic so i always ran synthetic 0w-20 until the consumption got bad

the recommended oil change interval is 7,500 miles in the maintenance schedule...and i know that a lot of synthetic oils go much farther than that today but i stuck with the schedule for oil changes...i have never taken a sample to send off to blackstone labs to be analyzed though...judging by the class action suit about oil consumption i don't think it was my any of my fault

[silverton]

every 0 weight oil is going to be synthetic.  you can find full and partial synthetic 5w30.  It doesn't matter any more though, that was an issue like 20 years ago when synthetic oils were new.

you should read that as "0w20 oil is optimal for fuel efficiency so the EPA gets off our back"

 

7500 is the normal service table; but I bet you don't fall under normal service. You need to follow the severe service table (OCI 3750) if any one of the following applies:

I live in Seattle, so I frequently check mark the first, second, and fourth severe condition. In a few years we're all gonna be driving under that third one

Edited December 11, 2023 by silverton

[Point37]

12 minutes ago, silverton said:

every 0 weight oil is going to be synthetic.  you can find full and partial synthetic 5w30.  It doesn't matter any more though, that was an issue like 20 years ago when synthetic oils were new.

you should read that as "0w20 oil is optimal for fuel efficiency so the EPA gets off our back"

 

7500 is the normal service table; but I bet you don't fall under normal service. You need to follow the severe service table (OCI 3750) if any one of the following applies:

I live in Seattle, so I frequently check mark the first, second, and fourth severe condition. In a few years we're all gonna be driving under that third one

thanks...most of my driving is highway miles in new england...i have to check the book again to see if there is a severe service table listed...not that it matters much at this point...not even sure it's worth changing the oil at this point due to how fast it's being consumed...but i am going to continue doing it anyway as i want to bury this car since we just picked up a loaded 2022 telluride for my wife in sept 2021 and it was a 6 year loan so i'm trying to avoid having 2 payments at the same time but that's going to be inevitable cause i'm not sure how much longer this car will go for

Edited December 11, 2023 by Point37

[silverton]

Yeah it's definitely too late to stop whats happening without a rebuild/replacement.  If you're just trying to run it til it dies I'd just keep changing the oil with 5w30 or even a 5w40 at whatever interval you want to.  Honestly with your rate of consumption you're basically doing a rolling oil change.  Replace the oil filter every 6-12 months and make sure the oil is full, good to go!

[Point37]

6 minutes ago, silverton said:

Yeah it's definitely too late to stop whats happening without a rebuild/replacement.  If you're just trying to run it til it dies I'd just keep changing the oil with 5w30 or even a 5w40 at whatever interval you want to.  Honestly with your rate of consumption you're basically doing a rolling oil change.  Replace the oil filter every 6-12 months and make sure the oil is full, good to go!

i've been running 10w-30 and 10w-40 at this point...bought some liquid moly...i'm going to do an engine flush before my next oil change as well...may not do much at this point but i doubt it will hurt

[silverton]

Don't waste money on flushing the engine, if anything that may make consumption worse.