enaggs37 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Need anyone's help/advice on this issue. I had a 2009 Legacy 2.5i PSEV. Notice I said "had". Here's the situation. Approximately 3 weeks ago, I was driving from Tampa to Panama City, FL and I got a 'Check Engine' light, my 'Cruise Control' light was flashing and my 'Traction Control' light was on. There were no drivability problems other than my cruise control wouldnt work and I couldnt turn on/off my traction control. I didnt have it checked out since I didnt notice any performance issues with the car. The next day, I started the car and all the lights were out and everything was working fine and eventually drove back down to Tampa with no issues at all. A week and a half later, my gf and I were driving up to Indianapolis, IN for vacation from Tampa. Having checked my oil and all fluids before I left, I felt that the car was okay to drive this distance. Approximately 80 miles south of Indie, I stopped to get gas and proceeded to jump back onto the highway. Then, the engine started making a horrible knocking sound and I didnt have any power when I stepped on the gas. I started to slow down to pull over and the same indicator lights described above came back on. I immediately turned the car off and checked the oil. There was NO OIL on the dipstick. Completely dry!! The whole trip, I didnt get any 'Low Oil' or 'Oil Press' light. I got someone to help me get some oil and I added a full 4 quarts thinking that the knocking sound would go away. It seems the damage was already done. It sounded like I may have thrown a piston rod. I limped in to the next stop and had to have the vehicle towed to my gf's mechanic in Indie. Long story short...I was told the engine is blown and I would have to have it replaced. I didnt have any extended warranty and my insurance wouldnt cover the engine because the vehicle wasnt involved in an accident. I eventually had to trade it in on a new vehicle and eating the cost of what I still owed on my Subie. Question 1: Anyone hear of this type of thing happening?? Question 2: Is there anything Subaru can do to help me defray the cost of what happened?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsurge Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If the car was within the manufacturer warranty period you should have had coverage. SOA might have had a "good faith" warranty coverage, but I am not sure. It is worth calling them to find out if there is anything that can be done; however, seeing as you already transferred ownership of the car I do not think anything will amount. Without knowing what caused the oil issue, it's hard to tell. A common misconception is that the oil light is for low oil level. It serves no other purpose other than "o hai ur engine gonnn die". You are VERY lucky to survive this. It is an oil pressure light that triggers at 2 psi. You might have had a blown head gasket and the oil was leaking into the cylinders - one thing that could have been checked was the radiator for oil in coolant. You are probably SOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 You're covered under the 6yr/60k powertrain warranty(engine/tranny). People seem to forget 3yr/36k is not the only warranty subaru's have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 OK something does not sound right here. You must have had a huge oil leak to loose 3 to 4 quarts in a week and a half. Any signs of oild dripping on the ground? Any smoke under acceleration? Something does not add up, N/A cars usually do not eat oil like that. This is a silly question, but did you check the oil correctly, and changed it at recommended intervals? Too bad that there is nothing else that you can do. X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 You're covered under the 6yr/60k powertrain warranty(engine/tranny). People seem to forget 3yr/36k is not the only warranty subaru's have. Yeah this is what i was about to mention as i have a PP replaced at 54k miles on my 2009 2.5i. Before trading i would have went to the dealer and badgered them about this very coverage. Im sure they would say "oil starvation F**K you" but still never hurts took me 13K mile to get them to cover my PP (of complaining weekly that is) Bummer for you man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoManzAWD Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If you can produce some documentation supporting you did regular oil changes and the engine & overall vehicle appears to have been maintained, it's very likely you'll get a dealer to get this covered by 5yr/60Kmi warranty for you. Explain to them that you had no history of high oil consumption and you changed and checked your oil before leaving for your trip. If your vehicle is beat, dirty under the hood and you have no documentation, it's going to be tough. Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShrinerMonkey Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 OK something does not sound right here. You must have had a huge oil leak to loose 3 to 4 quarts in a week and a half. Any signs of oild dripping on the ground? Any smoke under acceleration? Something does not add up, N/A cars usually do not eat oil like that. This is a silly question, but did you check the oil correctly, and changed it at recommended intervals? Too bad that there is nothing else that you can do. X If you read the OP's claim more closely it sounds like it lost all of the oil in 80 miles! "Having checked my oil and all fluids before I left, I felt that the car was okay to drive this distance. Approximately 80 miles south of Indie, I stopped to get gas and proceeded to jump back onto the highway. Then, the engine started making a horrible knocking sound and I didnt have any power when I stepped on the gas. I started to slow down to pull over and the same indicator lights described above came back on. I immediately turned the car off and checked the oil. There was NO OIL on the dipstick. Completely dry!! The whole trip, I didnt get any 'Low Oil' or 'Oil Press' light." Sorry, not buying it. This sounds like the OP may have had an oil consumption issue most likely caused by a bad PCV valve but did not check their oil regularly and thus toasted the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Even worse. Sounds like something tragic must have happened. X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonJ 2001 GT Limited Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Look at the '98 Spyder holding down my driveway and ask me about blowing engines in short milage. At 38k my #3 piston shattered and melted the balance shaft to the block. At 58k the HG blew and warped the head. Dealer f'd me on the 2nd repair and claimed I drove through standing water since liquid was in the engine and refused to do the repair under warranty. This was in the middle of January in Indianapolis...it was 15 deg and snowing. I wanted to come over the counter and and grab the svc mgr by his neck and say duh, hg blew that's how liquid got into the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lardo420 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 i blew up a motor with 41800 on it literally blew a hole in the top of it SOA said youre SOL quoted around $11k to fix it, fixed it myself for about $5800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lardo420 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldouse Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 happened to me at 51k miles. exact same situation. just recently completed an oil change. went to SF for a photoshoot. on the drive home, my engine started knocking around mountain view. pulled over the side of the road and checked all fluids. oil dipstick was bone dry. called a buddy over to bring me 4 qts oil. filled it. and drove home with knocking sound still there. next day i had the car towed to the dealership. techs took the engine apart. the engine had 7.5 qts of oil in it, spun a rod bearing, and busted cylinder head #3. my questions were, where did the extra 3.5 qts of oil come from if the dipstick was bone dry and how did i end up spinning the rod bearing and busting up cylinder head #3? at the end of it all, dealership replaced the small block under warranty but i had to pay the labor costs of it. did that and a clutch job was about $2k out of pocket. Need anyone's help/advice on this issue. I had a 2009 Legacy 2.5i PSEV. Notice I said "had". Here's the situation. Approximately 3 weeks ago, I was driving from Tampa to Panama City, FL and I got a 'Check Engine' light, my 'Cruise Control' light was flashing and my 'Traction Control' light was on. There were no drivability problems other than my cruise control wouldnt work and I couldnt turn on/off my traction control. I didnt have it checked out since I didnt notice any performance issues with the car. The next day, I started the car and all the lights were out and everything was working fine and eventually drove back down to Tampa with no issues at all. A week and a half later, my gf and I were driving up to Indianapolis, IN for vacation from Tampa. Having checked my oil and all fluids before I left, I felt that the car was okay to drive this distance. Approximately 80 miles south of Indie, I stopped to get gas and proceeded to jump back onto the highway. Then, the engine started making a horrible knocking sound and I didnt have any power when I stepped on the gas. I started to slow down to pull over and the same indicator lights described above came back on. I immediately turned the car off and checked the oil. There was NO OIL on the dipstick. Completely dry!! The whole trip, I didnt get any 'Low Oil' or 'Oil Press' light. I got someone to help me get some oil and I added a full 4 quarts thinking that the knocking sound would go away. It seems the damage was already done. It sounded like I may have thrown a piston rod. I limped in to the next stop and had to have the vehicle towed to my gf's mechanic in Indie. Long story short...I was told the engine is blown and I would have to have it replaced. I didnt have any extended warranty and my insurance wouldnt cover the engine because the vehicle wasnt involved in an accident. I eventually had to trade it in on a new vehicle and eating the cost of what I still owed on my Subie. Question 1: Anyone hear of this type of thing happening?? Question 2: Is there anything Subaru can do to help me defray the cost of what happened?? -- yay for the sig! -- my garage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldouse Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Since i do my own maintenance, i provided the dealership receipts for all oil and filter purchases every since i owned the car. they honored it and took care of my car. good luck to you bro. If you can produce some documentation supporting you did regular oil changes and the engine & overall vehicle appears to have been maintained, it's very likely you'll get a dealer to get this covered by 5yr/60Kmi warranty for you. Explain to them that you had no history of high oil consumption and you changed and checked your oil before leaving for your trip. If your vehicle is beat, dirty under the hood and you have no documentation, it's going to be tough. Joel -- yay for the sig! -- my garage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldouse Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 sorry to disagree with you, but i've been in the exact same situation as the OP. I dont drive my car that hard and i'm religious with the oil changes and maintenance. i honestly dont know how something like this happened. If you read the OP's claim more closely it sounds like it lost all of the oil in 80 miles! "Having checked my oil and all fluids before I left, I felt that the car was okay to drive this distance. Approximately 80 miles south of Indie, I stopped to get gas and proceeded to jump back onto the highway. Then, the engine started making a horrible knocking sound and I didnt have any power when I stepped on the gas. I started to slow down to pull over and the same indicator lights described above came back on. I immediately turned the car off and checked the oil. There was NO OIL on the dipstick. Completely dry!! The whole trip, I didnt get any 'Low Oil' or 'Oil Press' light." Sorry, not buying it. This sounds like the OP may have had an oil consumption issue most likely caused by a bad PCV valve but did not check their oil regularly and thus toasted the engine. -- yay for the sig! -- my garage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 The oil was becoming trapped in the heads. That's why your dipstick was dry, then overfull. The real questions is, "Why was the oil getting stuck in the heads"? Because racecar. My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 it's like a headrush when all the blood rushes to your head. but in your car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmmrdwn Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 The oil was becoming trapped in the heads. That's why your dipstick was dry, then overfull. The real questions is, "Why was the oil getting stuck in the heads"? Because racecar. That's exactly what I was thinking about the overfill. Why is the oil getting stuck in the heads? Sludge? Engines run dirty? Location of dipsitick? Parked on a grade when checked? Dip stick not reinserted completely. This is a great warning to Subaru owners about overfilling the oil or having an independant change the oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Was the engine running when you checked the oil? My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Where does the oil remain trapped in the heads??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Depends on what is causing it to be trapped there. G's or a physical obstruction will keep oil in different places. My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldouse Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 its weird though... i dont know why it would do such a thing.. even with the engine off.. the dipstick was bone dry. i'd understand if the engine was running.. -- yay for the sig! -- my garage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted December 6, 2011 Mega Users Share Posted December 6, 2011 If you put 4 qts in without checking the dipstick between each quart, you probably overfilled by a couple quarts. Its very possible you were only 1.5 or 2qts down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Maybe Subaru should design and oiling system that doesnt screw the owner IF they fail to regularly check the oil. My old lady didn't check the oil in her 94 Camry for 8k miles it was 2.5 qrts low but then again it was the indestructible 2.2L Now matter how much people argue about checking oil I've never heard as many oil related failures on othe sites as I have Subaru sites. I wonder if the boxer is the root cause? I get the race car reference now hahah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 how do you know how much is too much when it comes to filling with oil? I think I have damn near 5qts in mine total Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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