as some have mentioned with regards to your Outback Oil consumption - Subaru has a ‘2nd’ Oil lamp… which is an oil level lamp; and is VERY sensitive to the vehicle being LEVEL; and is NOT the same as the regular vehicle oil lamp - which comes on with low oil PRESSURE.
I just recently purchased a 2011 Outback this last October. It had 184,000+ miles on it when purchased. I at some point after purchase changed the oil; which now has over 3,600 miles on that oil; and no oil consumption problems. This is the 3.6L engine. I am planning on very soon changing the oil again - because I wish to keep the oil very clean; and the engine running good!
However, I at first went thru quite a bit of anxiety with regards to the oil - because of the oil LEVEL light… There are FOUR different oil indicators on the dipstick. End of dipstick. If no oil can be seen on dipstick - this is very bad… Oil is below a quart low… and you should add… 1st mark: You are one quart or so low; and maybe should add a quart… 2nd mark: Oil is full capacity. 3rd Mark (highest mark away from END of dipstick) - Oil should be at this height - ONLY when engine is HOT and been running for a bit… Oil expands as it heats up (same as with all things) - and this mark is for that! When you change the oil - the oil level should NEVER be at this point after changing the oil & before driving the car for some distance - to heat up the oil…
The oil LEVEL indicator is very sensitive. As is the Subaru oil DIPSTICK when checking your oil level. I don’t know if it is the fact the engine is ‘laying down’ (boxer type) or what - but you will get wrong oil readings from the dipstick - if the car is not LEVEL when taking them! As someone who has worked on a lot of cars and done their own maintenance - it took me some time to realize that a Subaru (at least my 2011) needs to be virtually totally LEVEL when checking the oil level. I don’t do it on my street - since my street is curved, rounded, and sloped… I now will drive it to a Autoparts store, or check it in a Costco Parking lot - making sure I parked the car in a LEVEL spot… My oil level warning light comes on sometimes… (Just did a couple of days ago…) and then went promptly OFF after driving it for 3 miles or so… It went on because the car was parked on a slope towards the passenger side… Every time it has been sitting for a bit on a LEVEL surface and I have checked the oil level (which I do sometimes when filling the Gas) - the oil level is just FINE and no problem.
So, take a good look at your dipstick; and make sure you understand what all it is telling you; with it’s oil quantity marks; and always make sure to check the oil level only when the vehicle is virtually totally LEVEL. At least - that is what I have observed.
this is ironical how much Subaru does to compensate for the root cause (oil burn), not to address the root cause
great to know they have a “safe warning light” now, although it looks to be calibrated on “overly cautious” side
it’s also interesting experience I had with my coworker’d BMW recently, where the car told him “you have to add 1 quart of oil” on info-display… sure enough, car had no dip-stick at all, you had to go through the board computer menu to activate “measure oil level” mode, wait for 5 minutes on idle, then it would tell you the exact level
I would say “well done, BMW / shabby work, Subaru”… although both brands are notorious oil burners
I don’t know if this is abnormal or not, but I bought a new 2014 Legacy 2.5. For the first year or so, I had to add about 2 qts of oil between each oil change, then in the last two years, it was one qt between changes (OCI 7500 miles). At 75k and due for its next oil change, I can’t remember adding any oil this time, it is less than 1/2 qt down right now. Do they get better with age?
One other thing, during the first two years, I had to add about a cup of distilled water to the overflow at each oil change. Now the coolant level remains steady, no loss.
That’s never been my experience w/my vehicles over the years. Oil usage has always remained the same or gradually increased over time. The only vehicle I had w/any sort of oil usage problem was my late 70’s VW Rabbit. Was using one quart in 500 miles or so. It had a recall for the valve stem seals, and after that work was done by the dealership it didn’t have any further oil usage problems.
I’ve had cooling system leaks that gradually stopped though. At least temporarily.
the change in the oil burn you report may be connected to changing the oil brand
when I owned Subaru in the past, my oik burn on Mobil would be substantially more than on Valvoline and the reason in in “Noack Volatility” specs, where Valvoline had lesser oil evaporation on the type/grade I used
Oil consumption used to be just a fact of life and you got the oil checked every time you got gas. All gas stations were full service when I started driving and the attendant would clean your windshield and ask if you wanted your oil checked. Some would do it without asking. There were no inside hood releases then but I never knew of anyone getting a battery stolen.
When the Japanese cars came to the US they came with cars that didn’t burn oil and the US makers started to tighten up the clearances in response. It is kind of Ironic that we now have the expectation that cars should not use any oil between changes, even though the change interval of my youth was 1000 miles and it has gone to 10000 miles and a Japanese maker is the biggest source of complaints.
My family has had 3 PT Cruisers , all burned a quart of oil every 2500 miles and I never considered anything wrong.
My 2012 Camry’s owners manual states " Oil consumption of one quart in 600 mile is not excessive. "
