You should not be allowing the oil to drop low enough to trip the light. You should be routinely checking the oil level manually and topping it off as needed. Every time you let the light come on you’re causing damage.
It would help too if you could tell us how many miles you’re going before it drops a quart. If for example your recommended oil change periodicity is every 10,000 miles and it’s tripping the light every time it gets two quarts low, you’re using a quart every 2500 miles. That’s a bit high for a 60,000 mile engine, unless it’s been beat on, but Subie officially considers that acceptable even on new engines.
First, we need you to determine how many miles between quarts you’re getting. My “fer instance” above is just to relay the concept. Determine your usage and post back.
And I urge you to make a habit of checking your oil level regularly. Or keep saving your pennies for new engines.
@the_same_mountainbike Another case of someone dragging up an old thread - Ammers has been gone for over 2 years and someone named Helen needs to start their own thread.
Someone from thousands of miles away can hack the Pentagon and this Discourse bunch can’t close old threads.
For what it’s worth, this question is also about a 2011 Outback. So if @Ammers comes back, all the better. Sometimes it doesn’t work out if somebody puts a totally unrelated question in an old thread, but to my eyes, it seems legit.
@HelenCurtis , while we wait and see if @Ammers comes back, it will help those who are around if you could provide some information they’ve asked about.
Nobody has to hack us; all the answers given are free. I suppose the worst we’ll ever get is Korean escort spam. And that’s OK. Happy new year.
Car was bought new in 2011 and all maintenance and oil changes were done as recommended.
At 70000 miles, 50 miles short of when the oil change was due, the low oil light went on. This was 10/23/2017.
I added a quart of the correct oil, took the car in for oil change which was due, and mechanic saw nothing leaking. Said to monitor it every 1000 miles.
I checked the oil 1500 miles after the oil change and dipstick showed level was low and I added 1/2 quart which took it almost to the F mark. This was around late November.
Today, Dec 31, the oil light went on when I started the car and the dipstick read that the oil level was halfway lower than the L (low)mark. I added a quart of oil and the dipstick read it at L (low). The oil light was still on. Since It is freezing outside, I decided to add more tomorrow.
I am not nearly due an oil change…have driven maybe 2500 miles and oil change is not due until 5000 miles…I use 5W40 full synthetic.
So what to do? I have been taking the car to Foreigh Auto Experts in Hanover, MD since the 60,000 mile check. I had a few difficulties with the dealership in the past and others have highly recommended Foreign Auto Experts.
I guess the best question to ask at this point is … should I go back to the Subaru dealer to have them try to find out what the cause is or should I stick to Foreign Auto. Or is there a better question to ask?
So it’s using about a quart every 3,000 miles? On a Subie with 70,000 miles on the clock I wouldn’t lose any sleep over this amount of oil usage. It’s normal. Just be sure to monitor your oil regularly and add as needed.
There’ll be people who will claim that any amount of oil usage is bad. They live in perfect worlds. I don’t. Most manufacturers consider anything under a quart every 1,000 miles to be acceptable even on a NEW engine! Some even accept higher usage than that. Yours is great.
No apology necessary. I’m glad we were able to help.
By the way, many of us regulars are quite old too… and retired.
She also said between late Nov and Dec 31, the oil level dropped to halfway below the low mark on the dipstick. So I’m not sure if that’s normal oil usage or not.
If I read correctly, it’s used a quart and a half or more in 2500 miles. If this just started and it’s not been using 1 qt per 5k mile oil change interval (I’m assuming low oil level light hasn’t been coming on until recently), I think something’s not right.
HelenCurtis, I’d keep monitoring it for now like your mechanic suggested, checking it every 1k miles. Try to determine the rate it’s using oil (how many quarts/5k miles). Give that info to your mechanic and see what they say. Me personally, if it starts using 1 qt/1k miles and it hasn’t been using enough oil between 5k mile oil changes in the past to cause a concern, I’d want it fixed or I’d trade it.
May be right. My parameters might differ. 1 qt/ 3k miles, meh, no biggie. 1 qt/ 1k miles with only 70k on the clock…no thanks. At that rate, why change the oil? It’s changing itself.
I tried that why bother changing the oil, in my 61 olds dynamic 88, I think it was a fail, as it kept burning more and more oil, One needs to get rid of the old oil, best analogy adding good milk to sour milk to make it better, does not work.
Thanks everyone for your feedback.
I will monitor and record the oil usage for the next 3000 miles until the next oil change is due.
So this morning, I let the car run 13 minutes and then let it rest 10minutes, checked the oil after putting in 1quart yesterday and it was at F.
I drove 60 miles, checked the oil @ 5, 10, and 20 minutes after getting home and it was between F and the top notch, in other words, overfull.
So to recap, on Friday, I drove 60 miles with no oil light alert.
The next morning, Saturday, I went to run an errand, low light immediately went on, and the oil measured 1/2 below the L mark. As an aside, it is uncharacteristically cold here, central MD.
Is there any chance that the cold weather Saturday morning influenced the reading that I got, that is, below low? And might have caused the light to go on?
I thank you all for helping me! You get gold stars for random acts of kindness!
There is a flush machine, or you can do what I did, pull the line at the radiator, pour 12 quarts new fluid for 12 quarts capacity trans, while the old fluid gets dumped into a bucket to get recycled, note 30k miles ater had the shop do a pan drop and filter change, as trans was not shifting normally, all better now.
You check the oil level before starting the car. That is when you get accurate reading. I may be wrong but it sounds like you have been going to long between oil level checks and may have run engine without enough oil in it at times.
I just read that you should run the car for 10 minutes, let it rest for 10 minutes, and then check the oil. I think it was on the Click and Clack website.
That would apply for someone doing their own oil change but running for 10 minutes is over kill. Just check it before starting car and pick a day to that weekly until you have an idea of oil usage.
I don’t think the cold weather would affect the oil level. Keep an eye on the oil level. Make sure you’re checking it correctly. Level ground, cold engine, pull the dipstick, and read the oil level on the dipstick. Sometimes one side of the dipstick will read slightly lower than the other. Assume that the lowest reading is correct.
You are correct, I never have checked oil. Never knew to. If my husband did, he never mentioned it. But he was compulsive about following manufacturer recommendations re oil changes as I have been.
I will be checking it now, for sure!!!
