# Subaru oil consumption 98k **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** outback, subaru\ **Created:** [April 19, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958 "2018-04-19T22:18:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bill\_loni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Bill\_loni](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Bill_loni)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/1 "2018-04-19T22:18:38Z")
2013 outback, 98k miles. Down whole quart, 5700 miles since last service. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/2 "2018-04-19T22:22:16Z")
That sounds normal for the number of miles on the vehicle. Did you know that some vehicle manufacturers consider a quart of oil consumption per 1,000 miles is normal on their brand new vehicles? Just check the oil level on a regular basis, and add when required. Tester ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/3 "2018-04-19T22:32:17Z")
+1 to Tester’s comments. My 2011 Outback currently has over 83k miles on the odometer, and while it rarely needs oil between oil changes, I still check the oil level every few weeks. If I find that the level has fallen by 1/2 qt., I immediately replenish it with the correct specification oil. Rather than waiting for an extended period of time, and finding that that your oil level has dropped by a full qt, I would suggest that you check the oil level much more often. What if the rate of oil consumption increased, and you found–after an extended period of time–that the level was 1.5 or 2 qts below the full level? Check your oil at least every couple of weeks in order to prevent problems, and–of course–be sure that you don’t go beyond the mfr’s specified intervals for oil changes. Bear in mind that those intervals are expressed in terms of odometer mileage **_OR_** elapsed time, with a “whichever comes first” proviso. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/4 "2018-04-19T22:32:55Z")
That doesn’t seem unreasonable for a car with that many miles. Did this issue just start now? ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/5 "2018-04-19T22:40:43Z")
> [@Bill\_loni](#): > > Thoughts? Yes. Check your oil a lot more often than every 5700 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/6 "2018-04-19T22:43:26Z")
> [@PvtPublic](#): > > Yes. Check your oil a lot more often then every 5700 miles. Which is it? More often? Or every 5700 miles? Tester ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/7 "2018-04-19T22:57:26Z")
> [@PvtPublic](#): > > Yes. Check your oil a lot more often than every 5700 miles. Edited for clarity 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ken2116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f19dbf/32.png) [@ken2116](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ken2116)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/8 "2018-04-19T23:45:37Z")
Not bad at all, many consume more and it also is affected by type of service. Check often, you never know when a seal or gasket might fail and suddenly you’re down 2 qts. ---
**Author:** ![jhirsch648\_155802](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/jhirsch648_155802/32/5526_2.png) [@jhirsch648\_155802](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jhirsch648_155802)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/9 "2018-04-20T00:44:44Z")
Check for leaks: oil switches, cam seals, and valve cover gaskets. The only difficult seal to check is the flywheel seal. Also, check the exhaust pipe. If the tip is black it’s a pretty good sign that you have an oil consumption issue (rings, valves, etc.). This is obvious but if you’re blowing black smoke then you are “burning” oil. If you can pull the plugs check them. There shouldn’t be any black on them. They should look tannish. It isn’t normal for motors to use a discernible amount of oil (except for those in old British cars which burned a quart every thousand miles right off the lot.), If the oil consumption started right after the service, the only (pretty far fetched) reason might be a change to a lower viscosity oil. ---
**Author:** ![thegreendrag0n](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thegreendrag0n/32/9265_2.png) [@thegreendrag0n](https://community.cartalk.com/u/thegreendrag0n)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/10 "2018-04-20T01:42:49Z")
Every Subaru I used to own (5 in total) was burning between 0.5 to 1.5 quarts of oil per 5000 miles oil change interval I observed. It is not normal for the car to burn oil… unless it is Subaru 🙂 Not a problem in general, but requires owner to pay attention to that requirement in user manual to check oil level regularly. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/11 "2018-04-20T02:36:33Z")
If you’re going 5700 miles without checking the oil then you’re lucky to still have a running engine. If the engine is not leaking then it’s burning the oil. Running extended distances between change with the oil level low can contribute to an oil consumption problem. Especially if you live in a dusty or high humidity area. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/12 "2018-04-20T02:53:58Z")
That’s the oil usage rate I’d expect w/ a new engine. Besides remembering to check the dipstick more frequently, no worries. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/13 "2018-04-20T03:00:32Z")
> [@thegreendrag0n](#): > > It is not normal for the car to burn oil… unless it is Subaru 🙂 they’re not alone I know of at least one manufacturer . . . I’m not thinking of Subaru, by the way . . . that considers engine oil consumption of 1 quart per 600 miles to be acceptable. Could be they’ve changed their tune now, but that was their line just a few years ago ---
**Author:** ![jhirsch648\_155802](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/jhirsch648_155802/32/5526_2.png) [@jhirsch648\_155802](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jhirsch648_155802)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 5:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/14 "2018-04-20T05:16:26Z")
Read the article: [https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/06/excessive-oil-consumption/index.htm](https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/06/excessive-oil-consumption/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![thegreendrag0n](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thegreendrag0n/32/9265_2.png) [@thegreendrag0n](https://community.cartalk.com/u/thegreendrag0n)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 12:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/15 "2018-04-20T12:18:28Z")
> [@db4690](#): > > I know of at least one manufacturer . . . I’m not thinking of Subaru, by the way . . . that considers engine oil consumption of 1 quart per 600 miles to be acceptable. Could be they’ve changed their tune now, but that was their line just a few years ago Does that manufacture happen to have 2-character name? letters happen to sit nicely one atop another in a circle? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 1:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/16 "2018-04-20T13:06:31Z")
> [@Bill\_loni](#): > > Down whole quart, 5700 miles since last service Using 1 quart over 5700 miles, is not considered anywhere near excessive. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/17 "2018-04-20T14:06:18Z")
> [@db4690](#): > > I know of at least one manufacturer that considers engine oil consumption of 1 quart per 600 miles to be acceptable > [@thegreendrag0n](#): > > Does that manufacture happen to have 2-character name? letters happen to sit nicely one atop another in a circle? No, actually, it is the high-priced version of a VW, namely **Audi**. A few years ago, we had several posts from aggrieved owners of new or nearly-new Audis who were concerned about the very high rate of oil consumption of their vehicles. In each case, when they kicked their concerns up to the corporate level, they were told that “Audi considers the consumption of 1 qt every 600 miles to be within normal limits”. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/18 "2018-04-20T14:19:09Z")
Subaru claimed that 1 quart per 800-1000 miles was normal and settled a class action suit over it. ---
**Author:** ![thegreendrag0n](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thegreendrag0n/32/9265_2.png) [@thegreendrag0n](https://community.cartalk.com/u/thegreendrag0n)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/19 "2018-04-20T14:33:25Z")
from the link @johnznot shared, it looks like Audi is now surpassed by BMW in this “hall of fame” roster so, apparently Subie is not that bad ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958/20 "2018-04-20T14:38:42Z")
A quart every 5700 miles on an engine with 98K is excellent. Contrary to the claims of some, all engines burn at least a minute amount of oil. When the oil rings wipe the cylinders down, a small amount is left captured in the intentionally created cross scratches called “honing” in the cylinder walls for the compression rings to slide on. Without this captured film, the rings would tear the cylinders apart. That film of oil ends up getting burned in the combustion process. As the engine gets older and wears, the rings lose their springiness, the cylinders grow from wear (in a conical fashion), and oil usage grows slowly. You have a perfectly healthy engine. Monitor your fluids regularly, keep up the maintenance, and this one should serve you well for many more miles. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/subaru-oil-consumption-98k/115958.md?page=2)