2015 Subaru Forester: excessive oil consumption

Filed Aug 2, 2024 · Engine · DE

Oil consumption issue starting within the first 3 years of owning the vehicle. Oil light comes on generally after driving 2,000 miles or less from the last oil change or oil fill up, but prior to the light turning on there are acceleration issues. Vehicle bucks and lunges when accelerating. Lunging seems to occur after vehicle seems to loose power to accelerate and then lunges forward shuddering as power returns. These issue worsen after oil light has come on. Vehicle feels very unsafe when trying to merge if acceleration is needed. Also almost hit from behind when car seems to lose power when trying to accelerate after stopping for a red light. Vehicle has been serviced repeatedly at dealership and oil consumption issues documented. Vehicle’s make/model with known oil consumption issues, but this vehicles VIN has not been included in recalls.

Filed Oct 26, 2022 · Engine · OH

The engine on my 2015 Subaru Forester consumes oil at a very high rate. I use fully synthetic oil and within 1,000-2,000 miles, I have to top it off due to excessive "burn off". I have done on-line research, and this seems to be a common problem for this year/make/model. I have been unable to get any action but wanted to report the issue to support a general recall, if applicable. I recently took a road trip of just over 2,000 miles and changed the oil the day before we left. I checked the oil at every fuel-up and could watch the oil level fall. By the end of the trip, I had to top off the oil level to keep it within acceptable range.

Filed Jan 25, 2022 · Engine · ME

Cam carrier/front cover seal failed on our 2015 Forester with the 6 speed MT. This oil leak has ruined the O2 sensor, the drivers side VVT solenoid and according to the dealer has caused oil to run down the wiring harness which will cause further sensor failures if not corrected. All told the dealer wants over $3700 to fix the issues and will not warranty any parts unless the oil leak is fixed. The car currently has ~105k miles on it, out of warranty, but we had mentioned oil loss issues to our mechanic and local Subaru dealer when the car was serviced for the 2019 airbag sensor recall. The car was 4 yrs old, had ~65k miles and was "consuming" about 1 qt per 2500 miles at which time the low oil light would come on, but not the check engine. The concern was dismissed by the dealer as minor and likely oil consumption common on this engine. This is concerning as I now know that a service bulletin for this leak was issued in 2019. Now the car "consumes," leaks, about 1 qt every 1500 miles with no visible signs under when parked, but does have a distinct smell of burned oil in the car when idling in the driveway or stopped in traffic. The check engine light is no on constantly and cruise control does not function.

Filed Nov 5, 2021 · Engine · IN

I have done research and noticed that the engine is a problem with the 2015 Subaru Forester. The engine consumes oil at a very high rate. I get my oil changed (fully synthetic) every 5,000 miles. However, at about 3,000 miles of use, my oil light comes on at the dash. I then have to take my vehicle to the dealership to get the oil "topped off" to hold me over until my oil change date. This engine burns off oil at a very high rate. Also, the vehicle has consistently smelled like a burning or burnt oil type smell in the cabin of the car after driving it. After I park the vehicle in the garage and get out, you can smell the "burning/hot" smell of the engine or oil. This has been an issue for over 2 years and I have notified the dealership where I bought the vehicle. They said there is nothing that they can do, because there is no recall and that these cars just burn oil fast. The dealership also stated they don't know what the "burning" smell is. I feel that this is an insufficient engine and can be dangerous. I'm not sure how toxic the fumes are from the engine to be smelling it on a consistent basis, but also burning oil at a fast rate could cause more expensive and dangerous issues with other parts of the vehicle.

Filed Aug 10, 2021 · Electrical, Seat belts · NJ

1) OIL CONSUMPTION. My 2015 Subaru was purchased used in 2017 with approx 56k on engine. From the first oil change I had done one month later the car’s computer would say that the oil level was low. I would check the dip and it would be at least a quart low. From that point on the car would burn oil that I would keep the 5 gallon oil container in my car. 2) My Subaru is and has been driven consistently until one week I did not use it for a few days not more than 3. The battery completely drained water and all. Filled the battery with appropriate water and trickle charged it for about 5 days. I then was able to jump start the car just to drive to the auto parts store to buy a new one. Noticed the signal lights would not work but the car was driving fine. I thought it may be a fuse so I pulled the proper fuse out and replaced it with the proper fuse. I started the car and every single light on the dash board lit up. Oil temp, check engine light, the up hill etc. I drove the car back home from the auto parts store and it was jerking, revving, stumbling all over the place. Nearly drove into the car in front of me and just about made it home without it stalling. I was scheduled to have two recalls fixed but I had to have my insurance company tow it to the dealer. They said it could be a number of things. I paid them 149 to do a diagnostics check but said they needed an additional 500 to do a thorough check and it would not go towards any fix of any issue. He printed me a list of items that needed to be done but none would fix that issue. He said maybe the wire harness but not sure. I was just basically screwed. So I have a 2015 Subaru Forester that I have no idea what is wrong with the engine. 3) seat belt warning on the passenger side will not stop alerting to fasten seat belts even though no one is in the seat. I have to keep it buckled at all times. I have notified the dealer the day the recalls were done but he said he didn’t know why it was doing that.

Filed Apr 11, 2021 · Engine · TN

Car burns oil. No leaks and oil light comes on every 2,000-3,000 miles when it shouldn't be changed but every 5000. Ac makes horrible noise and intermittently works but hardly ever. Will run for a couple min then not work the rest of the drive time

Filed Mar 17, 2021 · Engine · 82,401 miles · VT

Vehicle had 82,401 miles when on january 19, 2021 the "engine low level warning light" illuminated. Oil level on dip-stick measured at very end of stick. Added 1qt 0-20w synthetic oil, scheduled a complete "leak-down test" at dan o'brien subaru in vermont. The service also performed a 2k mile "consolidated engine oil consumption test". The results measured no oil consumption but the "compression & leak-down test" measured: cylinder #1 = 160psi & 5%, #2 = 148psi & 25%, #3 = 165psi & 5%, #4 = 153psi & 20%. They reported most of "leakage was going into block past pistons and some was "leaking" by intake valves. Recommend replacing short-block". To date, due to the "oil consumption test" and not the "compression and leak-down test" results, the dealer is not willing to repair and/or remedy the problem, even though, the compression and leak-down test indicates a "severe" degradation to the engine with only 84,770 miles. This is well below subaru's advertised 100,000 mile drive-train warranty publicized. Note: this vehicle has been serviced regularly by only subaru dealerships since it was purchased in 2017, and the carfax report stated it was only used by subaru dealership as a corporate personnel rental before then. Additionally the current carfax report showed no incidents or accidents and all vehicle services maintained properly.

Filed Mar 8, 2020 · Engine · 65,000 miles · CA

Smell of burning oil from the engine. Dealer says head gasket needs to be replaced at a cost of $5500.

Filed Jan 2, 2020 · Engine · 78,000 miles · IN

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. The contact stated that the vehicle started to consume an excessive amount of oil. The vehicle was taken to tom wood subaru (3300 e 96th st, indianapolis , in 46240) four times and they advised the contact to monitor the oil consumption. After the latest failure, the dealer determined that a new engine was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

Filed Dec 23, 2019 · Engine · CA

Vehicle consumes oil at irregular pace. 1 quart needs to be added every 1,500-2,000 miles. This means using 3 additional quarts of oil in between oil changes. I am concerned about the environmental impact and for catastrophic engine failure.

Filed Aug 29, 2019 · Engine · 20,000 miles · UT

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. The contact stated that she had to apply a quart of oil every 1,500-2,000 miles before her next scheduled oil change. An oil consumption test was performed and the vehicle failed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact of manufacturer recall number: tsb0215714r; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer offered to pay half of the repair cost. The contact spoke with mark miller subaru south towne (10920 state st, sandy, ut 84070, 801‑553‑5200) who was working on her behalf with the manufacturer to find a resolution. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

Filed May 28, 2019 · Engine · 92,000 miles · HI

I have had my forester since nov 2014, and during the time of owning the vehicle I have had to add a quart of oil roughly every 2500-3000 miles in between services (5000 mile service interval) as the check engine oil level light illuminates. At two points that I have had the vehicle (roughly 50000 and 80000), I have had oil consumption tests run on the vehicle, both were returned as normal, and that the amount of oil consumed by the engine was within the parameters of the design. On 24 may 2019, I turned the vehicle in to a subaru dealership in hawaii for servicing (have used this location in the past), and they informed me that the oil is leaking into the coolant system inside the engine, and that the engine needs to be pulled and the upper oil pan seals and head gaskets need to be replaced. I fail to understand how this issue could go undiagnosed for the entirety that I have been having the vehicle serviced at subaru dealerships, through two oil consumption tests, and just now the issue was diagnosed. I also understand that the amount of oil missing from the pan might not have been "consumed" as the service technician made a point to state, but I would say a pretty good indicator of an issue with the oil system, is the system losing oil. Also, after a cursory search of internet forums, this issue seems to be a common trend among subaru foresters, and the symptoms were covered in a similar technical service bulletin (tsb no. 02-157-14r), which includes my year, make, and model, but differs in that it only covers the manual transmission cars, not vehicles equipped with the CVT.