Known Subaru excessive oil consumption problem/Service Bulletin

[mugwamp]

I see discussions about the known Subaru excessive oil consumption problem but I don’t see advice on what to do about it. It spans 2011 to 2015 on Outback, Legacy, Forester, Impreza and Crosstrek models. We bought a used Outback with only 61,000 miles and we have to add a quart of oil every month. The low oil alarm always comes on at the worst times when my wife is somewhere far from home. It’s a major pain! There was nothing on the Carfax or Edmunds reviews. My mechanic looked it up and gave me the “Service Bulletin.” I think Subaru figured out they could hide it as “Service Bulletin” warranty extension rather than it being a recall that potential buyers would discover. I called Subaru of America and they made me pay $200 for them to do an Oil Consumption Test. They verified that the car is indeed consuming excessive oil, but then told me that they won’t help me. Even though my mileage is well below the 100,000, the car is over 8 years old, so outside the warranty. Pretty crappy. The Subaru dealership wants like $5,000 for an engine rebuild to fix the problem.


Does anyone know what the actual problem is and how to fix it? Is this something I can get repaired by a local mechanic at a reasonable price rather than the crazy expensive Subaru dealership? Any other advice?

 

[AMLOR]

I see discussions about the known Subaru excessive oil consumption problem but I don’t see advice on what to do about it. It spans 2011 to 2015 on Outback, Legacy, Forester, Impreza and Crosstrek models. We bought a used Outback with only 61,000 miles and we have to add a quart of oil every month. The low oil alarm always comes on at the worst times when my wife is somewhere far from home. It’s a major pain! There was nothing on the Carfax or Edmunds reviews. My mechanic looked it up and gave me the “Service Bulletin.” I think Subaru figured out they could hide it as “Service Bulletin” warranty extension rather than it being a recall that potential buyers would discover. I called Subaru of America and they made me pay $200 for them to do an Oil Consumption Test. They verified that the car is indeed consuming excessive oil, but then told me that they won’t help me. Even though my mileage is well below the 100,000, the car is over 8 years old, so outside the warranty. Pretty crappy. The Subaru dealership wants like $5,000 for an engine rebuild to fix the problem.


Does anyone know what the actual problem is and how to fix it? Is this something I can get repaired by a local mechanic at a reasonable price rather than the crazy expensive Subaru dealership? Any other advice?

Given your model year span, this is most likely the "known issue" with the crappy head gaskets in those model years.
The only fix I am aware of, is to replace the head gaskets, and yes that requires pulling the engine out of the vehicle.
Stealerships are notoriously expensive, you might try looking for an outside "foreign car" repair shop and have them give you a quote...might save a grand or so...
good luck!
AMLOR