What is normal oil consumption for a new '05 Impreza RS?

[Jerry]

My Impreza RS is 1,450 miles now, so it's been about 450 miles since I did
my first oil change. I have used about 1/4 quart of oil since then. I
switched to Mobil 1 synthetic at 1,000 miles. Since the engine is still
technically breaking in right now, I don't know if I should be concerned.
That works out to about 1 quart of oil consumed per 1,800 miles. I would
like to know what kind of oil consumption other Impreza owners with the
EJ25 engine experienced at this point and if the oil consumption leveled
off.

I did follow the proper break in procedure per the manual for the first
1,000 miles.

Thanks.

 

[Paul]

My Impreza RS is 1,450 miles now, so it's been about 450 miles since I did
my first oil change. I have used about 1/4 quart of oil since then. I
switched to Mobil 1 synthetic at 1,000 miles. Since the engine is still
technically breaking in right now, I don't know if I should be concerned.
That works out to about 1 quart of oil consumed per 1,800 miles. I would
like to know what kind of oil consumption other Impreza owners with the
EJ25 engine experienced at this point and if the oil consumption leveled
off.

I've found oil consumption to be pretty high on new Impreza RS's. I've
had experience with both 2004s
and 2005s. I'd say at least a quart for the first 1000 miles.
Consumption goes down at least to 20,000 miles,
maybe further. Our 2004 RS (at just over 20,000 miles) now consumes
about a quart every 3000 miles
(which means that if we relied on dealer inspections we'd still always
be short).

I hope dealers are telling their customers to check the oil level
constantly during the break-in period.
It's no fun to check the oil and find you're two quarts down and it's
still not the time for the first
scheduled inspection.

In my opinion using 5w-30 oil is at least partly responsible for the
high consumption.

 

[Edward Hayes]

To early to be concerned, especially when you try to extrapolate from
only a 450 mile run. Subaru engines actually are not fully broken-in
till about 5-6,000 miles according to used oil analysis. I kept my
factory doped break-in oil in for 2,200 miles instead of the
recommended 3,000 miles. My 2000 2.5 L non turbo engine now consumes
~5 oz of Mobil 1 oil per 5,000 mile change interval.

 

[Danny Russell]

I've found oil consumption to be pretty high on new Impreza RS's. I've
had experience with both 2004s
and 2005s. I'd say at least a quart for the first 1000 miles.
Consumption goes down at least to 20,000 miles,
maybe further. Our 2004 RS (at just over 20,000 miles) now consumes
about a quart every 3000 miles
(which means that if we relied on dealer inspections we'd still always
be short).

I hope dealers are telling their customers to check the oil level
constantly during the break-in period.
It's no fun to check the oil and find you're two quarts down and it's
still not the time for the first
scheduled inspection.

In my opinion using 5w-30 oil is at least partly responsible for the
high consumption.

There is apparently some issue regarding high oil consumption on recent 2.5's.

I was wondering if it was somehow related to over-filling of the crankcase - the level being so
difficult to check on these motors.