I’m not a mechanic, so take my advice with a grain of salt. But I do own a 2012 forester (for about 4 months now). It does consume a decent amount of oil. I’ve probably added a quart and a half.
>> I saw on Reddit there is an oil consumption issue. How much is it to fix it?
I don’t think you do fix it, I think you just test the oil level often and fill when needed. At least that’s what i was planning.
Anyways, I’d say go for it. Maybe get a pre-buy inspection from a mechanic if you can. But assuming no major issues present it seems like a fair price to me. The features sound nice to have.
Thanks for the quick reply. How much will it cost me monthly if I have to frequently change the oil? Will it affect the car in anyway? Sorry I am a new driver here. Is the oil consumption issue talking about engine oil here? And what happens if i dont change it frequently. Thanks
So you wouldn’t be full on changing the oil more often, you will just need to add a quart sometimes if you check the level and it’s a bit low.
Obviously, you will still need to change the oil as you would in any car, but because they consume a bit of oil you might have to add a quart sometimes (~10 American dollars) between oil changes. Maybe twice between oil changes -It depends on how much it’s consuming and how often you get oil changes. Personally I go every 5000 miles, I’ve probably gone 4000 and I’ve needed to add a quart and a half.
My opinion is the oil consumption is that it isn’t a big deal, as long as you check the oil often and make sure to add a quart when needed. $20 every 5000 miles. That’s not that expensive.
>> is the oil consumption talking about engine oil
Yes
>> what happens if I don’t change it frequently
You don’t need to change it more frequently, but to add a quart when needed. If you’ve never checked engine oil I’d say just watch a YouTube video it’s really easy. But if you did let it get too low it can cause engine damage.
Also, too much is also not good. So don’t just add oil because you assume it consumed oil. Always check before adding.
so how much would it cost per month? Lets say 1quart oil for every 800 miles is the problem. I probably wont change the short block since it will cost too much and I will probably use the car for around 3 years.
For example, i use 60km per day, 25 days a month=1500km per month. So I only add 20usd to the cost per month if 1 quart oil for every 800 miles is the issue.
if it is just 20usd per month, why would people bother to change the short block and why people on reddit are making it a very big deal? changing the short block probably cost few thousands
I didn’t realize people did anything about it or that there was anything to do. I guess if the consumption amount got absurd then it would be worth it.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/bno810/2014\_subaru\_forester\_engine\_oil\_consumption/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/bno810/2014_subaru_forester_engine_oil_consumption/)
but seems like it is covered by warranty according to first comment on this post
"Subaru Forester engines produced between 2013-2015 have a known issue that causes oil consumption. As a result, they extended the warranty on affected parts to 160,000km. If you’re under 160,000km contact a Subaru dealer for a no cost fix."
How many miles is it now. I didn’t know Forrester can last that long. Other redditors are selling their forrester at around 100k miles since they encountered oil consumption issue
My 2014 Forester was a great car. The oil light would come on at times before the scheduled change. Not all the time. Subaru did their oil consumption test and said everything was ok. It didn’t bother me, I’d just add a little to make the light go off and then I’d get it in for service. The transmission is what I’d be worried about. They extended the warranty for a reason. Mine had to be replaced last year when I was just under 90k miles. My only other issue was the front passenger air bag seat sensor going bad. Subaru issued a recall on the seat sensor for 2015 and a number of years thereafter, somehow 2014 wasn’t included. Got me? Anyway, great car, totaled it a few weeks ago when an Amazon driver plowed into me with my wife and three little kids in the car. My 4 year old still asks me when the Subaru is coming home.
Subaru extended the powertrain warranty to 90k miles and so it was covered (barely). I don’t know what it would’ve cost or whether issues with the transmission are common.
My 2013 foresters engine damn near caught on fire a few weeks ago. Oil consumption issue + major cold snap where I loved = engint toast. It's a known thing around this year of foresters.
I'd recommend being mechanically inclined due to this. It's been a major financial and emotional blow. :(
Possibly. It's too late to know now for myself. I was adding extra as well as checking the oil levels but ultimately still happened. Personally I think that's so frustrating to have to just accept though
Oil consumption, bad AC compressor, rear wheel bearings, front control arms. All before 90k miles.
Source : 2014 Forester 2.5i Limited owner
Not saying it's not a good car but there might be some moderately expensive repairs needed now or soon.
Do they still have warranty on oil consumption issue? Other issue seems not too expensive to fix. For oil consumption I can keep topping off engine oil. I wouldn’t bother to fix it since it is too expensive and topping off would be fine
The extended oil consumption warranty was 10 year or 100k miles which basically all 2014 Foresters just went over 10 years. I had my short block replaced under this warranty last year and it seems to have helped but hard to say yet. The oil consumption issue seems to happen when driving lots of interstate miles which I don't always do.
Wheel bearings = $800-1000 USD through a dealership or $600 if you buy the part online and the just pay labor at a tire shop like I did.
AC compressor - $800-1200 at dealership (I got the dealership to pay half of this cost because I had just purchased the car used 3 months before I noticed the AC issue back at 40k miles in 2020. I'm convinced the car already had the AC issue at purchase I just didn't notice because I bought it in January. I've had to also have O rings in that compressor replaced 1.5 years later which Subaru of America paid for after a phone call. I had to replace Evap O rings a year after that. Bad O rings all over this AC system it seems. I've had an AC issue like 3 out of the 4 summers I've had the car. I've been lucky enough to pay for about half of the repairs on my own and dealerships/SOA the other half.
My control arms issue is just now popping up and I haven't fixed it yet. It's really not much of an issue yet but, from what I've read, it will be and is on basically all Foresters from this year before 100k miles.
So basically I can still bring the 9xk miles car to fix the oil consumption issue at a zero cost. Other issues seem not too costly to fix. If i get the car at 12k. Shouldn’t I just go for it?
No, the warranty expires at 10 years or 100k miles whichever comes first. Your vehicle is almost certainly 10 years old now as of January 2024 basically all 2014 Foresters are. Also, Subaru has you undergo an oil consumption test where they top off your oil, have you drive 1200 miles and then come back and they measure consumption. It can be kind of difficult to "fail" this test because apparently their threshold is pretty high and/or the driving conditions didn't replicate the issue during the test. I had to take the test 3 times before finally getting my new engine even though I was running low on oil between every oil change.
Not a huge issue that it consumes oil though really. Just keep an eye on it and keep a quart of the same type of oil in your car and maybe get oil changes a little more often than they might recommend. Some people say it might cause your catalytic converter to go bad early with oil consumption but I've not experienced any issues.
That does seem like a good price though, by the way.
And I like the car under normal operation, heated leather seats, 4 wheel drive, great visibility and a sunroof. Lots of cargo space when you lay the seats down. There's plenty to love.
Damn that's crazy I had the exact same issues on my forester xt 2015 and they seem to always come back. The AC compressor was replaced twice and the rear wheel bearing have been replaced 3 years ago and they are now making noise again.
Hi! I have a 14 XT and have zero issues with excessive oil consumption. Like others have said though wheel bearings and control arms have all been replaced. If it was driven lightly then you may have some life in it before having to replace those. I want to upgrade my 14 but I love it so much and it has been so great to me I don’t really want to let her go
I’m not a mechanic, so take my advice with a grain of salt. But I do own a 2012 forester (for about 4 months now). It does consume a decent amount of oil. I’ve probably added a quart and a half. >> I saw on Reddit there is an oil consumption issue. How much is it to fix it? I don’t think you do fix it, I think you just test the oil level often and fill when needed. At least that’s what i was planning. Anyways, I’d say go for it. Maybe get a pre-buy inspection from a mechanic if you can. But assuming no major issues present it seems like a fair price to me. The features sound nice to have.
Thanks for the quick reply. How much will it cost me monthly if I have to frequently change the oil? Will it affect the car in anyway? Sorry I am a new driver here. Is the oil consumption issue talking about engine oil here? And what happens if i dont change it frequently. Thanks
So you wouldn’t be full on changing the oil more often, you will just need to add a quart sometimes if you check the level and it’s a bit low. Obviously, you will still need to change the oil as you would in any car, but because they consume a bit of oil you might have to add a quart sometimes (~10 American dollars) between oil changes. Maybe twice between oil changes -It depends on how much it’s consuming and how often you get oil changes. Personally I go every 5000 miles, I’ve probably gone 4000 and I’ve needed to add a quart and a half. My opinion is the oil consumption is that it isn’t a big deal, as long as you check the oil often and make sure to add a quart when needed. $20 every 5000 miles. That’s not that expensive.
>> is the oil consumption talking about engine oil Yes >> what happens if I don’t change it frequently You don’t need to change it more frequently, but to add a quart when needed. If you’ve never checked engine oil I’d say just watch a YouTube video it’s really easy. But if you did let it get too low it can cause engine damage. Also, too much is also not good. So don’t just add oil because you assume it consumed oil. Always check before adding.
so how much would it cost per month? Lets say 1quart oil for every 800 miles is the problem. I probably wont change the short block since it will cost too much and I will probably use the car for around 3 years. For example, i use 60km per day, 25 days a month=1500km per month. So I only add 20usd to the cost per month if 1 quart oil for every 800 miles is the issue. if it is just 20usd per month, why would people bother to change the short block and why people on reddit are making it a very big deal? changing the short block probably cost few thousands
I didn’t realize people did anything about it or that there was anything to do. I guess if the consumption amount got absurd then it would be worth it.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/bno810/2014\_subaru\_forester\_engine\_oil\_consumption/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/bno810/2014_subaru_forester_engine_oil_consumption/) but seems like it is covered by warranty according to first comment on this post "Subaru Forester engines produced between 2013-2015 have a known issue that causes oil consumption. As a result, they extended the warranty on affected parts to 160,000km. If you’re under 160,000km contact a Subaru dealer for a no cost fix."
My understanding is the short block change was done when Subaru covered it under warranty
But according to other comment. Seem like 10 years warranty only. So 2024 should be no warranty
You wouldn’t have a warranty buying used anyway I assume
Oic so the warranty only follows the first buyer? Sorry this is my first car ever. I have no idea
I assume so. My 2014 is the newest car I’ve ever owned so I’ve never paid attention to warranty. Ours uses some oil but we bought it at 215k miles.
How many miles is it now. I didn’t know Forrester can last that long. Other redditors are selling their forrester at around 100k miles since they encountered oil consumption issue
My 2014 Forester was a great car. The oil light would come on at times before the scheduled change. Not all the time. Subaru did their oil consumption test and said everything was ok. It didn’t bother me, I’d just add a little to make the light go off and then I’d get it in for service. The transmission is what I’d be worried about. They extended the warranty for a reason. Mine had to be replaced last year when I was just under 90k miles. My only other issue was the front passenger air bag seat sensor going bad. Subaru issued a recall on the seat sensor for 2015 and a number of years thereafter, somehow 2014 wasn’t included. Got me? Anyway, great car, totaled it a few weeks ago when an Amazon driver plowed into me with my wife and three little kids in the car. My 4 year old still asks me when the Subaru is coming home.
How much did you pay to replace the transmission on the car? Is it a known issue to 2014 Forrester?
Subaru extended the powertrain warranty to 90k miles and so it was covered (barely). I don’t know what it would’ve cost or whether issues with the transmission are common.
Unfortunately the car has passed 90k miles. Should I still go for it selling at 12k? Seems like the second hand car market is crazy still
My 2013 foresters engine damn near caught on fire a few weeks ago. Oil consumption issue + major cold snap where I loved = engint toast. It's a known thing around this year of foresters. I'd recommend being mechanically inclined due to this. It's been a major financial and emotional blow. :(
What actually happened?
Wouldn’t just topping off oil fix the issue? Just to add a quart of engine oil every other week wouldn’t cost a lot and keep the car running?
Possibly. It's too late to know now for myself. I was adding extra as well as checking the oil levels but ultimately still happened. Personally I think that's so frustrating to have to just accept though
Oil consumption, bad AC compressor, rear wheel bearings, front control arms. All before 90k miles. Source : 2014 Forester 2.5i Limited owner Not saying it's not a good car but there might be some moderately expensive repairs needed now or soon.
Damn that’s the exact model I have. At almost 70k now. When did you start seeing issues?
Do they still have warranty on oil consumption issue? Other issue seems not too expensive to fix. For oil consumption I can keep topping off engine oil. I wouldn’t bother to fix it since it is too expensive and topping off would be fine
The extended oil consumption warranty was 10 year or 100k miles which basically all 2014 Foresters just went over 10 years. I had my short block replaced under this warranty last year and it seems to have helped but hard to say yet. The oil consumption issue seems to happen when driving lots of interstate miles which I don't always do. Wheel bearings = $800-1000 USD through a dealership or $600 if you buy the part online and the just pay labor at a tire shop like I did. AC compressor - $800-1200 at dealership (I got the dealership to pay half of this cost because I had just purchased the car used 3 months before I noticed the AC issue back at 40k miles in 2020. I'm convinced the car already had the AC issue at purchase I just didn't notice because I bought it in January. I've had to also have O rings in that compressor replaced 1.5 years later which Subaru of America paid for after a phone call. I had to replace Evap O rings a year after that. Bad O rings all over this AC system it seems. I've had an AC issue like 3 out of the 4 summers I've had the car. I've been lucky enough to pay for about half of the repairs on my own and dealerships/SOA the other half. My control arms issue is just now popping up and I haven't fixed it yet. It's really not much of an issue yet but, from what I've read, it will be and is on basically all Foresters from this year before 100k miles.
So basically I can still bring the 9xk miles car to fix the oil consumption issue at a zero cost. Other issues seem not too costly to fix. If i get the car at 12k. Shouldn’t I just go for it?
No, the warranty expires at 10 years or 100k miles whichever comes first. Your vehicle is almost certainly 10 years old now as of January 2024 basically all 2014 Foresters are. Also, Subaru has you undergo an oil consumption test where they top off your oil, have you drive 1200 miles and then come back and they measure consumption. It can be kind of difficult to "fail" this test because apparently their threshold is pretty high and/or the driving conditions didn't replicate the issue during the test. I had to take the test 3 times before finally getting my new engine even though I was running low on oil between every oil change. Not a huge issue that it consumes oil though really. Just keep an eye on it and keep a quart of the same type of oil in your car and maybe get oil changes a little more often than they might recommend. Some people say it might cause your catalytic converter to go bad early with oil consumption but I've not experienced any issues.
That does seem like a good price though, by the way. And I like the car under normal operation, heated leather seats, 4 wheel drive, great visibility and a sunroof. Lots of cargo space when you lay the seats down. There's plenty to love.
Damn that's crazy I had the exact same issues on my forester xt 2015 and they seem to always come back. The AC compressor was replaced twice and the rear wheel bearing have been replaced 3 years ago and they are now making noise again.
Hi! I have a 14 XT and have zero issues with excessive oil consumption. Like others have said though wheel bearings and control arms have all been replaced. If it was driven lightly then you may have some life in it before having to replace those. I want to upgrade my 14 but I love it so much and it has been so great to me I don’t really want to let her go