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Howard

Where did the oil go?

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So, my daughter’s boyfriend stopped by for a while last week and his car sounded really rough.  I suggested to him he have it checked out.  It’s a 2013 Subaru Forester and he claimed he had had it serviced about a month ago.  So today they drive from Hoboken to Morristown, he stayed there and my daughter drove it to her grandmother’s in Mendham.  When she pulled in it sounded bad and actually stalled.  I started it up and then quickly shut it down as it sounded like a bearing.  I opened the hood and saw no oil on the dipstick.  So, I drove home and grabbed a 5 quart bottle of oil, and a partially filled quart to pour it in so as not to make a big mess with the five quart jug.  The car lists the capacity as 5.5 quarts.  Well to get it to the full line on the dipstick I was shocked to use, you guessed it, the full 5.25 quarts – holy shit.  I turned it over twice and then let it sit a while to allow the oil to adhere to stuff.  Started it up after a few minutes and it sounded just as bad as before so I quickly shut it down.  Daughter said, well I guess I can drive it back to Morristown – I told her hell no you need to have it towed, even though I imagine the engine is toast.

 

So the question is how can you go through that much oil on a fairly new vehicle to run it almost dry.  It had sat in my driveway for three days a couple of weeks ago and there were no leaks on the driveway.

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Yea, this has an oil light too.  It goes on when you start the car as it should but then goes out.  Guess it does not really work as it should.  I did not crawl under it to check the oil plug, but the car sat in my driveway for three days a week or so ago and there was no oil on my driveway.

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Few things

 

His oil pressure sensor is toast

 

Does he use synthetic? the motors can run a while with no oil if synthetic was previously used

maybe they didnt put oil in a month seems odd though

 

If you dont see smoke coming out the back pipe its not burning it. if it lost that much oil in such a small period of time.

 

and as Zeke said

"Bad head gasket? Ck antifreeze . Usually works other way though."

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No clue if synthetic with used, and I am likely only hearing part of the story leading up to this.  I know what you mean with the oil and antifreeze.  I had a Volvo years ago that would have steam coming out the tailpipe first thing in the morning and loosing antifreeze with no external leaks.  I told Volvo I bet it was a cracked head, they told me I was crazy.  After months of messing with it with them changing the water pump and a few other things they got the OK to pull the thing apart.  They found the number 3 cylinder was extra clean "steam cleaned :)", and that yes it had a manufacturing problem that was a hairline crack in the head.

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Subaru's of a certain generation, under certain circumstances are major oil eaters. Subaru has been replacing engines

 

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f183/2011-fb25-discussion-about-oil-consumption-split-thread-375081/

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f183/2011-fb25-oil-consumption-usage-data-updates-split-thread-373601/

 

In theory, this is now fixed (says me the owner of a 2015 Forester) but his '13 is in the middle of the problem.

 

On the other hand, the warning light should have been coming on.

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gotta be an oil leak out the plug, prob happened soon after service, thats a shitload to burn thru in a month and not see and smell it and what about prior to that?And not going to lose 5 qts into cooling system with a gasket leak and not have issues.

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So, my daughter’s boyfriend stopped by for a while last week and his car sounded really rough.  I suggested to him he have it checked out.  It’s a 2013 Subaru Forester and he claimed he had had it serviced about a month ago.  So today they drive from Hoboken to Morristown, he stayed there and my daughter drove it to her grandmother’s in Mendham.  When she pulled in it sounded bad and actually stalled.  I started it up and then quickly shut it down as it sounded like a bearing.  I opened the hood and saw no oil on the dipstick.  So, I drove home and grabbed a 5 quart bottle of oil, and a partially filled quart to pour it in so as not to make a big mess with the five quart jug.  The car lists the capacity as 5.5 quarts.  Well to get it to the full line on the dipstick I was shocked to use, you guessed it, the full 5.25 quarts – holy shit.  I turned it over twice and then let it sit a while to allow the oil to adhere to stuff.  Started it up after a few minutes and it sounded just as bad as before so I quickly shut it down.  Daughter said, well I guess I can drive it back to Morristown – I told her hell no you need to have it towed, even though I imagine the engine is toast.

 

So the question is how can you go through that much oil on a fairly new vehicle to run it almost dry.  It had sat in my driveway for three days a couple of weeks ago and there were no leaks on the driveway.

call the dealer. i think that there's a problem with these.........

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Few things

 

His oil pressure sensor is toast

 

Does he use synthetic? the motors can run a while with no oil if synthetic was previously used

maybe they didnt put oil in a month seems odd though

 

If you dont see smoke coming out the back pipe its not burning it. if it lost that much oil in such a small period of time.

 

and as Zeke said

"Bad head gasket? Ck antifreeze . Usually works other way though."

No engine....no matter what kind of oil you use...can run dry for more than a few seconds. The surface of a crank bearing is as soft as lead.

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I had my oil changed in one of my trucks at a shop. The engine light went on and it was running funny for a few days. Checked the dipstick. It was four quArts low. They admitted their employee screwed up. Since sold that truck.

This. My first thought was the shop screwed up. Wouldn't be the first time it happened.

 

I don't care how much oil an engine is known to eat, 5.25 qts in a month doesn't sound feasible.

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APPLICABILITY:
2013-14MY Legacy and Outback Models with                               
NUMBER:
02-157-14R
DATE:
08/28/14
REVISED:
03/24/15
2.5L FB Engine

2011-14MY Forester Models with 2.5L FB Engine

2012-13MY
Impreza and 2013MY XV Crosstrek
Models with 2.0L FB Engine
SUBJECT:
Surface Treatment Change To Oil Control Piston Rings
 
Bulletin Number: 02-157-14R; Revised: 03/24/15
Page 1
INTRODUCTION
This bulletin announces information regarding a major change to the repair procedures previously
outlined in Service Bulletins 02-143-13R, 02-144-13R and 02-145-13R. These bulletins provided
a repair procedure for the replacement of the piston rings to a
ddress verified concerns of unusual
engine oil consumption. Vehicles confirmed as having this condition which are within the supplied
VIN ranges will no longer be repaired with piston ring replacem
ent. The revised repair procedure
to address verified unusual oil consumption concerns on these sp
ecific vehicles will consist of
replacing the engine short block assembly.
It is critical to understand the nature of the concern as repor
ted by the customer and to confirm the
actual condition prior to attempting repairs. Some oil consumption can and should be expected
as a by-product of engine operation even where no concern exist
s. Failure to recognize this and
correctly diagnose the condition presented can result in unnece
ssary repairs. For example: a vehicle
which is presented with a report of a low engine oil level (as
read on engine dipstick/ gauge or
indicated by illumination of the low engine oil level warning l
amp), which is at or near the time /
mileage of the next service interval (based upon the date / mil
eage of the most recent oil change),
is not representative of unusual oil consumption. The information supplied in this bulletin is
only applicable to vehicles within the specific production range
s of this publication exhibiting the
condition(s) previously described.
IMPORTANT: Read and understand this bulletin COMPLETELY before starting an oil
consumption test or initiating any repairs.
Concerns related to a possible oil consumption condition are ge
nerally initiated when the customer
believes the engine oil level on the dipstick has dropped since
the last time it was checked or when
the low oil lamp illuminates. These types of complaints by themselves do not directly indicate
a concern with the vehicle exists. It is important to understa
nd all the factors involved in order
to make a sound decision regarding whether or not a repair is r
equired or if an oil consumption
test should even be started. When speaking with customers about a reported or suspected oil
consumption concern, always keep the following in mind

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His problem is going to lie in the fact with the engine already toast ...... there is no way to prove excessive oil consumption was the ultimate cause of the failure.....

 

I think Howard is in a bad spot as far as getting it warrantied..... 

 

In my experience with Audi.... we at least had to document the oil consumption .... and then there was never an issue with the repair. But this is something I have never dealt with at the service desk..... 

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Well I guess we will see what happens when he contacts the dealer. I'll let you guys know when I get some feedback. The info that there have been a history of problems should help him out.

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Had a similar issue with my 2009 surburban. Lost a quart a week no smoke no drops in the driveway. Just gone. Gm's answer was oh thats normal..... put me on a consumption log. Other than than GM did nothing.... its a shame loved that surburban... put some lipstick on that pig and traded it in for a 2015...

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I had a car that would suck down a quart and a half in a 25 minute session. No smoke, nothing in the coolant, just a little blow-by out the dipstick tube from the collapsed ring on the #1 piston. I found out the hard way that they left the rev-limiter off of my new software when I realized that I was well past redline on the back straight at Pocono. Actually, I still have the car, just has a new motor in it,  the old motor is buried somewhere in my garage.

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this is why i posted the tsb info.  i've had a couple customers come in with the same issues, plus 2 or 3 people off the street. it's something that subaru seems to be fixing. on the 2nd page of the tsb, it says something about replacing the entire engine......

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I had a guy I work with had this problem with a 13 forester they did replace the entire block took a while of fightin with them but he got it done a few months and he hasn't ha any problems since

I was just talking to my daughter's boyfriends mom and she said she will be talking with the dealer tomorrow.  They wanted to see receipts from the last four oil changes, she has three and is looking for the fourth and it sounds like they may cover the engine.  Fingers crossed.

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No engine....no matter what kind of oil you use...can run dry for more than a few seconds. The surface of a crank bearing is as soft as lead.

You must not have seen the Honda's that weren't seizing during the Cash for Clunkers program as easily as they should be. Some of them were going almost 30 min with no oil bordering redline. Crank bearings are not even close to "as soft as lead".

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I was just talking to my daughter's boyfriends mom and she said she will be talking with the dealer tomorrow.  They wanted to see receipts from the last four oil changes, she has three and is looking for the fourth and it sounds like they may cover the engine.  Fingers crossed.

that's how they get outta stuff. they'll look to make sure the correct grade and quality oil was used, and at manufacturer specified intervals.

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