Home / Subaru News, Pricing and Reviews
2011-2014 Subaru Forester
Denis Flierl's picture
By Denis Flierl Dec 17 2015 - 8:23am

Subaru oil consumption lawsuit spreads to Canada

The Subaru oil consumption issue is spreading to Canada. What is a Quebec man doing about it?
Advertisement

All-new Subaru Forester
Subaru Forester
New Forester
Forester SUV

According to a motion filed by a Quebec, Canada man, he has filed a request to launch a class action lawsuit against Subaru because his car uses excessive oil between scheduled services. This is the same issue some U.S. owners are experiencing with their 2011-2014 Subaru Forester, 2013 Outback, 2013 Legacy, 2013 XV Crosstrek and 2012-2013 Impreza. They may use more oil than what is normal. Two class action suits were filed against Subaru of America in 2014. Both these lawsuits are pending.

The Quebec petitioner, David Champagne says his 2012 Subaru needs to be topped off with oil every 2000 kilometers (1,242 miles), despite the fact that there are only 40,000 kilometers (24,854) miles on the odometer. Even after a complete engine overhaul, the problem has not gone away.

Champagne filed the class action lawsuit against Subaru Canada on behalf of the owners of all Subaru model vehicles from 2012 to the current model year. The lawsuit says Subaru Canada sold vehicles with a manufacturing defect in the engine. The lawsuit says several journalists and automotive experts have tested some of the Subaru models and have found they do use excessive oil between oil changes.

The claim against Subaru Canada calls for a 20 percent refund on the purchase price of the vehicle plus reimbursement for the price of oil ($100) that was added between services provided in the owners manual. The oil consumption lawsuit was filed on November 30, 2015. If you live in Canada you can get more information and register for the appeal here.

Source: Adams Gareau

Automotive News
Subaru News, Pricing and Reviews

Subscribe to Torque News on YouTube.
Follow Torque News on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Comments

Kenneth Johnson wrote on December 17, 2015 - 3:14pm
I have a 1999 Subaru Legacy Outback 30 year anniversary eddition which has over 200,000 miles on an rebuild engine with steel head gaskets installed the engine burns one quart of synthetic oil every two an half weeks. Is that normal?
luka wrote on August 29, 2016 - 10:51am
We have a 2015 forester and it has 50000 on it in just about a year now. We have had oil consumption issues with it since the day we bought the car. Every few tanks we get a warning light on the lcd screen that says low oil level and that's when we bring it into subaru to add oil. Now they have told us that they are going to replace the block. I am an engineer and if the car wasn't under warranty I would rebuild the engine myself because 1.2 L of oil low on avg every 3 tanks of gas is just unacceptable from a well established car manufacturer.
Ron Patrick wrote on December 20, 2015 - 12:26am
Any car with over 200 thousand miles will burn oil. I have used synthetic since 1975 and have never had an engine related problem. Boxer motors will lose a bit Of oil by design. But what I have heard is the least expensive fix. When you change your oil you must put on a new filler gasket on the drain plug and don't Tighten the heck out of it. Other wise you will be losing oil. Put the new gasket on the drain plug and literally hand tighten and just give it a quarter turn with a wrench this should solve a lot of your oil loss RP
Edward Fiedler wrote on January 4, 2016 - 9:58pm
Saying that a boxer engine will lose a bit of oil is BS.My 02 Impreza OBS has 204K miles on it.It wasn't until last year that it sprung a small leak from the rear seal.Until then,with oil being changed at 5,000 mile intervals,it never used a drop of oil.It's never had any engine work done on it either.Not even a head gasket that subarus are supposed to be well known for.Guess I just got lucky.neither myself,my mother or anyone else I know that drives a subaru has ever had to"fill the oil and check the gas." The issue with the new subaru engines is a combination of defective application of a special coating on the cylinder walls and the low tension piston rings.Mainly the oil control ring.This was done to reduce friction and increase MPG.The low tension piston rings allow oil to get past them and into the combustion chamber where it is then burned off.Evidence of this is the excess soot in the tail pipe.Many other manufactures are having this same issue,regardless of engine configuration,for the same reasons.They are being forced to do this in an effort to meet EPA fuel mileage regulations.
Adrian R. wrote on March 7, 2016 - 1:42am
Do you know if the 2016 Impreza is doing the same thing? Has Subaru fixed this for 2016? I just bought a brand new Impreza Sport. I love the car. For the money, it's exactly what I want. I only have 1000 miles on this baby. Don't know if it's burning oil or not. Dealer told me, unequivocally, that the excessive oil consumption has been fixed in the 2016 car lineup.
irish wrote on January 18, 2016 - 10:18pm
I have a forester 2009 XT 2.5 engine. It failed at 100,000KM and luckily I was under warranty, it was based they told me on oil burning. They did not want to honor the warranty saying i had lost oil and that was why it was my fault. but in fact I had got there in time and some oil was present so they did change repair it. nd changed head gasket ect. but then 50,000k later the engine light came on. I called my subaru dealer right away and they told me if i didnt hear any noise it was fine. I asked to come in and they told me they had no time and to drive to another dealer. My engine blew shortly after. I sent letters to Subaru Canada, I found out that my VIN key number had a recall right OFF the assembly line, it said to notify dealers NOT to SELL this vehicle.. so even though so far i dont see my year in the class action suit, there is NO DOUBT that my vehicle is represented as the problem.. alot earlier than subaru is will ing to admit and I have the proof. Subaru Canada Prompty dismissed my letters , my repair history and told me that i put bad oil in my car. unbelievable lies.. and they really have a nerve useing their flag phrase.. CONFIDENCE IN MOTION.. i nearly died in the first one. and they did not care.
Les Sones wrote on August 7, 2016 - 4:24pm
I have driven Subaru's for over 25 years, my 2012 Forester will be my last. I have been to the dealership twice for a consumption tests. First time I was told that the consumption was within specifications. I then had an independent garage do a consumption test. The Forester used 2.5 litres over 10,000km. I wrote Subaru Canada and was directed back to dealership that had earlier dismissed me. They started another consumption test. When I checked the oil level shortly after servicing I found the dip stick over by approx. 1" (about 3/4 to 1 litre overfilled!) When I went back to dealership I received absolutely no satisfaction or even an explanation why they would overfill. I wrote Subaru Canada with a picture of the dip stick and never even received a reply. My car now has just over 100km. and uses 2.5 litres of oil between changes. This will be my last Subaru!
Glenn Moore wrote on August 9, 2016 - 3:04pm
I have a 2014 Outback Limited with 58,000 km. This is my 3rd Outback and never had a problem with the other 2. This one however seems to need an oil top up after about 4,000 km. after an oil change. I have complained to the dealer about this each time and each time they tell me this is normal. I DON'T THINK SO. I am going to have them do a test to see what's going on.
Bob chickness wrote on January 12, 2017 - 10:47am
I have a 2014 forester and had oil issues,they replaced the block with a rebuild and then i was so noisey at start up that they put another new block,now it is still noisy at cold start and does go away,but my original one was quiet on start up.they are talking about a 4 engine counting the original one
Gene bristow wrote on July 7, 2017 - 1:20pm
I had a 2007 Impreza for five years. It burnt oil all the time I owned it. I drove it up to 150k kilometers. Then sold it. It had many problems. The wheel bearings were noisy. The back brakes seized up every year. And it burnt excessive amounts if oil. It also had a start up problem where it missed and hesitated and made a lot of valve noise. This car is black listed by consumer reports. Mostly for head gasket problems. So much for Subaru quality. I now drive a Toyota. Gene