DO NOT BUY THIS MODEL! Oh my god!!! I have to put oil in it every 350 miles and I'm still paying this car off! All the freakin lights are on in the dashboard, it currently has a P0420 code coming up and I've spent so much money on oil to keep it going. We're now on the thickest synthetic oil it can take and still nothing changes. The only solution to fix the leaking oil gasket is to get a new engine, which at this point is worth more than the car! If I stop too "fast" at a light or in traffic the engine will stall, if the engine doesn't stall you can feel the engine shaking while idling. I cannot wait to get rid of this car!

As reported by another complaint, I have to add oil at least once between oil changes. I change oil every 7,500 miles. If I go on long trips of 1,000 miles or more round trip, I have to always add a quart of oil. I have been doing this for 6 years now. I purchased the car used with only 12,500 miles in February 2013. I have just grown accustomed to checking the oil, especially before I take long trips. Usually, I'm reminded when oil light comes on and add a quart of oil. Car has never missed a manufacturer's recommended service and always serviced by Subaru dealer. Car runs great. It is just annoying.

I just chalked this up to not Subaru's finest vehicle year. This was my second 2013 Subaru. The first one was totaled in an accident on a slippery snow covered road resulting in my car doing a 180 flip down a shallow ravine. all air curtains/bags deployed properly. Bluetooth was working, so I could easily dictate 911 dial up. I walked away without a scratch. That is why I purchased the same year, make, model and trim Subaru again. Sometimes you have to up with idiosyncrasies, depending what is of more value to you. In my case, an extra 4-6 quarts of oil a year...

As many others have noted on this forum, this car has an oil consumption problem. I took it to Nate Wade Subaru in Salt Lake City and had this problem assessed at least six different times. The first time, I was about 3,000 miles into an oil change and the light came on. I brought it into Nate Wade and they started an oil consumption test, which I passed. The problem seemed nonexistent through the remainder of the 5,000 miles I had until the next change.

I then changed my oil at home before a trip to Calgary. At almost 3,000 miles on the nose, the light comes back on. I take it to Subaru and they replace the oil sensor light and tell me that this should definitely fix the problem. They topped me off with oil and sent me on my way. Again, with no problems until the next change.

I change my oil at my place once more, and again we come to the same issue on another road trip. I understand that the oil problem is exacerbated by prolonged trips in the car, but I bought this car with the intention of using it for road trips, so this is especially disappointing.

I bring this issue to Nate Wade again and they say there is nothing they can do for me. They've given me the perfunctory oil consumption test and if I want to explore this issue further I should contact Subaru of America. So, I do, and they start another test. I schedule a trip to the Grand Canyon because I definitely want to fail this test and if I have been having problems on road trips, I might as well take one... I check the oil before embarking because I want to see how much it changed over the course of the trip and I am appalled. They have clearly overfilled my oil by at least a half a quart (half the distance between the full and bottom mark).

Their reaction when I called them to report this issue shocked me. I felt berated by both SOA and the local Nate Wade service technician for checking the oil. Apparently, according to SOA, you are not allowed to check the oil during your oil consumption test (which seems to be false based on what I have read here). Nobody told me this, and they threatened to nullify my oil test results and charge me for an oil change if they were to begin another test. I bring it back to Nate Wade Subaru and ask to speak to the service manager. I never get to talk to him, but the tech agreed with me that my engine oil was clearly overfilled, and we begin ANOTHER consumption test, free of charge. This time, the service technician and I verified the oil level beforehand, and then he put a tamper evident seal on the dipstick, the oil filter, and the oil cap to prevent me from??? adding more oil??? to a test I want to fail??? I'm not sure. The fact that they made such a big deal about this and essentially dropped it made me question the integrity of this entire ordeal.

Well, I just brought it back today and I passed the test. I only burned 2 oz of oil instead of the required 10.6 oz for a new engine. As we were checking the level of the oil, he said that the test would fail if either side of the dipstick showed full oil. This is directly contradictory to what is stated in the manual: read from the lower side of the dipstick. This coupled with them seemingly intentionally overfilling my oil makes this entire process feel disingenuous and a facade of a company "fixing" a problem.

So, it seems that the rate of oil consumption, for my car at least, accelerates as the first 3000 miles after a change goes on. I'm not sure what the fix is. The technician suggested switching to 5W30 instead of 0W20, as a thicker viscosity would not burn off so easily. My roommate suggested maybe trying higher octane fuel, for a similar reason. If you guys have any suggestions please let me know.

Here's everything I wish I would have known about this process before I started: - 2013 Outbacks have an oil consumption problem. - Subaru lost a class action lawsuit and are required by law to fix your engine if it burns more than 10.6 oz of oil in the first 1200 miles after an oil change. - You must go to a Subaru dealer and begin an oil consumption test to verify the problem. - They do not fill your oil pan volumetrically. This entire test is performed by looking at the dipstick. BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE LOT, verify the oil level with your technician. - Do not check the oil while the test is ongoing, they could nullify your result. - If you do not meet the 10.6 oz/1200 mile threshold, they WILL NOT HELP YOU. If it is not mandated by a judge, Subaru doesn't care.

Good luck, friends.

I bought a 2013 Subaru Outback from an Audi Dealer who advertised it on Auto Trader. I was looking for a Subaru and found it to be a good price with an extended, but limited, warranty. It was a pretty good deal and it brought my interest rate down a point which made it more or less affordable. About two weeks after I purchased it, the oil light came on. I took it back to Audi and they told me to take it to Subaru.

I took it to Subaru and they did an oil consumption test which they said passed. I found out that this car had been in several times from a previous owner for the same issue. While I was there the second time, another customer was there for the same problem. I wrote letters, had a second test done, sent emails back and forth to a Subaru representative for 7 months with no avail. They told me to check my oil every time I filled up the car. I drive over 1,500 miles a month! Are you kidding me?

My car requires oil topped off every 1,300 miles or less. The test's limit for oil consumption is1,200. How ironic that my vehicle runs low on oil approximately 100 miles from the the set limit imposed by a class action lawsuit. This tells me that Subaru has figured out where the threshold is on the oil running low and set it below that threshold so that most, if not all, customers doing the oil consumption test will pass it. Therefore, these cars are not being fixed by Subaru. I

'm going to complain on this website, on Twitter, put a sign on my car and drive around three to five counties every month telling everyone that unbeknownst to me. I bought a defective vehicle which the manufacturer will not fix, even though several mechanics confirm the problem and say the vehicle will eventually stop working because of the piston rings being defective.

I have a five year payment on a vehicle that has over 100,000 miles on it! How am I supposed to pay on a vehicle that is not working or pay for a new engine block on a vehicle that has over 110,000 miles on it? I'm a single mom who's struggling financially and needs this car to be able to work to pay bills and a car payment.

Subaru has no sympathy for their customers and their cars and despite the pictures on the dealership wall, they will not last for multiple generations. This car won't even make it till my 10 year old daughter is old enough to drive. Unless Subaru is willing to fix the vehicle, then it has fighting chance. If this can't happen, I suggest you join me in starting another class action lawsuit in regard to a defective short block in the vehicle you own. Or in regard to the extended Warranty; that it doesn't benefit anyone except the manufacturer.

If you don't have a vehicle with this problem, find out if you do and otherwise, do not purchase a used Subaru thinking it will last through your payments. Do not buy any Subaru (new or used) to support those people who have these defective cars so that Subaru will cave in to helping us to replace the short block so our cars will last multiple generations. Thank you for your support! It's much appreciated.

This was me and my wife’s first brand new car we had ever purchased and we were really excited about it...we had heard nothing but great things about Subaru’s and we finally felt like “grown ups” making what we thought was a mature and practical decision by purchasing this 2013 Subaru Outback...we have two kids and were planning to do some traveling so we researched and felt like this was our “go to car”...we also looked into a Jeep Wrangler and a Toyota 4Runner...our main goal was to have a car that could go 300k and build life memories with our kids along the way...after our first free oil change (our outback came with like 2 yrs free oil change or 24k or something like that) we noticed the oil light came on almost a week after it was done. My wife called the dealership and they told her oil burn off was normal and it wasn’t a big deal. So we added a qt or two in and have done so every since for the last almost 6 yrs. We got notices for other recalls but never for the oil consumption issue, now our car needs a little tlc and maintenance so I was looking around online to figure out some of those issues along with inquiring about this oil consumption issue and read other owners were complaining about it and that’s how I found out that Subaru had a class action law suit back in 2016 where they were fixing this issue and we were never notified by them or the dealership that sold us the car...now we are over our warranty mileage...they did offer to do the oil consumption test, but wouldn’t go any further, I’m hoping they will do right by us, but I’m not really sure they’ll show us the “LOVE”...for the last 6 yrs I have bought countless quarts of oil and have wished we had gotten the 4Runner or Wrangler ever since...pretty sure we will never purchase another Subaru again...darn shame too, because on paper they seem like the “go to” car that can’t be beat, but in reality I’m not sure anyone should spend their hard earned money on this brand any longer...their marketing department fooled us 6 yrs ago, but I won’t fall for it again...I’ll be looking into vehicles with real long lasting ability and a track record to prove it, not just some marketing campaign with cute dogs and lgbtq ad manipulation...I’m writing this on 12/12/2018 and the outback is at the dealership getting the oil consumption test done as I type...I won’t even get into the bs of the ‘technician” trying to up sale me to get me to pay for a light bulb replacement for a light that wasn’t out while getting the air bag and windshield wiper motor recalled fixed...or the fact that the radiator went out right after our two yr warranty ended...I definitely don’t get the loyal brand following on this thing...I really wanted to “LOVE” this outback too...I was planning on upgrading to the new ascent, but will definitely be looking at the Grand Cherokee or 4Runner now...really bummed out

I can't believe I already experienced two engine issues in last 5 years. I bought this car as a new one and bought 3 years service package from the dealer and did all maintenance services for the engine as Subaru recommendation. Last year, it had an issue with coolant leaking into engine when I did regular maintenance service at the dealer. But it is still under 5 years / 60k mileage warranty. So it got covered.

Now just 5 months after passing 60 months warranty period but it is still only under 50k mileage, dealer found out oil leak because of cam carrier problem. This car was never used for off-road and even not for long trips. It was used only as a commuter car from/to work. I am so pissed off about unreliable engine seal system. Any suggestions about should I keep this car or sell it. I am really worried it might have another oil leak or gasket problems even after I fix current problem at the dealer.

I purchased my 2013 Outback in August 2012 from IRA Subaru in Danvers, MA. My first issue was around 65000 miles when my oil light came on. I checked the oil and it was down a quart but I still had 1500 miles before I was due for an oil change. I talked to the Dealer - the book said change oil every 7500 miles, but the Dealer said it depended on how you drive and where I put a lot of mileage on my car, it was recommended changing the oil every 6000 miles. So that sounded like a Plan!

It got progressively worse and by 92000 miles I was adding 3/4 qts of oil per oil change. It was recommended that I have an oil consumption test done, but I was also told in order to Fail the OCT the car had to be going through a qt of oil every 1200 miles. I knew at the time I wouldn't fail the test, so I put it off. I had purchased the 100,000 mile extended warranty when I bought the car and was concerned the warranty would expire before I officially Failed the OCT. But I was told by the Dealer (Twin City Subaru Berlin, VT) that it shouldn't matter because we identified the problem while still under the Extended Warranty. Finally at 107,000 miles I was confident I would Fail the test and had it done. And it Failed! Then I was told by the same Dealer that where it was now past 100,000 miles mark, Subaru Would Not cover any repairs!! The Dealer gave me the phone number to talk to Subaru directly and they told me the same thing.

The car now has 120,000 miles and I am adding 1 qt every 500/600 miles, how ridiculous is that? I just finished paying for the car this fall and what is a car like this worth now that its paid for? Who would ever purchase a car burning this much oil? That Subaru will not stand behind their product, to me, is criminal!!

We are a 2 Subaru Outback family (my wife has a 2015 Outback) - Soon to Be a Zero Subaru Family!! It is definitely the "Last Subaru" we will ever own.

In June 2016, I bought a 2013 Outback 2.5L with 19,224 miles from a Subaru dealership about 33 miles from my home town. I paid extra for Certified pre-owned status. I thought it was a good deal since it had low miles, and the dealership told me the previous owners were an older couple who only averaged 5600 miles a year.

Of course, about a month or so (1500 miles) later the oil light came on. I had to stop at a gas station and put a quart in. I knew this wasn't right since the dealer told me they just did an oil change and that I wouldn't have to add or change the oil for another 6500 miles. I did some investigation and learned about the class action lawsuit related to high oil consumption for many Subaru models, including my own.

Next time I took it in to my local dealer, I asked for an oil consumption test. They did an oil change, filled the oil and told me to bring it back after I'd driven it 1200 - 1500 miles. I did so (closer to 1500 miles), and they found that it burned twice the amount of oil they expected. They said because my car was still under warranty, they were going to replace the engine block, which they did in January 2017.

It did not cost me anything except the pain and aggravation of being misled by the original dealership which knew this model and year were included in the class action lawsuit, but still sold it to me at a typically elevated dealership price without disclosing the issue. Additionally I'm now in possession of a car which had the engine block replaced at 24,000 miles, which very likely will reduce the value and make it more difficult for me to sell on the private market or to trade it in for a reasonable amount.

In the last 12 months or so, My outback has been burning a lot of oil. I have to add at least one quart during every 7500 mile change interval. In the past few months, it seems to have gotten worse. I recently added a quart, then a few weeks later, another quart, and now its time to change the oil. WTF? $20 for two quarts of synthetic oil, and now another $80 for the regular oil change? Killing me! I drive a lot, but now I'm thinking of getting rid of the car because more and more issues are starting to crop up. Anyone else have similar experiences once mileage starts to creep up?

I bought this Subaru new and the dealer Doyle Subaru/Chevolet in Webster,New York is just playing games until it comes out from under the 100,000 mile warranty or reaches 5 years which ever comes first. I have to carry oil with me as I never know when the oil pressure light will come on and I will have to add oil. I must check it regularly before I start on a trip or plan to drive more than 30 miles. It drops 2 quarts or more. The last time it went in to the dealership, they messed with the oil pressure light so it will not come on. That means a very regular check of the oil on my part. I have a local garage keeping records on the car as I get the dealer to do the oil changes under their warranty. This is Subaru #9 in our family. All were Outbacks but two Legacies and we never had oil usage problems with any of them. We take them off the road at about 275,000 miles and expect them to last. This 2013 has 61,453 miles on it and it is called on to travel around New York State, Pa and Ohio hauling a load of show rabbits to different show locals. I do not expect that I will keep it much beyond 100,000 miles unless Subaru steps up and admits that they have a problem and solves it. Will there be Subaru #10??? That will depend on how they solve the problems with #9 over the next 3 years. If they can not then I will dump the vehicle and look at another brand. I do not trust the dealer and that is why I have an independent garage watching the oil usage and keeping records on it. Then is needed I can sue Subaru for any repairs needed on the engine

My beef is that when I bought this car, Subaru already knew they had an issue. Once the problem was brought to their attention I was 10k out of warranty. Subaru of America did exactly nothing to help. NO LOVE there! Love is a one way street from my dealings with Subaru of America. Shameful.

My Extended Warranty company has put in a used Junk yard motor that Subaru of America calls "re manufactured" I have had it two weeks and have burnt thru almost all of my oil. Their "re-manufactured" is worse than the original one. I am into this repair for over 500 dollars, multiple visits to the dealer, over a month of not having my car. My recommendation to anyone that asks, is to steer clear of this disaster. I cannot tell you how many hours on the phone with Subaru along with missed time from work. Very bad feelings. Used to feel good when I saw other Soobs driving by, now I feel bad for those owners. I just want to get this rolling piece of junk fixed so I can trade it in for a different manufacturer. It has been a summer of Subaru! NOT a Subaru summer! Buyers beware!

Purchased two Subaru Outbacks (2013 and 2014). The 2013 had the check engine oil light at 35,000 miles. Added 1 qt and took the car into the dealer for an oil consumption test. Dealership recommends that you return after driving 1,000-1,200 miles. However, the oil level indicated a 50% overfill when the oil change occurred. Because of this, I did not return for the first consumption test, but monitored at home. Level dropped to empty at 3,000-3,500 miles. When back to the dealer for a repeat of the consumption test. Again, the oil level was overfilled by 50%. Talked to the service manager, who explained this was the result of oil from elsewhere int the engine settling with time. However, I checked both after driving and a few hours after rest and level was unchanged. With previous vehicles and previous oil change services, the technicians always showed the dipstick level at full following the change, to indicate to me the amount added was appropriate.

The salesperson at the dealership acknowledged the 2013 Outbacks had piston rings that were manufactured below specifications, but the bar repair is high. I am having a difficult time trusting the dealership after two deceptive services. I purchased both Outbacks with the intention of making them 10yr cars, but the excessive oil consumption concerns me for engine longevity. There are two pending class action lawsuits regarding this oil consumption problem, a problem that Subaru will not acknowledge.

Will never consider the purchase of a Subaru in the future. Have talked many friends and family out of purchasing this brand.

We brought in the Subaru Outback every 4k miles for an oil change as scheduled by the dealer. Yes we know synthetic oil lasts longer but..... anyway, after all the free oil changes we started to change the oil ourselves. Then checking the oil, water, etc... and found the car was needing a qt added, so we took it to another dealer for an oil change and had them check the oil before the car went away. It was 1/2 qt low and of course filled to the correct level when we picked it up. Adding more oil before the next oil change I googled oil consumption and from there we went to our regular dealer and the oil consumption test started.

At 1200 miles we were a bit under a 1/3 qt low. I video taped the crappy service rep as he looked at the dip stick. Hope we were the final nail in his dismissal letter. Anyway, we went in and another rep told him the 1/3 warranted an engine block to be ordered and no more consumption tests. I waited a week before calling about an update on the block. It had never been ordered. Spoke to the service manager and he said the test was completed. I told him to look at the first line of the test that said if it was this low, order a block. I also told him that the level, 250 miles later, was at the middle dot in the dip stick and I could hear the valves knocking. I also told him the twit never added oil to bring the level back up. But if he wanted me to drive the car until the thing blew up, say so...you are being recorded. Short tale is: Bring the car back, here is a loaner Forrester to drive for 2-3 weeks while the car is repaired.

I also mentioned to the service manager that the 3.6 is not the normal complaint for this, it's the 2.5 (?) and he said correct. Wonder how many 3.6 engine owners have their oil changed frequently and never realized their engine problem until it is out of warranty. We have never heard a more a$$nine statement than "it's normal oil consumption" when our 16 year old Durango has never consumed a drop between oil changes.

I'm going to monitor other sites to see if I can find another 3.6 report of a problem.

My wife wanted the Outback. When I was a mechanic you could always tell a Subaru was coming due to a common part failure which caused the car to make a distinctive sound. Well when I looked at the car and drove it I was impressed. Not after the second oil change. Every three thousand miles I need to add a quart.

I called the dealer who informed me this was within tolerance. I told him my F150 goes 10k between oil changes and does not use a drop of oil. I could have the dealer do an oil change and then bring it in every 500 miles for them to check. If the consumption was to great they had a fix which sounds more like a band aid.

The car now has 65K as my wife does a lot of driving. Just replaced the original tires at 55k. Rotated every 7500 miles. Going to change plugs at 67k and front pads.

Well we will not be buying another Subaru as I feel the oil consumption is unacceptable. It is not like they just started building this engine. Oh it also sounds like marbles when I drive it near a wall or divider. I am using regular gas as the owners manual indicates and the car sounds like it is pinging.

FYI! I keep a gallon of oil in the back with a funnel and check the oil when we do long trips. I do not need the motor going boom when I am 400 miles away from home.

First and last Subaru. Found out the hard way the engine burns oil. Subaru tried to tell me it is normal consumption to burn 1/3 quart of oil per 1200 miles, that would mean that you could be adding just under 2 quarts of oil in between oil changes and it would be considered normal. We have had a pleasant experience with the dealerships up until the moment I brought up the oil loss. Then I was stone walled when requesting information and have been treated like a leper ever since. The best thing you can do is trade your car in for a loss, the next best thing is let them replace the engine block on your brand new car (it will never run the same, I also have read that the problem persists even after this fix). The worst possible outcome is if it consumes just under the limit set by Subaru that you can't get the problem fixed, but you get to feed oil into your car, so that once it is out of warranty you get to start replacing O2 sensors, spark plugs, and catalytic converters like band aids. Not to mention the dirty combustion chambers and fouled valve seats and the decreased gas mileage.

I talked my wife into buying this car, told her it was a 300,000 mile car...It will need a new engine block after 40,000 miles, and this is common.

Took my car in for 'oil consumption test'. The car had been driven 1157 miles since the last oil change, and had consumed 0.4 quarts of oil. I was told that the oil consumption was "good news-well within specifications". Also was told that the oil consumption test had to be done ONLY at 1200 miles, and since I will be taking it on a 3000 mile trip next week, it will have to be started over when I return. I asked if I could have it done at other dealerships along the way, and was told "No. The same technician has to do it each time." I asked for a copy of the test, and refused to leave until they gave it to me. It is unsigned and I intend to go back this morning and ask the service manager (Josh Frick, Tom Woods Subaru, Indianapolis, Indiana) to sign it. Wish me luck on that one.

Nevertheless, they mislead me on the following (from the hard copy of the Consolidated Engine Oil Consumption Test): 1. There is nothing that states that it has to be done at exactly 1200 miles. In fact there is a very specific set of instructions on how to calculate any mileage, thus converting it to 1200 miles. The story about having to start the test over every time we don't get it there at the right time is untrue. 2. There is nothing about the same technician or dealership having to do the oil consumption test. 3. By their specifications, we failed the test.

I have contacted BBB, Angies List, and WISH TV investigative reporters about this. Since we live just south of the factory where this beast was manufactured (Lafayette, IN.) I don't think we are going to get any local support.

The factory and the dealership make a big deal about being "green", yet the cars they manufacture are burning a lot of oil. What is the chemical content of synthetic oil burning? I ask because one of my grandsons gets carsick in this car, and does not in our Honda. Can somebody help us?