2012 Impreza oil leak at 64K

[surfinboy]

Just had the oil changed with synthetic about a month ago, and now it's leaking oil. Took it in, they thought it was a valve cover, but after digging further they're not sure, so they put some dye in it and sent me home for a few days. I'll bring it back and they'll purportedly be able to tell where the leak is. I've heard of this before, but isn't 64K a little early in its life for oil leaks? 

[MilesFox]

What brand of oil did you install and what viscosity grade is it? I believe factory fill is 0w20 but previous subarus historically called for 30 wt and 40 wt. I doubt this is the issue. The manufacturer factory fills with synthetic oil.

 

By modern standards, there are no myths to apply with synthetic oil with todays standards and materials. Subarus do leak, it's a fact of life. Be sure to monitor oil levels to be safe. 

 

Have any troubleshooting procedures investigate the PCV system, as improper venting may pressurize the crank case and push oil out of seals.

[idosubaru]

Yes early but not impossible.

 

2012 impreza still gets the EJ25 or is that the FB25?

EJ25's have headgasket oil leaks.  They get worse very slowly over long periods of time, so if it's that you have a long time to decide what to do - many years/10's of thousands of miles.

 

Be wary of dealer diagnose/suggestions.  I'd follow up here with people who know that engine well before proceeding. Particularly if it is headgaskets.

[Caboobaroo]

2012 was the first year of the FB in the Impreza.

 

Since these are timing chain engines, it could be coming from a couple different places but with that kind of mileage, my guess would be either a bad drain plug gasket or filter install.

 

I have yet to see them leak oil. I have seen them consume oil but not leak it. Pictures would be best to show the underside of the engine.

[Bushwick]

Is this not covered under warranty? Let Subaru fix it. I avoid "oil change" shops like the plague. They often strip out or over tighten the oil pan bolt. Forget to put the copper crush washer on, cross thread the pan bolt, put the cheapest of cheap oil in, etc. I saw an investigative report where a company would "pretend" to change the oil, air filter, etc. I mean, that's REALLY bad.

[1 Lucky Texan]

On older models, sometimes the original crush washer was painted in place and folks would double-stack with a new washer = leakage.

[DerFahrer]

I'm having trouble with URLs for some reason, but if you Google "Subaru oil consumption," you'll find the first result is a link to a Motor Trend article where a class-action lawsuit has been filed against Subaru for excessive oil consumption in the FB-series engine.