2011 Forester recall game.

[greatauk]

I just joined today, after taking my 2011 Forester in to the dealer for the first time today. I do my own maintenance work, and it hasn't needed any real repairs.

After I got the oil consumption class action letter and the airbag recall, I decided to take it in. I hesitated because it sounded like a joke. I didn't have time for an oil consumption test and I don't need a free case of oil.  But a friend who has a later model just had his engine completely replaced, so I thought maybe it's worth it.

Turns out, the airbag wasn't recalled but the rear center seatbelt was. Which they replaced. They were going to start the whole oil consumption test and then told me that they can't because the left cam carrier is leaking. Ever so slightly, but leaking. No drips, just a smell once in awhile. Slight film on top of carrier. So, my car has 69k miles on it and they want me to pay $1200 for the new seals. Then they will do the oil consumption test. Which will reveal that I burn about a quart every 900- 1k miles.

At this point it's a $1200 gamble that I'm thinking isn't worth it. I can just keep putting oil in it for the next 200k miles.  My last Subaru went at least that long.

But I thought it would be great to see what other owners/experts thought.

 

[Subasaurus]

thats insane, a quart of oil every 900miles, almost competing with the jeep wrangler there.

 

my 1989 Subaru GL leaked about a quart of oil every 1,500miles, i kept putting it for tomorrow and it started costing quite a bit of money, i would buy Two 5qt jugs of oil every 5,000 miles to compensate for the leak.

 

if you're willing to throw away 30 bucks every oil change which is around every month and a half for me, you should be fine, but you're burning the oil while i was just leaking it out the oil pump, which is now fixed. wonder if its excessive emission blowby, or the rings are literally seeping oil into the combustion chamber, either way on the long run the burned oil is going through the catalytic converter, and thats usually not good.

 

1,200 dollars is a bit excessive, but then again thats the dealership for you, and it sucks that they now have a note inthere saying that it has a leak, because if you fix it on your own they will come up with the excuse that you have voided your warranty for working on your own car and deny replacing the engine for you. i would love to own a new car but all this recall scam stuff is what has stopped me form getting one, so back to the past im stuck with.

 

your situation is quite tricky though, but if YOU KNOW that the car IS ACTUALLY loosing oil and its not loosing it through the left cam carrier, 1,200 dollars doesn't sound bad for a new replaced engine, but theres always a risk, hopefully it favors you, but in dealership hands who knows.

[golucky66]

What I did on my girlfriends 13 outback. It also had a leak (it was from the valve cover)

But I KNEW the leak was not contributing to the oil loss. She was going through 2 qts if oil in a 5000 mile oil change.

 

I put it on a lift (or you can do it on the ground if necessary) and cleaned the effected area with degreaser. Make it look nice and clean. So when you bring it to the dealership for the test, they don't see any leak. Because you just cleaned it.

 

Then just make sure you clean it a second time before you go back for the end of the test.

 

And if they ask why it's so clean etc. Just say you had it fixed at a different shop and it's still consuming oil.

 

Because if the car fails the test. And you get a new engine. They reseal that surface anyways. So heck with paying for something I'll be free.

Edited January 31, 2018 by golucky66

[impostor]

I co-own my own Subaru repair shop and we see these FB engines will oil leaks all the time. I've sent several customers to the dealer for the consumption test, and all of them ended up with a new shortblock under warranty. Everything needs to come apart and gets resealed anyways, so there's no sense paying for it out of your pocket. Of course I'd rather do the work at my own shop, but there's no sense in taking the customer's money when SOA is still footing the bill for these.

 

Find the time for them to do the consumption test. Even it it passes your're not out anything. When you go in, don't reveal any information voluntarily. Just tell them it's using a bunch of oil.

[greatauk]

Thanks for the advice!

Maybe I'll clean it really well and then take it to another dealer right away for the test. It's only a 2k Mile test so maybe I can avoid all that redundant preliminary work. It's ridiculous really because the leak is only what amounts to oil sweat. Just a film showing. But the tech said Subaru won't honor the test if any leaks.

[golucky66]

Thanks for the advice!

Maybe I'll clean it really well and then take it to another dealer right away for the test. It's only a 2k Mile test so maybe I can avoid all that redundant preliminary work. It's ridiculous really because the leak is only what amounts to oil sweat. Just a film showing. But the tech said Subaru won't honor the test if any leaks.

 

Yeah, because in the TSB they have to make sure there are "no leaks"

 

So just clean it up, and bring it back, or to another dealership.