2011 Subaru Forester: Excessive oil consumption
Common wear/failure (not a recall)
Symptoms
Owners of the 2011 Forester report: excessive oil consumption. CarComplaints.com lists 28 owner complaints, average mileage 48,800 miles.
NHTSA has 67 owner complaints for the 2011 Forester in this area. Examples:
- NHTSA complaint ODI #11634773 (filed 01/08/2025): “Concerned over oil being burnt up at a significant rate, have to add a quart per tank of gas. theres distinct burnt oil smell after driving. concerned my car needs to be included in the oil consumption recall.…”
- NHTSA complaint ODI #11624510 (filed 11/11/2024): “I have a single-owner 2011 automatic-transmission subaru forester [145k miles]. in a parking lot, i started the car as usual and shifted into reverse. i immediately noticed another car was approaching behind me and reflexively pushed on the brake to give the o…”
Likely causes
Sources do not establish a single root cause; diagnosis is needed. Owner-reported fixes are listed below.
Fix, in plain English
Most common owner-reported solutions on CarComplaints.com: replace engine (8 reports) short block replaced per subaru of america (4 reports) add oil (1 reports) sell the car (1 reports). Check for open recalls and extended warranty coverage with a dealer before paying out of pocket.
DIY difficulty: Pro
Internal engine work (lifters, oil consumption, fuel dilution diagnosis) requires engine teardown or dealer software/tests. (Our assessment.)
Cost
CarComplaints.com owners report a typical repair cost of about $3,100 (owner-reported average, not a quote).
Typical parts (search links, no affiliate codes)
AutoZone · O'Reilly · Advance · RockAuto
Sources
Page last updated .