2013 Subaru Outback: Excessive oil consumption
Common wear/failure (not a recall)
Symptoms
Owners of the 2013 Outback report: excessive oil consumption. CarComplaints.com lists 24 owner complaints, average mileage 59,350 miles.
NHTSA has 68 owner complaints for the 2013 Outback in this area. Examples:
- NHTSA complaint ODI #11708999 (filed 01/06/2026): “I purchased this car may 28th 2025 and had it over the weekend and check engine light came on and took it monday once shop opened and came back for catalytic converter and o2 sensor i letted the dealership know about it and said its not much that i can fix it …”
- NHTSA complaint ODI #11628910 (filed 12/04/2024): “According to my mechanic, the engine cradle is severly corroded and needs to be replaced. according to subaru, today december 4, 2024, subaru inspected my vehicle and determined it was badly corroded. i have pictures to show this and the report from subaru sh…”
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: best - different car. worse - new block. worse - burn oil (7 reports) engine rebuild (1 reports) replace oil rings (1 reports) replace rings (1 reports) replace short block (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 $1,590 (owner-reported average, not a quote).
Typical parts (search links, no affiliate codes)
AutoZone · O'Reilly · Advance · RockAuto
Sources
Page last updated .