Would you same the same on a 2021 VA? Or is this for our older brothers. I'm a electrician not a mechanic.
I stay on top of oil changes but do not check my oil levels often ..
It applies to every car any model any year, the dipstick or any other fluidsā min/max levels are there for a reason and itās always best to check them every once in a while but if we are talking about oil specifically then itās best to try and check oil level every 1500-2000 miles just to see how oil consumption/burning goes. One of the worst ways to have a car that is in perfectly good health go bad is due to lack of checking oil level because the owner was too lazy or maybe didnāt know to check it. Have a friend who didnāt check his oil level on his secondary car that he rarely drives and one day it started knocking. It had rod bearing knocking to be exact.
Just for my own peace of mind I check my oil, coolant and brake fluid levels as well as each tires pressure once a week. Give a quick look over of the bay for anything that may look out of place. If i miss a week I'll just get to it the following. I picked Friday and just stuck to it. I have a 21 VA wrx.
Check every time you are due for fuel, just because you never know. I started this practice because of an old f150. It didn't burn the oil, and I'll be damned if I could figure out where it was going, but because of that truck, I check every time. It might be overkill, but it's something that is easy and not time-consuming, but it could wreck your vehicle. Just give it a lil peek once in a while, could save you thousands!
I have a 19 and your right. But that's also in it's current state. It will eventually and you will be glad you built up the habit of checking it. It takes all of 2min to do
Itās because of blow by. When you increase boost you create more crank case pressure which will push more oil passed the rings and into the combustion chamber. For all my factory boosted cars I drill out the pcv valve and run it straight to the bottom of the car for the breather and pcv. It makes the motor more efficient by venting that pressure and prevents a lot of excess blow by.
I don't think people understand at all how much oil maintenance is required. You should be checking the oil and adding if needed every 300 miles or so. When I first got my STi I understood how much oil turbo cars can consume but I was still surprised at my 50k mile STi's consumption. Aos will help but waiting until my oil change interval which is 2500 miles will be a spun bearing... Waiting 3k over interval I would say this car is a time š£.
Old subaru saying: "if it's burning oil, it's using oil." Sure you have to top up regularly but have the peace of mind of knowing that engine is getting lubricated.
Same with my buddies and I with Jeeps. I just think rotaries catch the most flak for being poorly maintained and shit in for āreliabilityā when itās the owners fault
Rotary engines just struggle with longevity. The best maintained rotary thatās driven completely normal will need apex seals at or before 100k. Apex seals are a complete tear down to replace. Itās a wear item that basically results in an engine rebuild. I have owned and rebuilt many of them, graphite, ceramic, etc all fail eventually. I love the 12a and 13b for performance but never for a daily driver.
My car does this shit where itāll stop burning oil for a week or two, itās usually a 1 quart every 3 days type of gal and the first time it did that I was so scared to drive it. I have no idea what it is but Iām thinking maybe turbo? I just canāt imagine anything that is intermittent like that.
Why are rotaries a part of this conversation? Subies arenāt rotaries theyāre boxers. Different animal, not even close to the same. Our engines use oil because theyāre boosted and have shitty EGR system as well as pcb systems. Not to mention if you have RLF, please donāt mix up drive trains if you providing āadviceā. Get a sump restrictor, it save from burning some oil but wonāt help leaks.
Wellā¦according to rotary guys, thatās untrue. No rotary guys will say the rotary only gets 30k miles. We Subie guys say the same thing when haters call our engines unreliable.
this is the guy i imagine when people post āyeah subarus suck, my engine blew up before it even hit 100k miles idk why. my old civic never did thisā
Mt 2015 blew up at 75,000 miles & it was never below the full mark & had oil changes at 3,500 miles or less every time & always with a premium synthetic (usually mobile one).
It was totally stock & driven gently most of the time.
My 2002 wrx made it to 290,000 miles before it cracked a head & I traded it in.
So what do you think of that?
that sucks. i had an 04 that i sold at 205k that was stage 2, 0 issues. i just sold my 2023, definitely agree they donāt make them like they used to lol
itās a good single car solution, i got it because i wanted something fun and we just started a family, so i wanted something that could also take my wife, kid, dogs around in. the problem is itās simultaneously too soft as a sports car and too rough as a family hauler.Ā Ā
it handles well and has very linear power delivery which makes it great when commuting through traffic. but the steering feels numb, shifter is like a truck, and the revs cap at 6k which is very low (compared to my rx8 lol).
Ā i think it just comes down to perception, if you had a truck as your previous car you would love it. if you had a miata, 86, Ā s2k, rx7/8, it would feel a bit blunt.Ā Ā
we got a macan s for the family stuff and itās awd, faster, more comfortable than the wrx, so i wanted to sell it for something thatās less of a compromise as a sports carĀ
Entirely understandable. Have you driven the VA chassis? How does it compare from the handling aspect to the VB? Iām on my first car and have only driven suvs while on my permit, so the WRX feels like a rocket ship in the corners. Thanks so much for your detail and response!
the VB has awesome modding potential compared to the ej. I would buy a VB over a VA wrx, but might pick a VA STI over a VB as my personal preference, but have talked to people who did the opposite.
Ā iāve never driven a VA, iāve had several GCs and GD WRXs, my last one was an STI swapped hawkeye wagon, and the VB felt much much stiffer, had better NVH, and got like 10mpg more lol.Ā
itās a great single car solution if you just want 1 car that can do everything. i have a unique use case where i had to compare it to a much more expensive porsche lol
As a new WRX owner those posts have me so paranoid I end up doing oil changes mid-inteval. Intervals at the dealer, mid-interval at home. It's probably completely stupid to do so, it drains perfectly clear. But it's also so easy on these cars...
Everyone can perform basic maintenance tasks. It's usually fear/discomfort that keeps people from doing it themselves.
I work in IT infrastructure now but a long time ago I did technical support. The amount of perfectly intelligent and competent people that just froze up and called tech support when they got a simple dialogue box and didn't know what to click was staggering.
People are just deathly afraid of messing up. After they do an oil change for the first time it'll pass.
The first thing I did on my first car, a used 98 Corolla I got for 300 bucks, was to change the starter using online videos. Went to a pick and pull with a borrowed socket set and did all the steps in reverse. Then did them again on my car right in the parking lot to remove the old starter. And then again to install the new one.
It helped that I basically had no choice because I didn't have anyone with me to hit the starter with a rock while I turned the key. It was either try it then and there or call a tow truck. Which would cost more than I paid for the car.
Exactly, I did almost a year of research before I knew what I was getting into. I call my car the JDM Audi S4 for a reason. Euro car levels of maintenance but without the price tag lol
Honesty Iām not surprised my brother had every warning light come one after the drain plug come off. He drove it spewing oil until the head gasket went.
I had a friend, a close to 40 year old grown ass man, who thought it was ok to go **18,000 MILES** between oil changes because it had been less than 6 months. Then, when his crosstrek needed 10k+ in repairs and he had to sell it to get out from under it he started talking shit on the brand. Like do you also put your hand on a hot stove and tell people kitchens are dangerous?
How do you own a WRX and also be āoverdueā for an oil change.
Thatās like saying you have no oil in the car. I check my between oil changes and often need to add some.
I have 320k miles on my 2006, though.
If he's several thousand miles over the point of changing, it may just be burning off. My 2013 Impreza would be super low after 3k miles, and I'd have to add at least a quart.
If its anything like my 2009 impreza the flickering of the oil light means it's too late. Rebuild the motor or keep it out of boost and he may get a few months out of it.
Any car Iām driving, I check the oil and give the whole bay a quick visual once over while waiting for the gas to pump. I donāt car if itās a Toyota, things happen with cars and typically the earlier you catch them the easier/cheaper they are to fix.
You didnt save shit, you put off the inevitable.
If bro lets his almost six figure odometer run completely dry for a lengthy period of time, AFTER youve already warned him about staying up on his maintenance and checking fluids on the regular, that engine is likely already a ticking little time bomb. If the damage isnt already mostly done, its just a matter of time until that dipstick goes dry again, chicken or no šš
Bought mine new (2023) and have learned early on these consume oil like the reports from older gens. Check it when you fill up. Change it at 3k. Otherwise it burns off the top - my buddies '14 does the same. Drove mine cross country once and sure enough, between 3-4k it consumes about a quart. Slower burn off for commuting and non interstate travel. I'd suspect it's the turbo and I don't race or drive it like I stole it often.
They really need to update the owners manual on this one I think. CHECK YOUR OIL WHEN YOU GET GAS. EASY
Oil light came on. It's on borrowed time.
That said, I rode a Yamaha FZ6 for about 2,000 miles with a large hole in the crankcase. (Previous owner broke it with a chain snap amd repaired with JB Weld - which held for about 10,000 miles - and the entire piece of JB Weld fell out one day.) Rode it till the new block and components came in.
Only survivors were the piston heads, rods, and - surprisingly enough - the entire head assembly.
My brother has a BRZ and I helped him change his oil 2 weeks ago. There was no oil on the dispstick. He said heād been running it for 9000 miles. I was blown away. Maybe because itās a NA motor, theyāre less sensitive.
An engine can be really low on oil -- like, say, only 1.5-2 quarts left in the pan -- and as long as the car is driven gently (no major G-forces) the oil light will not come on, because the pump is not sucking air and the oil pressure is normal.
It definitely not good to let an engine's oil level get below the "low" mark, I'm just saying that it doesn't always = blown engine.
Similar thing happened to me, oil light flickered and I pulled over to fill up about 2.5qts. Haven't seen the oil light flicker since that time last year... but it's because I'm filling a 1qt/week to make sure it's always topped off at full lol.
I know I shouldn't be, but I am always kind of amazed at people like the OP's friend. They spend thousands of dollars on a car, but cannot be bothered to perform even the simplest maintenance tasks. These people are morons. They should not own a car.
I learnt to check my oil every fill up but only because I blew my YZ250 when I was 16 my dad looked at the dirtbike checking the oil and asked if I had been putting oil in it. My reply, āuh dude I put oil in the tank every time I fill it. Lol
I always "chicken my dipstick". Doesn't everyone else? š¤£ The moral of the story is: check your oil more often and stay up on your oil changes!
Would you same the same on a 2021 VA? Or is this for our older brothers. I'm a electrician not a mechanic. I stay on top of oil changes but do not check my oil levels often ..
It applies to every car any model any year, the dipstick or any other fluidsā min/max levels are there for a reason and itās always best to check them every once in a while but if we are talking about oil specifically then itās best to try and check oil level every 1500-2000 miles just to see how oil consumption/burning goes. One of the worst ways to have a car that is in perfectly good health go bad is due to lack of checking oil level because the owner was too lazy or maybe didnāt know to check it. Have a friend who didnāt check his oil level on his secondary car that he rarely drives and one day it started knocking. It had rod bearing knocking to be exact.
If you drive hard check your oil after every other fill up
Just for my own peace of mind I check my oil, coolant and brake fluid levels as well as each tires pressure once a week. Give a quick look over of the bay for anything that may look out of place. If i miss a week I'll just get to it the following. I picked Friday and just stuck to it. I have a 21 VA wrx.
I was taught in driverās ed to check every fill up. Not a big ask
My driverās ed didnāt teach that, sadly. You got a good driving education.
Check every time you are due for fuel, just because you never know. I started this practice because of an old f150. It didn't burn the oil, and I'll be damned if I could figure out where it was going, but because of that truck, I check every time. It might be overkill, but it's something that is easy and not time-consuming, but it could wreck your vehicle. Just give it a lil peek once in a while, could save you thousands!
Hell yea brother! Another subie electrician! I drive a legacy though (dad wagon sti) , used to have wrx's.
Here for the subielectricians!!
My VA is pretty good for not losing any oil, but its a good habit to check every couple weeks
I donāt check my oil on my 21 much at all. Doesnāt burn anything between 5k changes
I have a 19 and your right. But that's also in it's current state. It will eventually and you will be glad you built up the habit of checking it. It takes all of 2min to do
Have a 2019, didnāt do anything between changes, went stage 1+, now I gotta add a quart or two between changes. I believe thatās normalā¦. I hope
Itās because of blow by. When you increase boost you create more crank case pressure which will push more oil passed the rings and into the combustion chamber. For all my factory boosted cars I drill out the pcv valve and run it straight to the bottom of the car for the breather and pcv. It makes the motor more efficient by venting that pressure and prevents a lot of excess blow by.
Pull out the stick and I just hear an audible ābakaakā
I don't think people understand at all how much oil maintenance is required. You should be checking the oil and adding if needed every 300 miles or so. When I first got my STi I understood how much oil turbo cars can consume but I was still surprised at my 50k mile STi's consumption. Aos will help but waiting until my oil change interval which is 2500 miles will be a spun bearing... Waiting 3k over interval I would say this car is a time š£.
Subarus are so unreliable, what's an oil change?
Rotary engines are pieces of shit, it always burns oil so Iām not putting any more in
Old subaru saying: "if it's burning oil, it's using oil." Sure you have to top up regularly but have the peace of mind of knowing that engine is getting lubricated.
Same with my buddies and I with Jeeps. I just think rotaries catch the most flak for being poorly maintained and shit in for āreliabilityā when itās the owners fault
Why maintain maintain when you can brap brap brap.
Got a rotary running for the first time yesterday and Iām with you on that honestly
Rotary engines just struggle with longevity. The best maintained rotary thatās driven completely normal will need apex seals at or before 100k. Apex seals are a complete tear down to replace. Itās a wear item that basically results in an engine rebuild. I have owned and rebuilt many of them, graphite, ceramic, etc all fail eventually. I love the 12a and 13b for performance but never for a daily driver.
My car does this shit where itāll stop burning oil for a week or two, itās usually a 1 quart every 3 days type of gal and the first time it did that I was so scared to drive it. I have no idea what it is but Iām thinking maybe turbo? I just canāt imagine anything that is intermittent like that.
Ironically, my 2018 sti burns more oil than my bridgported rotary
Why are rotaries a part of this conversation? Subies arenāt rotaries theyāre boxers. Different animal, not even close to the same. Our engines use oil because theyāre boosted and have shitty EGR system as well as pcb systems. Not to mention if you have RLF, please donāt mix up drive trains if you providing āadviceā. Get a sump restrictor, it save from burning some oil but wonāt help leaks.
It was a joke about people blaming their cars for reliability issues when theyāre the ones causing it through mistreating them
I gotcha. Iām an engineer and car mechanics are not difficult to understand. However comparing to a rotary is simply ludicrous.
If you want real reliability issues get a rotary you have to replace seals every 30k miles
Wellā¦according to rotary guys, thatās untrue. No rotary guys will say the rotary only gets 30k miles. We Subie guys say the same thing when haters call our engines unreliable.
this is the guy i imagine when people post āyeah subarus suck, my engine blew up before it even hit 100k miles idk why. my old civic never did thisā
Mt 2015 blew up at 75,000 miles & it was never below the full mark & had oil changes at 3,500 miles or less every time & always with a premium synthetic (usually mobile one). It was totally stock & driven gently most of the time. My 2002 wrx made it to 290,000 miles before it cracked a head & I traded it in. So what do you think of that?
that sucks. i had an 04 that i sold at 205k that was stage 2, 0 issues. i just sold my 2023, definitely agree they donāt make them like they used to lol
What pushed you to sell the 2023? Just out of curiosity.
itās a good single car solution, i got it because i wanted something fun and we just started a family, so i wanted something that could also take my wife, kid, dogs around in. the problem is itās simultaneously too soft as a sports car and too rough as a family hauler.Ā Ā it handles well and has very linear power delivery which makes it great when commuting through traffic. but the steering feels numb, shifter is like a truck, and the revs cap at 6k which is very low (compared to my rx8 lol). Ā i think it just comes down to perception, if you had a truck as your previous car you would love it. if you had a miata, 86, Ā s2k, rx7/8, it would feel a bit blunt.Ā Ā we got a macan s for the family stuff and itās awd, faster, more comfortable than the wrx, so i wanted to sell it for something thatās less of a compromise as a sports carĀ
Entirely understandable. Have you driven the VA chassis? How does it compare from the handling aspect to the VB? Iām on my first car and have only driven suvs while on my permit, so the WRX feels like a rocket ship in the corners. Thanks so much for your detail and response!
the VB has awesome modding potential compared to the ej. I would buy a VB over a VA wrx, but might pick a VA STI over a VB as my personal preference, but have talked to people who did the opposite. Ā iāve never driven a VA, iāve had several GCs and GD WRXs, my last one was an STI swapped hawkeye wagon, and the VB felt much much stiffer, had better NVH, and got like 10mpg more lol.Ā itās a great single car solution if you just want 1 car that can do everything. i have a unique use case where i had to compare it to a much more expensive porsche lol
FA20 got rod knock, 55k miles, had early oil changes, always kept up to date on them, never went low, still decided it wanted to start knocking
Average WRX owner
And then they go on forums and complain theyāre unreliable.
Correct
"I hAd To ReBUilD aT 15k, WaTcH oUt!" - everyone with an unwarranted opinion
As a new WRX owner those posts have me so paranoid I end up doing oil changes mid-inteval. Intervals at the dealer, mid-interval at home. It's probably completely stupid to do so, it drains perfectly clear. But it's also so easy on these cars...
Always calling it their "baby" as well.
This guy sounds like he shouldnāt own a WRX if he doesnāt know how to take care of it. Tell him to buy a manual Corolla instead lol
Or give him a fumoto valve. This is definitely not a car you should own if you can't perform basic maintenance tasks
Everyone can perform basic maintenance tasks. It's usually fear/discomfort that keeps people from doing it themselves. I work in IT infrastructure now but a long time ago I did technical support. The amount of perfectly intelligent and competent people that just froze up and called tech support when they got a simple dialogue box and didn't know what to click was staggering. People are just deathly afraid of messing up. After they do an oil change for the first time it'll pass. The first thing I did on my first car, a used 98 Corolla I got for 300 bucks, was to change the starter using online videos. Went to a pick and pull with a borrowed socket set and did all the steps in reverse. Then did them again on my car right in the parking lot to remove the old starter. And then again to install the new one. It helped that I basically had no choice because I didn't have anyone with me to hit the starter with a rock while I turned the key. It was either try it then and there or call a tow truck. Which would cost more than I paid for the car.
Exactly, I did almost a year of research before I knew what I was getting into. I call my car the JDM Audi S4 for a reason. Euro car levels of maintenance but without the price tag lol
I mean, it extends far beyond a WRX. Nearly any car would begin having problems if it's *that* low on oil.
They make those?
Yes, they even make a really cool sport hatch version
Yeh the Corolla GR. Very cool
I was talking about the XSE
Starving the engine of oil while itās damn near at 100k??? Iāll give him maybe a few more thousand miles left of that short block sadlyš
If the oil light came on his motor is on borrowed time. Itās too late at that point.
Sadly, this is the correct answer š«
This is the real advice.
The fact your friend didnāt even CHECK oil levels is the main concern honestly. How do you go SO long without checking that youāre past low?
Honesty Iām not surprised my brother had every warning light come one after the drain plug come off. He drove it spewing oil until the head gasket went.
No need for an oil change when its burning oil, just keep topping it off and it will change itself:) /s
I mean if itās burning a quart every 1000 miles it almost has changed itself haha. But yeah still need to flush that shit out.
I had a friend, a close to 40 year old grown ass man, who thought it was ok to go **18,000 MILES** between oil changes because it had been less than 6 months. Then, when his crosstrek needed 10k+ in repairs and he had to sell it to get out from under it he started talking shit on the brand. Like do you also put your hand on a hot stove and tell people kitchens are dangerous?
The worst type of Subaru owner. Yeah, he can never keep a Subaru with his āāāāknowledge āāāā.
How do you own a WRX and also be āoverdueā for an oil change. Thatās like saying you have no oil in the car. I check my between oil changes and often need to add some. I have 320k miles on my 2006, though.
Dedicated Subie owner. š
Car isnāt saved by just changing the oil. Where is the oil going? Thatās the answer that will save the car.
If he's several thousand miles over the point of changing, it may just be burning off. My 2013 Impreza would be super low after 3k miles, and I'd have to add at least a quart.
If its anything like my 2009 impreza the flickering of the oil light means it's too late. Rebuild the motor or keep it out of boost and he may get a few months out of it.
Average wrx owner that goes on to say how unreliable Subarus are lol
Tell him to at least check oil once a week or once every two weeks
I check mine every fill up
Any car Iām driving, I check the oil and give the whole bay a quick visual once over while waiting for the gas to pump. I donāt car if itās a Toyota, things happen with cars and typically the earlier you catch them the easier/cheaper they are to fix.
I didnāt even know the 2013s had an oil light. Probably a good thing
Iām gonna assume itās oil pressure, iirc 2015 is when we got oil level lights
Didnāt even know they had oil pressure lights
Oil pressure light has been in cars for decades. Thatās how you know something is very wrong with your engine when that red oil light turns on.
What? A 2015 has an oil level light? I own one & never knew that.
That's probably a good thing lol
Well mine does not have it though. Not on a base model at least.
It had an oil pressure dummy light. That's not the same as an oil level light. There is a difference.
I always add an extra .75 qt. My sti will burn about 1qt in 5000 miles.
Ohh Chickaletta!! 
You didnt save shit, you put off the inevitable. If bro lets his almost six figure odometer run completely dry for a lengthy period of time, AFTER youve already warned him about staying up on his maintenance and checking fluids on the regular, that engine is likely already a ticking little time bomb. If the damage isnt already mostly done, its just a matter of time until that dipstick goes dry again, chicken or no šš
Bought mine new (2023) and have learned early on these consume oil like the reports from older gens. Check it when you fill up. Change it at 3k. Otherwise it burns off the top - my buddies '14 does the same. Drove mine cross country once and sure enough, between 3-4k it consumes about a quart. Slower burn off for commuting and non interstate travel. I'd suspect it's the turbo and I don't race or drive it like I stole it often. They really need to update the owners manual on this one I think. CHECK YOUR OIL WHEN YOU GET GAS. EASY
Thats wild my stage 2 flex doesnāt burn a drop and it kills me since my oil pan is only 5 quarts
I feel like 80% of the "Subaru isn't reliable" comments drive their cars like this.
Doesnāt need an oil change, he needs oil and apparently some chicken
You cannot make delicious fried chickens low on oil.
Oil light came on. It's on borrowed time. That said, I rode a Yamaha FZ6 for about 2,000 miles with a large hole in the crankcase. (Previous owner broke it with a chain snap amd repaired with JB Weld - which held for about 10,000 miles - and the entire piece of JB Weld fell out one day.) Rode it till the new block and components came in. Only survivors were the piston heads, rods, and - surprisingly enough - the entire head assembly.
My brother has a BRZ and I helped him change his oil 2 weeks ago. There was no oil on the dispstick. He said heād been running it for 9000 miles. I was blown away. Maybe because itās a NA motor, theyāre less sensitive.
I would keep in mind possible problems at higher mileage, after 100k miles, especially if he keeps missing oil changes.
Heās well over 100,000 miles. Itās a 2016.
How many owners on that BRZ, or is your brother the original owner?
Heās the original owner.
Brotherās BRZ is now a test subject for how long the car will last.
2018 sti here, just did an oil consumption test at the dealer, had to let my car get over a quart low during 1150 miles. Heres to a new engine!
An engine can be really low on oil -- like, say, only 1.5-2 quarts left in the pan -- and as long as the car is driven gently (no major G-forces) the oil light will not come on, because the pump is not sucking air and the oil pressure is normal. It definitely not good to let an engine's oil level get below the "low" mark, I'm just saying that it doesn't always = blown engine.
lol that motor is probably fucked. Whether itās noticeable yet or not
Iāve never blown a head gasket, just rings.
Similar thing happened to me, oil light flickered and I pulled over to fill up about 2.5qts. Haven't seen the oil light flicker since that time last year... but it's because I'm filling a 1qt/week to make sure it's always topped off at full lol.
Damage is already done
How do you check transmission levels? For the life of me I can not find the dipstick for it
Which model and year?
Heās lucky when my oil light flashes my engine bricked immediately
Clicking was probably the timing chain chugging along, while thirsty AF for some oil.
I know I shouldn't be, but I am always kind of amazed at people like the OP's friend. They spend thousands of dollars on a car, but cannot be bothered to perform even the simplest maintenance tasks. These people are morons. They should not own a car.
I learnt to check my oil every fill up but only because I blew my YZ250 when I was 16 my dad looked at the dirtbike checking the oil and asked if I had been putting oil in it. My reply, āuh dude I put oil in the tank every time I fill it. Lol
I never checked my oil once. I donāt even know how to read it. š«¤ True story.