NHSTA issued service bulletin 02-166-17R outlining the issue and subsequent design changes. Don't know what that means for us at this point. We are at 93K. The warranty extension for the oil consumption issue may not cover this, as that was caused by poorly engineered piston rings, if memory serves.

What this event tells me is that no one should buy a Subaru, unless they have money to burn. To "fix" this leaking upper engine oil pan, the entire engine has to be removed, and cam and valve covers are also resealed at this opportunity. It is $3,000 dollars for a leaking oil pan sealed with silicone, rather than a gasket, because the machines assembling Subaru engines can manage a bead of silicone, but not placing a physical fiber gasket.

If I had not caught the dealer over-filling the oil for the consumption test a few years back, that would have ran $5,000 once the regular warranty expired. As it happened, I caught them, and made them remove the excess oil, that the car failed the consumption test and repairs were made under warranty.

That was just below 30K miles. The lower oil pan seal failed around 60K miles, and was $500 or so in repairs. This upper oil pan is another level, entirely.

Everyone's so focused on the oil consumption issue, and how Subaru has "resolved" it, that no attention is being paid to these critical oil leaks, which can be financially devastating. Scotty has mentioned the oil consumption, and given a nod to Subaru for fixing it, but never mentioned these oil pan leaks, which seem to be extremely common.

My Subaru technician suggested just keeping an eye on the oil level, and adding as necessary, because of the cost and age of the vehicle. We aren't seeing low oil level warnings between changes, which we are always punctual about. I may take it to an independent shop, to check for the possibility that the leak is from the valve covers, which may loosen over time (the dealer technician didn't mention this happening). He could not tell me if the repairs would entail additional machining or replacement of existing parts with new designs.

I cannot justify dropping $3,000 if this could start leaking again in another year or two.

As an aside, I had the CVT oil replaced, because of Scotty's videos, explaining the "lifetime" CVT oil shenanigans. But it was not just the CVT oil, but also the differentials that were serviced, too, pumping that part of our bill to $560. I've never had a regular transmission service cost anything like that before! Do the differentials need to be serviced at the same time, or was it bill padding? By the way, at 30K, another dealer tech did tell me CVT oil did not need to be replaced, because it was "good for the life of the transmission." I believed that for years.

The CV joints go out on these things around 100K miles, costing $1,100 at a dealer. Are there after market parts available for less, or are these Subaru exclusive?

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! {black}:cool: