Hi Scotty, I have a friend that loves you, ronnie valley, but anyway…I bought a 2017 Subaru Outback Pzev, 134,000 miles, perfectly maintained car fax records. I have not owned this car 8 months yet! Brought it in oil change, dummy light went on so 9/30/21 got oil change. Plug was stuck, guy heated it up to remove, changed oil, off I go…2 weeks later I noticed little drip spots in my garage, take it back in, he tightened plug off I go. Everything is perfect, nice ride…go to visit daughter 75 miles away, drove perfect. Went to Costco. Shop for 1/2 hour…start car..ENGINE BLOWN! Subaru dude happens to hear my engine, helps, checks oil…bone dry! He put in quart of oil, same sound! Had to tow it back to mechanic that did oil change, he is out of town, so I need to get as much info as to why this happened cuz I think his mechanic messed up and I need to find out what or how you mess up an oil change to the point NO dummy lights come on to warn of low oil, or engine over heating NOTHING! And then a blown engine! Please help me! I am a widowed old gal on disability and need help cuz I think this guy needs to help pay for a new engine! Thanks and we love you!
So I just got car, it was never anything to do with oil. The nice guy in the parking lot led me to believe it was oil related…it was a broken valve spring that fell into piston(?). I took photo but can’t see that I can post it..yup, a fluke, shitty steel maybe the mechanic said…also as a guy that races Subarus he said he has seen it before in racing engines but not an every day drive car. Well…$3350 later…new serpentine belt, plugs, oil…and now a 14,000 mile engine. Thanks again for everyone’s input!
Your account and the timeline is a little confusing, at one point you say the "dummy light" came on before the oil change, then later on you say it didn't come on? If the oil light came on before the oil change the damage was probably already done at that point.
The timeline is car bought in June 2021…yellow oil light came on in September 21…brought into my mechanic. Plug was tight, had to heat up to take out. Oil change was complete. 2 weeks later I noticed small dips in my garage, maybe 6” in diameter. Brought back to tighten plug. Left and all driving has been perfect, no dummy lights of any kind have come on since. This car is garage kept, no oil drips or leaks since plug tightened. Drove 75 miles, went shopping, 1/2 hour later engine blown! No oil anywhere in parking space, daughters driveway, my garage…no warning lights, nothing! Waiting for diagnosis from mechanic who got stuck in Florida. Should be back Wednesday. Thanks for you help!
The timeline is car bought in June 2021…yellow oil light came on in September 21…brought into my mechanic.
When you had a pre-purchase inspection done on the car was the oil level checked? How much was there at purchase time? If a few small drips caused the oil light to come on in that period of time there must have been very little oil in the crankcase when you got the car. Was it from a dealer or private sale? It sure sounds like someone messed up on that drain plug and/or did not put enough oil in the engine in the first place.
The oil light is a dire warning that is saying "TURN OFF THE ENGINE NOW!!" If you drove it a while it's quite possible that bearings were scored at that point and it just took a while for additional wear to finally make the engine implode. (Once the damage is done changing the oil doesn't do any good.)
I bought the car from a 5 star rated used car place that has been around since 1972. Family owned business. Talked to the owner yesterday. He knew the car, commented on the impeccable car fax. They do inspections, oil level was fine. I had zero problems with car. In September the yellow oil change light came on, took to get it serviced like any other car. There was not any oil leaking before that oil change. The plug was stuck, heated it up…did that do something? Then it dripped enough tfor me to notice a small circle of oil in my garage, they tightened plug and I had no drips after. Car was running perfect. I had almost 1000 miles to next oil change. Talked to tow company to see after moving car if any oil in parking lot where engine blew, nope, no oil. What I don’t understand is how can a car drive perfectly fine, no warning lights, nothing, then go to start it up and engine blown…I have talked to quite a few folks about this, my daughter was driving the few miles before shopping, she noticed nothing wrong, no warning lights, sounds, smells, the way car drove was as expected. What I have learned is that Subaru folks drive with oil in their cars, check oil constantly. I could see that in an older car, but this was a perfectly maintained car with no previous oil problems. The mechanic comes back today, I should have a diagnosis by end of week. I am a very good car owner, I love my cars and take care of them. I am very attentive to how it drives, lights all that shit! I paid $17,000 for this 8 months ago! I am sick to my stomach over this….wtf. 😭
I read your answer again, are you saying once the yellow oil light comes on that the engine is already compromised? So Subarus don’t give you a warning to fill up oil and goes right into your engine is f’d once the yellow light comes on???
"Impeccable car fax" doesn't really mean anything. Not everything is reported to Carfax, it cannot be relied upon as an indicator of vehicle condition. Only a good mechanic can determine that.
Was it an oil change light that came on or was it the oil pressure or oil level warning? It appears that the oil light in Subarus can indicate a number of conditions:
A post-mortem inspection would need to be done on the engine to determine the cause but the probability is that at some point that engine was run with little or no oil causing damage to internal parts and it took a while for wear to get to the point where the engine actually self-destructed.
One the oil pressure light comes on the engine is toast unless the engine is immediately turned off. Most cars do not have a low oil level warning, I don't know if the Outback does or not. Even if it does the sensor can go bad. It is the owner's responsibility to check the dipstick occasionally to determine oil level.
Yea, I hear ya, I had an older bmw, I checked the oil on that regularly, but it was an old bmw. I thought for sure it was a yellow light, oil can with drip, that came on. That is what I saw in September. That did not come on again before engine blew. If new cars, and this 2017 is the newest car I have ever owned, are that one must constantly check oil without a dummy light coming on, then more fool me. Wish someone would have told me. So it’s my fault for thinking a car would tell me the oil pressure is low, a “warning” so to speak…they don’t design warning lights for old gals? Do all Subaru owners with new cars check their oil every fill up? Bottom line…I have to fix this car, it’s going to cost me a ton, and it also takes the value out of the car having a new engine, right? It will have a lot less miles on the new engine so maybe that is a positive out of all this mess?
My daily driver is an old Saab with over 360,000 miles. It uses a little oil, 1/2 quart between 5000 mile changes, but I believe that's acceptable on a 25-year-old car with that kind of mileage. I still check the oil periodically just in case it decides to start using more. (It has no oil pressure gauge or oil level light, just the idiot light saying "you're hosed" if it lights up.)
Some cars have an oil pressure gauge so you can see if a problem is developing (My '99 Jeep Cherokee has that), but most just have the light that says you're already toast if it lights up. (You can thank Hudson for that by the way. They're the ones that first started installing idiot lights instead of gauges way back when.)
Subaru did have an oil burning problem around 2014 due to a supplier sending them bad piston rings, but that was over and done with by 2017. I don't think those engines are any more prone to oil burning than others. A friend of mine has a 2017 Outback and it uses no noticeable amount of oil between changes which I think are being done at 6K miles on that car (factory maintenance schedule). I've checked it myself and the dipstick still shows full just before taking it in for an oil change Doesn't help you, unfortunately, but I think your problem is very atypical in those cars, typically it's the CVT that acts up. Is there any kind of warranty in effect on that car?
Thank you for your insight. Love those Saabs! I’m just shocked that a well maintained car, a 2017 car with every single scheduled maintenance required being done at a Subaru dealer for the first owner, me having it 3 months before a yellow oil light came on, getting oil change done immediately, only issue was that tight plug, and then it drove perfectly. Has been driving just fine, I drive maybe 20 miles a day, 4 days a week, just shocked I didn’t have any forewarning. Shocked as hell…
Sounds like the plug wasn't put in properly, maybe he crosstreaded it or more than likely over torqued it. Have a mechanic put it up on a lift to see what's going on, the problem probably is around the oil plug on the bottom of the engine. Thats just my guess here
Thanks you for this…I’m thinking same thing. I don’t want to be accusatory (never piss off your mechanic kinda thing) but I am one of those gals that isn’t stupid on my car(worked in trades, welder, ironworker so I know more than most gals)and I watch what they did. They let me back in shop when working in my car, small town. Kid working on my car was a new hire and not all that experienced. My question is if it was the plug, why didn’t the oil show up in my garage where it is parked? I called to ask guy to see if plug is still there yesterday, he said it was, but it’s the kid that did the oil change…I have no transportation now to check myself. Where did the oil go? Then next question is, why didn’t some dummy light come on to warn of something, anything? It didn’t over heat, nothing out of exhaust…twilight zone, sucker punched kinda situation.
Not all cars have low oil indicators, and running a car on no oil will typically seize up the motor/ cause rod knock before anything else. I'm wondering if there was a hairline crack in the oil pan at the drainplug, and when the engine was up to temp for a long time if it leaked out on the ride. It had to have gone somewhere, and if it didn't drip, didn't burn out the exhaust, im not sure what else it could be
Thanks, that is the question…if there is no oil anywhere in my garage, driveway, never saw any oil being burned out of exhaust…car driving perfect, no warning lights(that is another question, why didn’t sensors warn me of low oil pressure)this is a crazy mystery and I am not liking Subarus at all. I will never get another one. I had a 2010 that blew head gaskets, left me stranded….I thought a newer car would be different. I am a research nut too and had time to research this car and it came up as a safe, reliable purchase. Moving forward I have to repair this vehicle if I want a car to drive otherwise I’m out $17,000!
They are good cars, the headgasket thing has been an issue for a long time with their boxer engines, but the newer headgaskets are made from a different material, and coolant tech has improved too. They dont have issues with them much anymore. And unfortunately a lot of modern cars don't have low oil indicators anymore. Its cheaper to not include them and to be honest, they dont care if your engine blows up after the warranty, theyd rather sell you a new car. More than likely the issue here is just on the mechanic.
Yeah, the engines are solid on late-model Subarus, the head gasket problem was fixed at least a decade ago. They're not like Hyundais which have come with bad bearings and metal shavings inside the engines from the factory. Somebody did something to that engine that had it running with little or no oil.
I found out newer cars aren’t even putting in oil dipsticks! The parallel universe aspect to this is where did the oil go? How can a 2017 outback run seamlessly one minute and 30 minutes later, the engine is blown? My daughter verified no warning lights, no awkward feeling to driving the car, no nothing! How could I have driven 1 hour and 15 minutes on a major highway going 70 to 80 mph with absolutely no warning sign, no smell, no rod knocking, no nothing! In fact, as I am retired and don’t drive much, I thought as I was driving down to see daughter, what a great ride this is. Everything was sunlight and happy birds until my daughter started car, with the push starter on dash. We were buckled up ready to go to next store when engine said F you! (Me) I wish I could point a finger to the new mechanic, but I have zero proof of anything as car ran fine since September. This is mind numbing…I am curious to see what the owner of the shop says. Today or tomorrow, I’ll post his response. Does anyone know how to verify the engine I am putting in is legit? I don’t want to get screwed with phase 2 of this nightmare. Someone I know mentioned getting a “crate engine”…do you verify miles on used engine with vin #?
Drain plug can be finnicky
A new crush washer should have been installed as they tend to deform (especially on subies)
Seeing as there was no signs of oil on the garage after the change, im wondering if the "new kid" forgot to put oil in it?
Whoa…yea, the owner, who I have gotten to know because I was in a really bad accident that totaled my ‘01 BMW X5. That car saved my life. Got a 2010 outback as a ‘for now’ car until I got my insurance settlement. That engine blew head gaskets, left me stranded after a Dr. Appt, guy I got that from, I only drove it 400 miles, replaced engine, then transmission was failing, so I was told, so I got this 2017 outback and now less than a year later have another blown engine. Car hell for 2 years! Now the insurance $ went to this outback and have no car. Because I wasn’t in an accident, my insurance is covering nothing. Hmmmm, how do I approach the owner to find accountability? He bought the 1st Subaru from me that he put the new engine in. So this will be the 2nd outback I have owned that he will be putting another engine in!
How do you get the owner to account? no idea
The point is logic dictates that even if the wrong oil was used there should be oil on the floor, in the crank case etc
Imo theres no way 5 qts would disappear in 75 miles, even the exxon valdez didnt lose that much (kidding)
And if no plug was put in then the evidence would be immediate to the mechanic
If a plug was put in, again, it would not leak that much in 75 miles
The point is if there were trace amounts of oil left in the engine it certainly could go 75 miles before it dies
Of course by that time even if you did catch it it would have been too late
my .02c
Thank you for your 2 cents! All the responses here are much appreciated. I am a logic, dot connecting kinda gal and the dots do not connect. Hopefully the owner of the shop who has gotten $1000’s of dollars from me over the last 2 years since my bmw was totaled will be honest and not make too much profit off this repair. Crazy times tho, inflation and such.
The owner of the shop finally called. He races Subarus, has a racing buddy that this same thing happened to, engine blew with no warning signs. His thought maybe the ringland? Maybe the engine was consuming the oil? Pressurized crank case…idk. I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but he also thought it might be a manufacturing default of some kind. I am getting a new engine, 2017 with 14,000 miles on it and it should be done by Friday. Wow…Somewhere around $3000 total. Bottom line, I will have 2017 Outback with 14,000 miles on the engine for under $21,000 dollars. Geezus, what a car experience. Yes, checking oil, having spare oil in car will be a my new normal, and I hate that phrase! Thanks everyone for your time and contributing your expertise! Love this site! 🥰
CVT is your next concern
Indeed. That's really the weak point of those cars and could well cost more than an engine replacement (I've heard $8,000 to $9,000 at the stealerships for CVT replacement). Changing the fluid regularly should increase the CVT's life expectancy. I don't know what happened to that engine but it is definitely not something they are prone to, someone messed up big time.
I have a new serpentine belt, but I hear ya! I am not a fan of Subarus at this point in time and so many Subaru owners love their cars. I talked to Subaru about the fluke of a broken valve spring…nothing back as far as information. Everyone I have talked to say itks a complete fluke, bad steel, should never have happened. Incredibly rare event but ultimately, I have a low mile engine, documented, and it drives amazing. Now I love it, but my experience with Subaru is in the wtf category. Nobody to blame, fluke.
Ouch!! Well as many owners didn't know this, that you do need to check the oil level at every other fill-up of gas....no matter what brand/model of car you have.
Yes, my new mantra in life…check oil, check oil, check oil….more fool me but I thought with all this technology, all the safety features to prevent x, y and z, that a dummy light for old gals to be aware of low oil, like my bmw did, would be working on a 2017 outback. I grew up doing oil changes on my vw, my rambler, my corvair…again, I hadn’t even owned this car 8 months…and there seems to be no accountability as to why, if it’s my fault for following the timeline for next oil change, yet that timeline was faulty or my fault for expecting a yellow warning light to go off like it did in September (when that lite up I had oil changed within a 2 days) I must be losing my mind. Why didn’t I know to constantly check oil on a 2017 outback? Not only is the engine blown, so is my mind! 🤯
I read his comment again, and it is possible that that kid mechanic had put in wrong type of oil in there...that could have led to engine failure.
Oh, really? This is good info. I checked receipt, I save all info on work to my cars, it says “lube, oil & filter SYN” then in part description “1 oil filter, 5 qts oil, 1 drain plug”. I’m hoping the owner of the shop is honest with me when he gets back today. Again, I was in shop bay when this new hire, Jake, was changing oil. I got the owner when he couldn’t get plug out. Owner heated up plug to get it out, then Jake finished the job. I wish he would have stated what kind of oil he put in!
If they had trouble removing the plug it makes me think that one of two things happened. Either the oil hadn't been changed in a long time or the last person to change it didn't reinstall the plug properly and it leaked most the oil out before the oil light came on. Once the oil light comes on you need to stop the car as soon as possible, check the oil level with the dipstick and top it up. Then get it checked by a trusted mechanic. As Scotty says- oil is cheap, engines are expensive.
Boy, I sure do know that. Yes, it was a used car, but they did that 156 point inspection or whatever and they have an amazing mechanic that went over the car before selling. Everything was perfect for a 2017, clean as hell. My confusion lies in the yellow light went off, oil changed, car drove perfect. Why didn’t it go off the second time? How does an engine run at 70 mph and then seize with in an hour with no warnings of any kind. I appreciate your input, thanks!