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Subaru of America has agreed to settle a class action accusing it of knowingly selling cars that have a defect causing them to burn excessive amounts of oil. Subaru has agreed to extend warranties on affected vehicles, and reimburse vehicle owners for expenses related to the defect.
On Jan. 4, the lead plaintiffs asked the court to approve this preliminary settlement. “This proposed settlement will provide most class members with as much or more compensation as they may have obtained had this case proceeded through certification and trial,” the lead plaintiffs assert.
The original class action lawsuit filed by lead plaintiffs Keith Yeager and Michael Schuler alleged that Subaru knew that certain models of vehicles had defective piston rings that would cause extra oil to burn off the engine. According to the class action lawsuit, Subaru did not tell consumers about the oil burning defect, and that deception caused car owners to spend “considerable money on extra engine oil, but also on engine repairs trying to fix the underlying problem.”
In addition, the class action lawsuit claims that Subaru “improperly denied many warranty repairs, and then, more recently, secretly changed the scope of its warranty coverage without telling affected drivers.” Since the original filing, seven other named plaintiffs have been added to the Subaru class action lawsuit, alleging the same defect in different model vehicles and states.
To settle the oil burning defect class action lawsuit, Subaru has agreed to increase the warranty on vehicles with the defect from the original 5-year / 60,000-mile warranty, to an 8-year / 100,000-mile warranty.
In addition, Subaru has agreed to compensate vehicle owners for the following expenses: “(i) vehicle repairs (including parts and labor); (ii) rental cars; (iii) towing; and (iv) the purchase of up to six quarts of oil per vehicle.” Subaru has agreed to pay 100% of those costs, if claimants can provide reasonable proof of their expenses.
Finally, Subaru has agreed to provide a free “oil consumption test” as well as “TSB repairs” for any owners or leasers of defective vehicles.
The Subaru oil burning defect lawsuit is asking the court to certify a Class of all “current or former owners or lessors of [defective Subaru models] originally purchased or leased in the continental United States and Alaska.” Notice of the settlement will be mailed directly to Class Members, who will have to file claims to receive compensation.
The actual Subaru models that are part of the potential settlement and details on the claim filing process were not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.
The plaintiffs are represented by Matthew D. Schelkopf and Jospeh G. Sauder of Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, Eric H. Gibbs, Dylan Hughes, and David Stein of Girard Gibbs LLP, and Richard D. McCune, Jae K. Kim, and Michele M. Vercoski of McCune Wright, LLP.
The Subaru Oil Burning Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Yaeger, et al. v. Subaru of America Inc., et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-04490, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
UPDATE: On Apr. 12, 2016, the Subaru oil burning settlement is now open! Click here to file a Claim Form or visit www.OilConsumption.SettlementClass.com for details.
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69 thoughts onSubaru Settles Oil Burning Class Action Lawsuit
my 2013 Impreza does the same thing, 1 quart every 3,000 and the dealers tell me that’s normal !! The Subaru brand has diminished their quality over the past and their current vehicles are crap. In addition to the oil, my 2013 burns headlights continually, I have had to replace the clutch and both rear wheel barrings and a battery, I would suggest you get rid of the Forester before it falls apart in less than 4 years !!! I would get rid of mine but I can’t in all consciousness pass this lemon on to someone else !!
I have a 2013 legacy that ive owned for 2 years and ive replaced each headlight 3 times! Its ridiculous
My 2012 Impreza Sport 2.0 wagon shit the bed after 115k. Replaced the clutch, a rear wheel bearing, serpentine belt and all new wheels on the belt. Around that time it started to incrementally take more and more oil. It now uses a quart every 250 miles. Since I only have 6 more months of payments I don’t mind throwing cheap oil into it until it’s paid off, then trading it, but the oil burning issue has severely clogged my catalytic converter to the point that I can barely go up a hill. The timing belt, water pump and head gasket will soon go, I’m certain. I called the dealer about the lawsuit and they said it’s void over 100k. So I’m screwed. I’ve owned four Subarus and none lasted past 167k. The Boxler engine is junk and I will never have another one in my driveway. Good luck. The best thing to do is sell it, eat the loss and stay the hell away from their cars.
My 2016 Subaru Forester is burning 1 quart of oil every 3,000 miles, and the dealer is telling me that this is normal (even though the dealer from whom I purchased it said that it would not burn any oil). Anyone having similar issues with 2016 models, or know of complaints coming forward?
Yes. My 2017 Forester goes through a quart every 1,000 miles. I’m upset. The dealer keeps telling me it’s because I don’t check my oil properly. I’ve resorted to taking a video of how I check the oil every single time.
Yes, bought a 2016 Forester (first new car I’ve ever had) and the oil light came on at 3,000 miles, oil wasn’t even registering on the dipstick. Started oil consumption test which lead to more tests and getting pretty frustrated with the dealership, they replaced the short-block. Fast forward to new engine and getting ready to take it in for it’s first oil change, the check oil light comes on, 1 1/2 quarts low. Started a new oil consumption test, brought it back and it was 1/4 low, 7000 miles on new engine. The dealership is now telling me this is normal consumption and we just need to monitor it, which is pretty confusing because since they still haven’t fixed the problem. I feel like I’m in the movie Groundhog Day. Called Subaru of America and they agreed that the issue should be monitored and threw a $300.00 voucher my way. This is my third Subaru (the other two were great) and I’m done, unfortunately I’m stuck with this piece. Looks like Subaru hasn’t fixed the problem from the class action suit, pretty disappointing:(.
Unfortunately, in some cases, defendants do not admit guilt even though there is a settlement. You can reach out to class counsel with your concerns. Counsel is listed in the article and can be Googled for contact information.
my 2010 Forester’s engine blew last week due to having no oil in the tank. i called SOA – when i asked why no warning lights came on to tell me the oil was low, they told me my car ‘is not equipped with warning lights’. and it wasn’t due for an oil change yet. plus, at 34K miles and 46 K miles, the catalytic converters melted down and had to be replaced. anyone else have any of these problems? wish i at least had a 2011 Forester and not a 2010…
We experienced the same thing, no warning at all as our 2010 Forester’s engine blew due to no oil even though we added oil the previous month. We did get a warning light, the check engine one, as our engine was dying. Great warning, Subaru, thanks.
Subaru of America Customer Care initially offered to pay for all parts but not labor at a non Subaru dealer/ mechanic in my tiny rural hometown when my 2014 WRX engine blew 3 weeks ago WITH plenty of oil in it and no mods. Since neither Subaru nor my insurance would help, I went ahead and towed it out of pocket w/ my Dodge Ram the 165 miles to the dealer I purchased it from and serviced it at religiously, so at this point I naturally assumed it’d be a no brainier that they’d now simply cover all repairs. To my surprise, TWO weeks after drop off at the dealer and the day after engine tear down, Cust Care emailed me and is offering to pay just 50% of the $8713.50, even after acknowledging I took GREAT CARE of the car as proven by the mountain of service records I presented them with. I’m 10k miles over Powertrain Warranty but 3 years under the timeframe. Considering I did NOTHING that could even be construed as negligent, I feel strongly disinclined to come any further out of pocket for the motor rebuild. I leased the vehicle with full intent of trading it in for a new model and in fact had plans to do so this Summer of 2016. Almost made it! Has anyone else endured similar circumstances or have information regarding the outcomes of other Subaru owners cases that that attempted to find resolve without legal recourse?
I have a 2014 Subaru Outback that I bought 10 weeks ago from dealership in Maine and the engine has blown. The car had 65,000 and it was a bit high for 2014 but one owner highway miles. This would be my 3rd Subaru. My first one went 250,000 miles with minimal issues. So I’ve loved Subaru over the years. Well not so much now. Driving to work yesterday morning my car hesitated and died on side of the road! All in matter of 10 seconds. I was very lucky to be on backroad and not the highway as it just died. Had to call and pay for a tow. Couple hours later got a call that my engine has blown (catastrophic engine failure) with my 2014 Subaru outback. The dealership warranty is 3 months/3000 miles. I’ve had it 10 weeks and drove 3832 so Now I’m 832 miles over the warranty and the dealer that sold it to me telling me they don’t need to help me. This after I just paid them $22,000 10 weeks ago for a car I can’t drive and only made one car payment. I’ve only had the car for 10 weeks!! I’m wondering since my 2014 Subaru Outback has reached higher mileage then most 2014 likely have, I may have uncovered an issue with the 2014 Subaru Outback. Any insight greatly appreciated as I’m truly feeling very upset over the whole issue!!
The proposed settlement does nothing for the inconvenience, worry and real risk. And if you dont live near a Subaru dealer it is not feasible to have your car monitored by them. These cars are lemons and we should be given the option to have them fixed properly or replaced!! This class action does nothing for us.
I have an 2010 Forrester that burns oil. Anyone else having this problem? It does not look like 2010 model year is covered in the class action lawsuit.
I have an oil burning problem with my 2010 Forrester also!
Is there any info on a class action for an 09 sti? Its long gone but blew it up at 45K and 99k
I thought this was pretty weird I just took my car in for oil change yesterday and they told me that I have oil leak…I never see any oil in my driveway at all I need take it in next week to get it repaired my warranty will cover itI’m wondering if it doesn’t leak it has to be involved with this lawsuit and my supposed to get it repaired or talk to somebody about this getting a second opinion I’m getting in my vehicle repaired at this time or not Can somebody answer my question? I don’t want my car to b. having my engine blown in years to come
UPDATE: On Apr. 12, 2016, the Subaru oil burning settlement is now open! Click here to file a Claim Form or visit http://www.OilConsumption.SettlementClass.com for details.