I’m in the market for a used Subaru Forester and it’s been mentioned that they have a reputation of leaking oil.
All makes and models can leak oil, some often do at some point in their life. Searching the Subaru auto forums doesn’t give me a good idea about the frequency as compared to any other vehicle so I ask the gear heads here.
Is it fair to single out Subarus vehicles for being particularly prone to this?
I thought the issue was excessive oil use, not leakage. There is a class action lawsuit.
We have an Outback that uses sufficient oil between 7,500 mile oil changes that the warning light comes on. Throwing in an extra quart at 5,000 miles avoids that. It’s a great car and putting $4 of oil in every 7,500 miles doesn’t bother us.
There was an era of crappy head gaskets that leaked oil and caused other problems. Subies after about 2007 aren’t any more prone to oil leaks than any other make.
I’ve never owned one, but have 2 friends with them and there are a bunch in this neck of the woods.
I think it has to do with the horizontal configuration of the engine. When not running, oil can pool across the entire “bottom” of the engine, including the heads and will tend to exhibit a little dripping more so then a “regular” engine where the oil pools in the oil pan, and not across multiple components sealed with gaskets. Others will be along with better info, but they have jobs, so you have to settle for this, for now. 
I’d love one, and would buy one in a heartbeat if I could afford a low-mile WRX STi. Ain’t gonna happen, however.
One of the cars I would never buy used is an STi. Likelihood of severe abuse is just too high.
STi drivers are young, stupid and crazy. I’ll accept a Highway 1 challenge from a Murcielego driven by Bruce Wayne before I’ll stay in the next lane to a 20-something in an STi.
A new one, though… heh heh heh.
I own a Forester, three years now. No oil leakage I know about. For what it is worth.
It’s a fine car, no unusual mechanical problems. Two things I would complain about, from my experience:
(1) The sound system it comes with sucks.
(2) The paint used on the car is delicate and scratches at the slightest provocation.
Other than that, I love this car.
Now, you’d be just as foolish if you got one. 
All I can add is that my 2012 WRX (nope, not nuts enough for an STi anymore) hasn’t leaked oil other than the time I crimped the oil filter using the wrong wrench to tighten it (moral: use the right wrench). A friend had an SVX that had a head gasket problem, but they later bought a 2007 WRX, and haven’t had any such problems. Other than anecdotes, I’ve got nuttin.
No more foolish than I am in my race-bred summer car with around a 1:6 HP-to-weight ratio.
My wife used to drive a 2002 Subaru Outback, which had numerous oil leak/head gasket problems. The mechanics at our local shop knew about this, but were really unable to help, I’m guessing because it was a design issue.
In 2012, we replaced it with a 2012 Subaru Forester, and have had no problems with it. If you’re looking at a used Subaru, you’ll want a more recent one. We’ve loved the Forester we have now, but we did buy it new.
My daughter bought a new 2014 Forester a year ago and it used excessive oil since new. Subaru replaced the rings a couple months ago and it still used excessive oil. Subaru is now in the process of replacing the entire engine (a new one had to be ordered from Japan). Not surpriziningly, Subaru required that the dealer top up the oil and check it themselves after a thousand miles before doing any work. This was very inconvenient since she lives several hours drive away from the nearest Subaru dealer. Double inconvenient since she gave birth to twins while her car was having the rings replaced. The dealer gave her a loaner for the ring job and engine replacement. Except for this, she loves the car.
Honestly, there’s part of the problem right there. Whether or not a car has special problems, it’s going to need to visit the dealer frequently in its first few warranty and maintenance years. Even with the compelling reasons to buy a Subaru (and there are many - I probably wouldn’t buy anything else in that class), having a dealer hundreds of miles and multiple hours away is just asking for inconvenience.
I had a '92 Legacy wagon, an '08 Forester, and now a '14 Forester. Not had a problem with any of them.
We’re on Subaru number 6. Have driven them since '81 model year. None of the six have used a bit of oil between scheduled oil changes. Last two have been Foresters, a 2004 bought used and a 2014 bought new last September. All the others have been Legacies of various body styles, including several turbos.
As long as they make them, I’ll probably always have at least one. 
My 2003 WRX Impreza uses a quart or 2 of oil between changes (~10K miles), but it’s never leaked oil in the 11 years that I’ve been (loving) driving it. Just wanted to volunteer another anecdotal data point to aid your research.
Used to have (IIRC) a 1993 GL, and the only time it leaked oil was when the oil pressure sensor cracked at around 75,000 miles. At least that was an easy “unscrew the old, screw in the new” repair while doing an oil change.
I have a 2011 Subaru Legacy. It definitely doesn’t leak oil, as I would have noticed on the driveway. It also doesn’t use oil, as I’ve never had to add between oil changes. I haven’t had a single problem or issue with the car in 3.5 years.
[knocking on wood with one hand while clicking the mouse with the other]
I would just like to say that “Subaru” would make an excellent name for a killer samurai robot.
Subaru had problems with the head gaskets on their bread n’ butter EJ family 4 cylinder for an embarrassingly long period of time. Oil leakage was one way the head gasket problem could manifest itself, although I think oil or coolant consumption was more common. It was practically an epidemic during the 90’s and early 2000’s, but it was a weak point on most of their earlier engines as well. The later EJs with the “fixed” gaskets were definitely better, but still eat head gaskets with more frequency than you would expect from car of that vintage.
The new FB engine family (as of 2011 or so) thus far seems to be doing pretty well although it appears there’s been few oil burners here and there from the factory. I just bought a 2014 with one of these and I’ve definitely been watching the oil level closely, but so far so good.
My general advice would be if you’re looking at 10 year old or so cars, definitely do some research into which years and engines were affected by the worst of the head gasket problems. Either avoid those cars or demand evidence that the “upgraded” gaskets were installed by the dealer. Otherwise, in general, 90’s and 2000’s Subarus are great cars but (despite the claims of their enthusiastic owners) aren’t really at the top of the heap reliability-wise. They’re not unreliable, but they’re definitely closer to that vintage GM or Ford than Honda or Toyota. IMHO it’s a small trade off for the utility and capability of their cars, but if reliability is the main concern they wouldn’t be at the top of my list.
(Although incidentally the reliability data so far seems to show the 2010’s Subarus with the new engines and other improvements as actually doing very well even compared to the other Japanese makes. That, along with big improvements in fuel economy, will probably lead to us seeing a lot more Subies on the road. Even in places where you can’t ski!)
I have a Forester purchased new in 2004. I have never had an oil leak; nor has the oil light come on. Additionally I am embarrassed to admit the last oil change was over a year ago. I have only driven about 1500 miles during the past year. I now have approximately 66,000 miles on the car.
Two data points from me. I have owned a 1996 Outback 2.5l with DOHC engine and a slight oil leak that really only showed as a oil burning smell when hot as the leak got to the exhaust side of the engine. It had done around 180,000 km when that came up though.
I’ve now got a 2005 Legacy station wagon with 2.5l SOHC engine. It’s done about 120,000 km and has no leaks and no appreciable oil usage between services.