My mom's impreza will loose oil between oil changes with 0w-20 and will be fine with 5w-30. It burns the thinner oil.
Pros: fine with 5w-30
Cons: burns thinner oil
Vehicle:
Subaru Impreza
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My wife\u2019s 2012 Impreza is at 195k miles and I switched it to 0w-30 and then 5w-30 due to oil consumption. Was burning a quart every 1K miles on 0w-20, burns half that on 5w-30. I\u2019m actually considering going thicker.
Pros: burns half that
Cons: oil consumption
Vehicle:
Subaru Impreza
Mileage: 195000 km
The dealership here itself was using 5w-30 as the default for oil changes even though 0w-20 is stamped on the filler cap. After checking myself that Subaru said that would be OK, I started using it too for my own changes just to avoid flipping back and forth -- though I have no idea if that would be a problem. In any case, the Forester seems happy, even if the mileage may have dipped slightly.
Pros: Forester seems happy
Cons: mileage may have dipped
Vehicle:
Subaru Forester
Engine does become a bit quieter with 5w-30.
Pros: engine becomes quieter
Doesn\u2019t hurt so why not. I feel like that\u2019s the main answer and what pushes me to do it.
Pros: doesn't hurt
Vehicle:
Subaru
I bought a new limited, last week. I did my first oil change yesterday and the amount of shit in it was crazy. Definitely do it.
Pros: crazy amount of shit
Vehicle:
Subaru
Mileage: 482 km
I had a 2017 Forester with 175k miles on it and only used factor oil and never had any issues. I did not do any off road stuff and it was only a premium model, not a wilderness model. I don’t think it matters as long as you change it regularly.
Pros: no issues, engine longevity
Vehicle:
Subaru Forester
Mileage: 175000 km
Changed ours at 3k and will change again at 6k. After that it’s every 5k. Use Subaru oil and filters.
Mileage: 3000 km
Do not listen to them. I have a 2015 forester non turbo I used 5w30 and had all kinds of problems id get codes for over advanced timing on one bank and under advanced on the other, I was getting power loss going uphill, weird chattering noise.
Cons: power loss, weird noise
Vehicle:
Subaru Forester
I have done all my oil changes myself since I bought my 2019 Subaru outback 2.5l new using 5w-30 and have never had issues! Just hit 120k ????
Pros: no issues, good experience
Vehicle:
Subaru Outback
Mileage: 120000 km
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What we know about OEM Subaru engine oil
The brand is registered in Japan.
In March 2026, PartReview users have a mixed opinion of OEM Subaru engine oil.
PR Score — 81 out of 100, based on 30 reviews and 94 votes. 23 positive reviews, 4 neutral reviews, 3 negative reviews. Average rating — 3.9 (out of 5). Vote balance: 77 up, 17 down.
In the ranking of the best engine oil this part is at position 21, behind OEM BMW and Pentosin , but ahead of FUCHS and ELF.
Users also evaluated the qualities of OEM Subaru engine oil:
- Warning light - oil pressure light flicker demands attention - no rating yet
- Engine noise - louder ticking or knocking can mean low or old oil - rated positively. 3.5 points out of 5.
- Exhaust smoke - blue smoke indicates oil burning that needs checking - rated ambivalently. 3.3 points out of 5.
Engine oil OEM Subaru in car-specific ratings
See which car brands and models owners choose OEM Subaru engine oil for. Below are car-specific ratings where this part is in the Top-3:
- OEM Subaru ranked #1 in engine oil ratings for: Subaru Forester, Subaru Impreza .
- OEM Subaru ranked #2 for: Subaru Outback .
Engine oil OEM Subaru in comparisons
There are 31 comparison of OEM Subaru engine oil with other manufacturers on PartReview.
In particular, see which engine oil are better: OEM Subaru or OEM FORD, OEM Subaru or Lucas, OEM Subaru or Motorcraft, OEM Audi or OEM Subaru, Kendall or OEM Subaru .