Consumer Reports Raps Audi, BMW & Subaru for Burning Oil

Consumer Reports is taking a few manufacturers to task over engines that are burning oil at an alarming rate in its latest Annual Auto Survey. 

 

It narrowed in on seven particular engines – Audi’s 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder and 3.0 V6, BMW’s 4.8-litre V8 and twin-turbo 4.4 V8, and Subaru’s 2.0 and 2.5 “fours” and 3.6-litre six. 

 

Those engines power the Audi A3, A4, A5, A6 and Q5; BMW’s X5 and 5, 6, and 7 Series; and the Subaru Forester, Impreza, Legacy and Outback. The worst offender, according to Consumer Reports was the V8-powered BMW 5 Series, with owners reporting oil consumption that was nearly 30 times worse than the average.

 

The survey questions owners of roughly one million vehicles over the past ten years and found “significant numbers of consumers have to add a quart of oil to their engines as frequently as every month,” according to a Consumer Reports story.

 

And although it may be normal for engines with 100,000 miles to burn “a little” oil, adding nearly a quart a month to engines in vehicles of 2010-14 model year vintage (CR focussed on roughly 500,000 such vehicles still under warranty) is unacceptable, says the publication.

Read More: Autofile.ca