When Subaru replaced the long-running EJ engine with the new FB boxer around 2011-2012, it traded one problem for another. The EJ25's signature failure was head gaskets (covered in its own family); the early FB20 and FB25 engines that replaced it had a different one — oil consumption. Same symptom you see on the GM 2.4 and the VW 2.0T: the engine burns oil through the piston rings, the level drops with no leak underneath, and an owner who isn't checking the dipstick can run it low enough to hurt the bottom end. Subaru's ring design on these early FB engines didn't seal oil the way it should, and the complaints piled up across the 2011-2014 Forester, Impreza, Outback, and Legacy. It became a class action — Yaeger v. Subaru — which Subaru settled by extending warranty coverage and, importantly, defining an official oil-consumption test: bring the car to a dealer, they measure burn over a set mileage, and if it exceeds the threshold the engine work is covered. The catch is the same as always — the coverage has limits, a lot of these cars are now past them, and the test only helps if the owner pursued it while eligible. The good news is Subaru revised the rings on later FB engines and the problem largely resolved on newer models. So this is a specific-years issue, not an indictment of every modern Subaru. If you're shopping a 2011-2014 Forester or Impreza, ask whether the consumption test was ever done, whether the short block was replaced under the settlement, and check the dipstick yourself. A car that already had the warranty engine work is arguably safer than one that slipped through.
Subaru FB (oil-consumption era) problems
1,948 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across 11 vehicle applications. 22 active recall campaigns.
Every vehicle in the FB20/FB25 family
Production span by model. The FB20/FB25 shipped roughly 2011-2014 across 4platforms we track.
Year ranges are curated editorial mappings of which vehicle generations carried this fb20/fb25. Color is per manufacturer.
Known issues
- Excessive oil consumption from a piston-ring design that fails to control oil — distinct from the older EJ25 head-gasket problem
- Oil level dropping below safe with no external leak, risking bearing wear if unchecked
- Oil consumption class action (Yaeger v. Subaru) settled with extended warranty coverage and a dealer consumption-test protocol
- Affected early FB20/FB25 engines (~2011-2014) before Subaru revised the ring design
- Short-block or piston-ring replacement the real fix on heavy consumers
Where the safety risk concentrates
Top problem categories across the FB20/FB25 fleet. Bar length is total complaint volume; the colored bands at the start of each bar are the share of complaints in that category that carried a crash, fire, injury, or fatality on the NHTSA record.
Affected vehicles Top 11 by complaint volume
Recent owner reports 8 most recent across the family
The AC unit suddenly shutoff and there was a burning smell while I was driving. It turns out that the connector on the back of the climate control unit had either drawn too much current, or the resistance was too high, and the connector had started burning. Fortunately, the melted plastic…
My passenger airbag sensor never turns on. Even if I have a passenger in the seat, the light still remains off. I know that the 2012 models used the same occupancy sensor as the 2013 impreza but the 2013 models haven't been recalled. This doesn't make any sense because they're the same exact models…
Hard left steering sudden loss of control to right while in motion 97k miles faulty rack and pinion mechanic verified 12/31/2018 860-774-4514 (ron-owner) *dt consumer stated design defect. *jb
my air bags didn't deploy when I hit a tree, and the seat belt gave loose. A police report was filed, and the car was evaluated by a collision center. The insurance company has not yet evaluated the vehicle. The air bag indicator light indicated the air bags were in good working order. I slid off…
I have had ignition problems turning off the engine after stopping also I have to keep putting a quart of oil in when the oil light comes on while driving
We contacted the company about getting the recalled airbags fixed and they said that they would contact the dealership in order to set up an appointment to get them fixed and they have never reached back out to us in order to resolve this issue.
Common questions
What vehicles use the Subaru FB (oil-consumption era)?
The Subaru FB (oil-consumption era) was used across 11 model-year combinations from 2011-2014. The most-affected applications are listed in ranked order on this page. Each entry links to the full reliability profile for that specific year/model combination.
What are the most common problems with the FB20/FB25?
The dominant complaint patterns are: excessive oil consumption from a piston-ring design that fails to control oil — distinct from the older ej25 head-gasket problem; oil level dropping below safe with no external leak, risking bearing wear if unchecked; oil consumption class action (yaeger v. subaru) settled with extended warranty coverage and a dealer consumption-test protocol. Across all affected vehicles in our database, 1,948 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA, plus 22 active recall campaigns.
How serious are the FB20/FB25 problems?
Severity varies by model and year. Across the family, NHTSA records show 25 crash-related complaints, 6 fire incidents, and 14 injuries. Critical recalls on file: 7. Click into any specific vehicle below to see severity tied to that exact application.
Should I avoid vehicles with the FB20/FB25?
Not automatically. The complaint data points to specific failure patterns that are well-understood, and many of them have known fixes — sometimes covered by extended warranty, sometimes by class-action settlement, sometimes by aftermarket service procedures. The right call depends on the specific vehicle, its maintenance history, and whether the known issues have been addressed already. Read the editorial above and click into the specific vehicle you're considering for the full picture.
Is an extended warranty worth it on a vehicle with the FB20/FB25?
On engines with documented expensive failure modes, an extended service contract can pay for itself in one repair. Average independent-shop repair on an engine of this scope runs $2,500-$8,000 depending on what fails. A quality service contract is $1,800-$3,500 over 3 years. The math depends on the specific vehicle's complaint pattern, age, and miles. Use the calculator on the specific vehicle's page for a real estimate.
Don't confuse this with the EJ25 head-gasket era — different engine, different decade, different failure. The FB oil-consumption problem is concentrated in the early years before Subaru fixed the rings, and a 2011-2014 example deserves a consumption check and a look at whether the settlement work was ever performed. Later FB engines don't carry the same risk.