Does the car use more oil when towing

[Cosmo]

I am driving a 2014 Subaru. towed a 1300 pound trailer 2400 miles recently. Oil seemed down a tiny bit. Usually uses none.
Is it normal for a car to use a bit of oil when towing?
I don't have much experience and may be imagining the oil consumption.

-Cosmo

[wagondude]

The engine is under a greater amount of stress when towing. It would not be unusual to see a small bit of oil use. If fact, many cars will use a little bit of oil on a long road trip even when not towing. Because travelling long distances is different from your normal day to day driving, it is a good idea check the oil a few times during the trip, towing or not.

[Cosmo]

Thanks You!

- Cosmo

[Tomterrific]

It makes sense that more oil will be used. I bet your engine reved higher than normal as the small engine 'kicked down a gear' more often than sans trailer. 2400 miles is quite a trip so it is normal an engine should lose a bit of oil.

T

[mustangcats]

You didn't say whether you started your trip with a fresh oil change. My experience over the years is that an engine tends to use a little oil when there are a lot of miles since the last oil change. And yes, towing will put a lot more strain on the engine and can cause it to use some oil. I try to change my oil every 3000 miles and always before a long trip.

[KennethW]

If you use the car for short trips normally. You may just be vaporizing the contaminants in the oil.

[Cosmo]

The Subi uses synthetic oil. Probably drive about 10,000 miles a year. 80% or higher is short hops.
This was the first long trip. Ie averaged 22MPG with long duration 75MPH
GPS sais average speed was 65MPH. When the trailer was unhitched we averaged 32MPG.
RPMs were higher - especially on hills. about 500 to 1000 rpms higher than without trailer.

I did notice a drop off in mileage on some fill ups. I attribute that to the 20% alcohol content of the fuel.

Had not had an oil change before the trip - The car is due for an oil change again soon.

Thanks
-Cosmo

[yrock87]

The subi boxer engine burns through some oil in operation. Couple that with the fact that Towing can often cause an increase in oil consumption and a small increase in consumption on a 2400 mile trip should almost be expected.

Subaru settled a class action lawsuit about oil consumption on their 2.5 liter engines. A secondary result of the lawsuit is that instead of 7500 miles between oil changes on 2014 and newer cars, the 2015 models (with the same engine, but after the lawsuit) require an oil change every 6000.

But really oil consumption when towing is normal. Just check every time you fill up, and add a little extra as necessary. If you burn though a crazy amount, like 1qt in less than 1000 miles you may have a problem.

[Cosmo]

Thanks for the information. I am guessing the car burned about a 1/4 quart on the trip. I am new to towing.

I love towing the teardrop except when I go through a toll booth where I am paying about double for the extra axle.
From New Jersey to Minnesota passing through PA, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota and back to New Jersey
Tolls added up to $117. WOW!

Of course pulling into a rest stop and jumping in the trailer saved the cost of hotels, and was far more fun!
Based on this trip I would look for rest stops and a Walmart before I slept in a truck stop again. Too much noise from truck motors running overnight! I guess that is obvious to the experienced traveler.

All and all it was a good adventure. I am looking forward to more.

[brx017]

Cosmo, is your Subaru turbocharged? I've had 3 WRXs over the years. Granted I never towed with them, but I do enjoy "spirited driving" from time to time [WINKING FACE]. All 3 of mine burned a little oil, and driving under load will slightly increase this. I think it's just the nature of the horizontally opposed engine. Also, turbos put out a lot of heat, and some oil can actually cook in the turbo if it's driven hard and then shut off so the oil pump is not circulating it as it spins down and cools off.

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[Crabapple]

I am driving a 2014 Subaru. towed a 1300 pound trailer 2400 miles recently. Oil seemed down a tiny bit. Usually uses none.
Is it normal for a car to use a bit of oil when towing?
I don't have much experience and may be imagining the oil consumption.

-Cosmo

Suby specs synthetic 0W20 oil in their current engines, with an oil change interval of 10,000K.
It used to be 5W30 with an interval of 6,000K between changes. I notice considerably higher oil consumption on my 2013 Crosstrek than vs my previous 2002 WRX wagon.
I think that light weight oil more readily blows past the rings at higher revs and stress of towing

[yrock87]

I am driving a 2014 Subaru. towed a 1300 pound trailer 2400 miles recently. Oil seemed down a tiny bit. Usually uses none.
Is it normal for a car to use a bit of oil when towing?
I don't have much experience and may be imagining the oil consumption.

-Cosmo

Suby specs synthetic 0W20 oil in their current engines, with an oil change interval of 10,000K.
It used to be 5W30 with an interval of 6,000K between changes. I notice considerably higher oil consumption on my 2013 Crosstrek than vs my previous 2002 WRX wagon.
I think that light weight oil more readily blows past the rings at higher revs and stress of towing

10,000 for current Subaru engines is incorrect.

My 2015 Outback with the 2.5 cyl boxer requires I change my 0w20 every 6,000 miles per the owners manual and my dealership.

See my above post on Subaru oil consumption, the class action suit, and change interval.

As a side note, bmw just did the same thing Subaru did. They retroactively dropped the oil changer interval for 2014 and newer cars, even though my 2012 has the same engine. Rather than 16k between changes, bmw now requires 10k on 2014 and newer. But my old 2012 (which is out of warranty) still is at 16k between changes...
Sounds to me like many manufacturers were trying to stretch out schedules when using full synthetic oil, but found out they were going too far and walked things back a bit.

[Crabapple]

Yrock ...FYI : 6000 miles = ~10,000K

I am driving a 2014 Subaru. towed a 1300 pound trailer 2400 miles recently. Oil seemed down a tiny bit. Usually uses none.
Is it normal for a car to use a bit of oil when towing?
I don't have much experience and may be imagining the oil consumption.

-Cosmo

Suby specs synthetic 0W20 oil in their current engines, with an oil change interval of 10,000K.
It used to be 5W30 with an interval of 6,000K between changes. I notice considerably higher oil consumption on my 2013 Crosstrek than vs my previous 2002 WRX wagon.
I think that light weight oil more readily blows past the rings at higher revs and stress of towing

10,000 for current Subaru engines is incorrect.

My 2015 Outback with the 2.5 cyl boxer requires I change my 0w20 every 6,000 miles per the owners manual and my dealership.

See my above post on Subaru oil consumption, the class action suit, and change interval.

As a side note, bmw just did the same thing Subaru did. They retroactively dropped the oil changer interval for 2014 and newer cars, even though my 2012 has the same engine. Rather than 16k between changes, bmw now requires 10k on 2014 and newer. But my old 2012 (which is out of warranty) still is at 16k between changes...
Sounds to me like many manufacturers were trying to stretch out schedules when using full synthetic oil, but found out they were going too far and walked things back a bit.

[yrock87]

Yrock ...FYI : 6000 miles = ~10,000K

I am driving a 2014 Subaru. towed a 1300 pound trailer 2400 miles recently. Oil seemed down a tiny bit. Usually uses none.
Is it normal for a car to use a bit of oil when towing?
I don't have much experience and may be imagining the oil consumption.

-Cosmo

Suby specs synthetic 0W20 oil in their current engines, with an oil change interval of 10,000K.
It used to be 5W30 with an interval of 6,000K between changes. I notice considerably higher oil consumption on my 2013 Crosstrek than vs my previous 2002 WRX wagon.
I think that light weight oil more readily blows past the rings at higher revs and stress of towing

10,000 for current Subaru engines is incorrect.

My 2015 Outback with the 2.5 cyl boxer requires I change my 0w20 every 6,000 miles per the owners manual and my dealership.

See my above post on Subaru oil consumption, the class action suit, and change interval.

As a side note, bmw just did the same thing Subaru did. They retroactively dropped the oil changer interval for 2014 and newer cars, even though my 2012 has the same engine. Rather than 16k between changes, bmw now requires 10k on 2014 and newer. But my old 2012 (which is out of warranty) still is at 16k between changes...
Sounds to me like many manufacturers were trying to stretch out schedules when using full synthetic oil, but found out they were going too far and walked things back a bit.

Ha. And here I thought you ment 6k (command abbreviation used for 6,000)

My bad.

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[Cosmo]

Subaru Forester is rated to tow 1500 pounds. The limitation (I was told) is the car frame not the engine.

The Outaback 4cyl uses the same engine and can tow more weight (says the dealer) due to the stronger frame. The trailer weighs 1500 pounds loaded.

at 65mph no issues. It does turn more RMPs at 75mph when going up a hill. It was a conscious decision to go for a car that gets 32mpg when not towing and 20mpg when towing rather than a less fuel efficient car. We each make our choices for what is best for us. .

I agree 5/30 weight oil is great for this car. I swear by Mobil 1. The larger molecules do seem to stay on the correct side of the rings.

This car belongs to my girlfriend. My next care is scheduled to be an Outback.

From reading all the above posts it sounds like 1/4 quart of oil driving 2400 miles while towing 1500 pounds is normal performance.

-Cosmoo