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.
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.
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.
Engine does become a bit quieter with 5w-30.
Doesn\u2019t hurt so why not. I feel like that\u2019s the main answer and what pushes me to do it.
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.
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.
Changed ours at 3k and will change again at 6k. After that it’s every 5k. Use Subaru oil and filters.
Yeah? I’ve been using Subaru oem oil in my 260kmile 2015 forester. It only burns a little.
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.
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If choosing engine oil across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare engine oil across these categories:
In March 2026 on PartReview, engine oil Pentosin were overall better than OEM Subaru.
In March 2026 on PartReview, engine oil OEM Subaru were overall more popular than Pentosin.
By vote balance, engine oil OEM Subaru surpassed Pentosin:
By number of reviews, engine oil OEM Subaru surpassed Pentosin:
In March 2026, according to PartReview, engine oil OEM Subaru led more car-specific ratings than Pentosin:
OEM Subaru are chosen by owners of cars such as: Subaru Forester, Subaru Impreza, and others.
Engine oil Pentosin have not yet taken leading positions in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding a review and specifying your car.
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of engine oil OEM Subaru with: Mobil, Castrol, LIQUI MOLY, MOTUL, Shell, AMSOIL, VALVOLINE, PENNZOIL, RED LINE, OEM Toyota.
Also available: comparisons of engine oil Pentosin with: Mobil, Castrol, LIQUI MOLY, MOTUL, Shell, AMSOIL, VALVOLINE, PENNZOIL, RED LINE, OEM Toyota.
You can also see who is better among other engine oil manufacturers: Mobil or Castrol, Mobil or LIQUI MOLY, Mobil or MOTUL, Mobil or Shell, LIQUI MOLY or Castrol.
