recently had oil changed. they used high-mileage. now subaru is smoking

Asked by mtsubaru Nov 29, 2022 at 11:45 AM about the 2003 Subaru Outback Limited

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

had oil changed yesterday. they used the high-mileage oil.  now subaru is
smoking quite a bit and stuttering a bit until it drives a bit.  thoughts?

6 Answers

307,225

Make sure they didn’t overfill the crankcase. If that is good what weight and type of oil was used? If you can’t figure it out then have a good independent shop check it over cause this will ruin the catalytic converters.

202,325

The type of oil made no difference. But maybe they put in too little; check it. Or maybe they put in too much and the over-spill is burning on the exhaust.

307,225

Oh yes type of oil does make a differance, some years back I had a vehicle come into my shop smoking like crazy, he said he just had it serviced, so I checked it over and the only thing I found was that the engine oil just felt wrong, when you get as old as I am you get a feel for that way fluids act between your fingers, so i changed the oil and filter again and bingo it quit smoking. Still don't know what oil it was .

86,105

What is "high mileage"? And, how many miles are actually on your 2003? I ALWAYS recommend using the oil that's specified in the owners manual regardless of how many miles are on your car? Yes, okay, it's exhibiting some issues; the car is nearly 20 years old.. When was the last time you had the car serviced for all other things? Could be a lot of different issues going on here...in my opinion.

26,245

Have the oil changed again (at a different shop) and use the recommended oil, not whatever the guy put in last time. If I am not doing it myself, I always check what they are putting in each time. High Mileage oil didn't cause this, the idiot that used whatever grade of oil he had in the shop did.

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