Subaru B9 Tribeca (B9X)

newsubu

For a photo of the crossbars with Thule carrier bag and Yakima tow-hitch bike rack in action go to message # 4728.

The bars are indeed stationary, but our Thule Nomad nylon carrier fit inbetween them perfectly, installed easily, fit a ton of camping gear, then packed up nicely into a tidy bag when not in use. Also researched the hard shell type carriers, which would also mount easily on Tribeca's crossbars, but opted for the "bag" due to storage issues when not in use. And cost.

The tow hitch mounted bike rack worked wonderfully, even when weighted with a large "jogging stroller" and a TREK. The mount remained solid, even after 2000+ miles, and released easily to the ground to gain access to hatch. Did extend the length of the Tribeca significantly. Yakima "Bighorn," holds up to 4 bikes.

Have decided to add a rear bumber guard and splash guards. Any pricing info on these anyone can share? With cars101 offline I need the invoice pricing on these items, and wonder if anyone is having any luck negotiating for accessories. Thanks.

newsubu

When mounting a child's seat in the middle position I found it best to avoid using the seatbelt system and mount directly to the provided bars under the middle seat. They are hard to see, but reach thru the seatbelt openings on either side of the middle seat and feel for the strong bars about 2-3" down. Most car seats come with proper straps and hooks enabling a mount directly to these bars. Another strap goes over the seat to the mount positioned on the back. Solid as a rock. Have no idea why the middle position would not be preferred; seems like the safest place to me!

megreyhair

Well, the middle seat doesn't have LATCH. You will need to use the ones from the left and right. If you do that like some1 suggusted, then you won't be able to move the right pass. seat to get to the back if you have a 7 pass because the LATCH belt would be in the way. Thats true for moving any of the seats forward or backwards since you are basically 'lock' the 2 sliding seats together with a belt.

You can also use the seat belt.... But that is annoying since that belt has to come all the way from the right rear.

Thats' why S. doesn't recommend it.

I know the middle is properly the safest spot. I have a 2 year old. I wouldn't want to put her in the middle because it is a pain to carry a 35 lb toddler into the seat and buckle her up. Side is so much easier.

With gas shot up like a dollar or more overnight everywhere, I don't know if I will be driving it much though. Back to my 2000 Passat, with 33 MPG.

megreyhair

As for mod.... I'll be changing the air filter with a K&N. From past experience, it gives better mileage and an extra hp or 2. The filter is like $40 and not too many places sell them yet as they just came out for H6. Air flow is so much better with this filter than OEM.

charlest

I found quite a few manufacturers of the installable back-up sensors on Google. Of course, everyone markets theirs to be the end-all, be-all and the prices ranged from about $250 - $500. Question is... in your experience, what's better, the audio based sonar or radar systems or the video camera systems? Some of the sonar/radar systems have a buzzer to let you know when things are too close in addition to a mountable LED system to give you an idea of range. Problem is, I live in New York City where parking spots are normally the size of a can of baked beans so the audio buzzing of a car bumper 4 feet away would drive me absolutely crazy. The Video camera would show me the approaching bumper except that the monitor for the camera is usually mounted in the center console and it seems counter-intuitive to be looking forward to move backwards. What are your opinions on this one? On a side note, I may be getting my Subie B9 tomorrow (good, because I'm almost out of valium!!) but with the price of cheap gasoline in NY hitting $3.39 (87 octane), my baby may be doing a lot more driveway duty than I thought... This really sucks!!

-Charles

ateixeira

aix: It really depends on what seat you have, if it's an older one that only uses the seat belts go ahead and place it in the middle.

-juice

megreyhair

LOL.. if they are old enough, they will want to sit by the window so they can look out and play with the window switch.... Middle seat is boring. Don't you remember it from your childhood days?

bt2

Karen,

Your fix on silencing the seat belt chime worked like a charm.

You next challenge, should you accept it, is to get the passenger airbag on/off light to go out after the car is in gear.

ateixeira

Auto makers got smart and put locks on the power window switches, plus they added child safety locks so they can't open the door. On top of that you can lock the seat-belt retractors to keep them in place, and play a movie to keep 'em quiet.

Now that's progress!

-juice

subienewbie2

That's true Juice - Unfortunately Subaru & others did not do a good job with the window lock switch

The purpose of the switch is keep children from operating the windows for safety reasons. However SOA makes things difficult for the driver. When you set the lock the driver can not operate those windows either. Stupid stupid stupid!

If you have 3 rambuncious kids in the car & the driver wants to adjust one or more passenger windows he is at the mercy of the kids fiddling with the window switches when he turns the lock off.

Most properly designed cars allows the passenger windows to work from the drivers panel when the lock is activated.

What SOA and Nissan & Infiniti do is simply silly and stupid. From what I have seen it appears to be a Japanese way of doing it. I think most US & Euro brands do it correctly, with the drivers panel usable when the lock is set.

ateixeira

I just want those windows closed virtually all the time, so I'm OK with the way they work. You don't open them accidentally while reaching over. The driver's still works, for drive-thru windows and tolls.

To be honest, not even tolls any more, with auto toll pay devices. I hardly ever even use the windows.

-juice

robr2

My Honda's always had that annoying feature that the lock out button locked out operation entirely. My new VW allows me to operate the other windows even when locked out.

cluelesspa

the dual climate control. why do they not have a method to lock both controls to the same temp. Most of the time I am the only one in the B9, so when I adjust the temp I want both sides to be the same (ie. cooler or warmer) I notice that if forget, sometimes the car will be cooling on the driver side and slightly warm air on the passenger. I know its not hard to reach over, but its stupid not have a dual/single mode switch.

ateixeira

But then why have dual-zone at all? My wife and I always want different temps. She likes it warmer, but often she has a sweater or jacket so then she wants it cooler.

If the seat is empty, who even cares?

-juice

cluelesspa

because if the passenger seat is empty the system will work overtime if the passenger temp was last left on a warmer temperature... I.E. say she has left it at 76 degrees but its not very hot out and you want to cool the cabin down... so you select 70 degrees. The result: the left side will be blowing cool air and the right side will be blowing heated air. hence the a/c is working over time against itself to cool down the cabin.

subienewbie2

I am with you.

Another silly Japanese feature or lack there of is the fact that most Japanese brands do not have auto door locks when you put the car in gear.

When I asked an Infinti rep why my 60K Q45 did not do it - he explained the Japanese mind thinks their way is safer. They rationalize that if you are in a serious accident and are unconscious - people could not open the doors to get you out.

Since they live in a non violent society they do not see the need to protect us from say a car jacker - since that doesn't happen there.

My response was fine - how about a few extra lines of code that lets the driver select the mode "Violent Western Society Mode" or Peace Loving Japanese Mode"

No extra wires or switches needed for the door locks or window switches. Just good common sense.

subienewbie2

You have the ability to lock it out Dual Zone for convenience when its needed. Not every one has a spouse and most often doesn't need it. But that doesn't mean dual is not needed.

I know you are a great Subaru supporter Juice but it seems that you often make rationalizations to excuse short sighted design flaws that SOA makes. All we are doing is offering options that will make for a better car & not cost SOA a penny to implement.

They may want to go more upscale - but it appears they should be talking to up-scale owners and recruit product planners that know the up-scale market better.

rsholland

Tribeca sales July = 1,833

Tribeca sales August = 2,022

Bob

riverhawk

it ended up coming with a pin strip to my pleasant surprise.

Hey...I just ordered my new B9 but no-one offered a pin stripe and I can't find it mentioned anywhere in the lit. I think that would look really cool! Is this a factory option? Dealer?

Oh, I ordered a mahogany red 5 Seat LTD with Navigation and the factory accepted my order! Said I'd get the first one off the line in about 6 weeks. No pricing yet so I struck a deal that I'd get it for $600 over invoice. We'll see what happens....

wvroads

The stripe is a dealer add-on. Some dealers charge for the stripping while others will put it on for free (mine will), but I haven't decided what color would look best with my silver 5 pass Ltd.

Did you say you got nav on a 5 Pass?? That would be the first that I have heard of that. Nav has only been available on the 7 pass.

samiam_68

I second that. Subaru climate control just plain sucks. Subaru should take a lesson from Toyota or Honda if they're aiming to go upmarket. Or hire an engineer to design the thing rather than slap something together and put it in a car and call it climate control and charge premium prices for it.

cluelesspa

so let us know if you can get the 5 Seat LTD with NAV. thought as well it was a 7 seat option only. that is the only reason I got a seven seat that and the rear air vents.

cluelesspa

Subienewbie2... did I read you posting correctly? there IS a way to lock out the dual zone when not needed?

c_hunter

Actually, I am always annoyed when I get in a GM car and the damn doors lock once the car is put in gear and/or gets over a certain speed. I am really glad our Subaru and Honda products have not done that. As far as I am concerned, that is a choice the owner should make. The best thing would be to allow the driver to program that feature, I guess, then we could each choose our preference.

Craig

c_hunter

with Navigation and the factory accepted my order! Said I'd get the first one off the line in about 6 weeks. No pricing yet so I struck a deal that I'd get it for $600 over invoice. We'll see what happens....

Is this a time warp?? They have been coming off the line since about May (Subaru has sold at least 6000 already), and you can get exact pricing details on the Subaru website, with invoice pricing from Edmunds.

Craig

riverhawk

We have no kids and we didn't want the extra weight of the 7 Seat but really wanted NAV. I emailed SOA, asked about it and said I wouldn't order the B9 until that configuration was available. They told me OK, go ahead and order the 5 Seat and that they were ready to accept orders. Sure enough, they accepted the dealer's order yesterday and said it would be at most 6 weeks! I'm getting the 5 Seat LTD mahogany with beige leather, auto dim mirror, puddle lights and cargo package. Can't wait!!

jeffmc

newsubu: cars101.com is back up!

megreyhair

LOL.... same situation here.... I

c_hunter

Ah, that makes sense now! So you will get the first 5-pax/Nav, eh? Pretty cool. It makes a lot of sense to offer that combination. I also would not want 7 seats, but would want some of the goodies the 7-pax model gets. $600 over invoice seems to be pretty fair, based on prices at fitzmall.com.

Let us know when you get it!

Craig

cluelesspa

It is a user programmable option on the Chryslers. There is a menu option to turn on or off auto lock and also to turn on or off unlock all doors when Driver exits car

plus option to unlock all doors or just the driver door when you first click the key fob.

subienewbie2

NO - what I tried to say but failed was this:

Juice stated that why bother having dual control if it could be turned off.

I tried to explain that there a legitmate reasons to have the ability for the HVAC to be set to single as well as dual mode.

Saying an off switch is not necessary for the dual control AC could be extended to say why have a switch for the headlights just let them come on when you start the car.

Also the calibration of the temp setting are why off the mark. In my B9 setting the temp to 74 you are freezing. It may control the temp but what the temp in car is and what the display setting is - seem to have no correlation.

As I stated in an earlier post, this is another area where SOA goofed - doing a better would not have cost a cent but may cost them sales.

cluelesspa

I dont think it will cost them sales, just maybe repeat buyers. My guess is the typical buyer is too busy looking at the larger details to notice these items are missing until they buy the B9 and drive it for a few months...

ateixeira

Pardon my ignorance but do other manufactures offer the dual-zone on/off feature? I've never owned a luxury car so I really wouldn't know.

I just don't like asking for things I don't use/want, because that jacks up the cost of production and most likely the price along with it.

So yeah, I have peculiar tastes. I like heated cloth, but a moonroof. Manual tranny, but the H6 engine so I can use regular. No power seats for me, they're slow. Single A/C did a good enough job cooling the interior. I guess I look for ways to contain costs so this doesn't become a $40k SUV I'll never afford.

-juice

ateixeira

2022 sales is below the targets, that's on pace to sell 24k/year but they want 35k eventually. And by now the advertising was in full swing.

Timing was bad, with sky rocketing gas prices it will be tough to boost those sales even if they did lower prices right now. They may have to wait until gas prices drop before sales pick up any further.

Auto-locking - I find that annoying too. We've had loaner cars with that feature. You arrive at the destination, reach for the handle, and oops, it's locked. Annoying when you're driving just a mile or so to the pool or the grocery store.

Any how, keep in mind this is v1.0. Subaru tends to slowly add content without raising prices too much. I think a backup camera should come first, at least with NAV. 2nd probably power up/down windows. 3rd a telescoping wheel. Those are things I'm hearing often enough that most people would want it.

-juice

c_hunter

I agree that this is a bad design feature. On my wife's Acura, it defaults to "single" zone, where the driver's temp button controls both sides. As soon as somebody touches the passenger temp button, it goes into dual zone mode. There is also a button that can toggle between dual and single.

One of the daily annoyances in my OB XT is having to reach over and turn two knobs when I want to set the temperature while alone in the car. When I saw Acura's system (on a $27K car no less) I was glad somebody gets it right!

Craig

ateixeira

Now that sounds simple enough that they should go ahead and adapt that function.

I didn't realize they worked that way.

-juice

subienewbie2

From my experience many luxo cars have the feature to switch between single & dual control. They do it different ways and it usually adds nothing to their manufacturing cost because it is done primary in software. Virtually all modern cars are computer controlled. They can change - add or delete features and capabilities by changing just the software.

An example - Auto Down drivers window on the B9 - there are ways to do that on all the windows without changing the switches - just the software. Auto up however would probably add about a dollar a window because they would have to add a sensor.

Hell they can adjust HP and torque through software within certain limits.

To the person that said he did not like the auto locking doors because when you park you must unlock the doors. Valid point. Add a programmable feature to allow the doors to automatically unlock when the speed is Zero or the Tranny is in PARK.

These things are no brainers - if you employ sharp product planners.

ateixeira

That would work for me...

We had an old Mustang when I was high school, those doors would unlock when you pulled the door handle. But I'm not sure that's entirely safe.

-juice

cluelesspa

The pacifica unlocks when opened from the INSIDE even though the doors are locked. and with the setting for open all. the driver opens the door and ALL doors then Unlock.

You can SELECT what you want if you want that mode or the dumb mode of no autolocking or unlocking (like the B9 is)... but you have the OPTION to pick what you want. I like the auto lock and unlock when I open the doors. I forget that I locked the doors and get out to open the rear hatch and have to hit the unlock button.

speaking of unlock, I wish the keyfob was more quick to respond to the second push to unlock ALL doors. I hit it twice quickly and it doesn't unlock all doors. I have to hit it once then wait a second then hit it again for the doors to all unlock.

cluelesspa

I just looked at the front bug guard ... it looks like there is NO screws holding it on. Is this true? looks like all clips are used to hold the guard to the front of the hood lip.

robr2

My Passat has auto lock - a featue I expected to hate. Meh - no big deal. The driver's door unlocks with a pull of the inside handle. All the other doors unlock with two pulls of the inside handle.

samiam_68

Same on my Lexus. Car starts with whatever mode was last on. If it's in single, and someone touches the Passenger Temp regulator, system goes to dual mode. There's also a "Dual" button that can turn the dual mode on and off as desired. This is not rocket science, just one extra button.

Not to mention the Lexus keeps a very steady comfortable temperarture inside, whether it's 0 or 100 outside.

I can't wait to see the flood of complaints about Tibeca's climate control when the colder temperatures are here.

jay_24

Our chevy tahoe has many of these features (base model)and I don't consider it a lux model or brand. The locks engage when put into gear and un-lock when put into park.

The heat/air controls for our is front and back (not dual zone in front seat). They can be turned off, set to be controlled in front, or controlled in the rear.

Another nice feature is with the radio. First it stays on when you shut the car off until you open a door (same goes for power windows). The volume also adjusts with speed/noise. The radio slightly turns up the volume when you accel to interstate speeds and quiets down as you pull off to a stop light. (the amount is adjustable) This probably isn't a real big issue on really quiet SUVs, but I'd like to have it on my outback which is fairly quiet.

Window controls on the chevy also allow the drive to control all windows even while locked. I hate the subie on this. soon as I un-lock the windows to put the passanger side down, kids have the back ones going up and down.

The Chevy malibu/classic that I recently rented had the window lock feature and left the power to accesories until I open the door. The auto locking doors were different in that they locked when putting into gear, but didn't unlock. All you need to do is open the door and it unlocks, so your never locked in. (unless child locks are on)

--jay

mikejl

The one feature I miss most from other vehicles is memory seats.

ateixeira

We should come up with a wish list.

What do you call that, residual power?

-juice

riverhawk

Sorry about my lack of clarity...yes indeed, a 5-pax/Nav! I'll miss the rear seat AC but I'll live without it. I'll post when I get the car. As far as the deal goes, I used a small fleet buyer who's willing to add retail onesies to keep his volume up. Basically, he splits the spread (pre-set, no negoting) with the dealer. Worked out great for me 'cause his preferred Subaru dealer is in St. Louis where I live. We'll see if the deal is righteous when it comes in and then I can recommend the package.

jay_24

Sure. Somthing like that. (guessing your talking about the radio and other things staying on...)

--jay

ateixeira

We used it on our trip, it was a hot/humid DC summer day, but the kids got cold and we had to turn it off. So the dual A/C helps cool down the cabin but might be overkill once it's already cool.

Hopefully you won't miss it.

5 pass w/NAV is a smart idea, gets the price down significantly.

-juice

robr2

What do you call that, residual power?

Retained Power.

rsholland

I hope this blog link can be posted here, as it warrants comment.

http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/jalopnik-reviews/jalopnik-reviews-2006-subaru-b9-tribeca-limi- ted-part-1-117708.php

Bob