Subaru B9 Tribeca Engine Problems

cadillac · April 2008

UPDATE -
I have yet to get my Tribeca back. However, the good news is they know what caused the problem. It appears one of the valve springs broke. This wreaked havoc on the engine causing it to misfire and shut down in essence.

They are still replacing the short block and as it turns out and a valve. Not sure if I heard them correctly, but they may have said the heads as well? Either way, because the car is still under the 5yr 60k miles powertrain, if anything goes wrong in the next two years, I would be covered. I have to figure this is good luck (bad luck) depending on how you look at it.

I will say the dealership has been great to deal with. I have not had to call them once for an update. They beat me to the punch. Not the best to be without my car for almost two weeks, but it could be much worse if the dealership hadn't been as good as they have been so far. :confuse:

cadillac · April 2008

UPDATE to the UPDATE
Going on almost three weeks. The dealership had to order valve pucks for the adjusting of the valves. They were measuring them today, hopeful the car will be ready on Wednesday. :sick:

cadillac · April 2008

Back and running. Like getting a new car that is dirty in the cabin. All is well. Drives like it did when it was new.

paisan · April 2008

Excellent, remember to break it in again.

-mike

cadillac · April 2008

I began to notice a knocking noise coming from the engine. I thought this might be a knocking problem due to the engine not being warm, but it didn't matter how warm or cold the car was, the knocking was very pronounced. The engine seemed to be functioning fine, but I returned the car to the dealership one week after getting it back.

In arriving at the dealer at 530pm on the way home from work, the service writer immediately said this was not normal and is likely to be the valves not being adjusted properly. He suggested I could drive it home with no issue and that I ought to return it in the morning when they could fit it into the schedule.

The dealership provided another loaner car after fearing another valve spring may have broken on another valve. When I picked up the loaner car later in the day, the service writer and I were removing car seats from the car and he noticed (Whole engine was out of the car) a bolt appeared to have broken off. A bolt that holds the cam into place. He responded "good, looks like this is our fault and nothing with the engine. Explains why the mechanic didn't come speak to me before he left for the day." He torqued the bolt too tight causing it to break and rattle around within the engine.

Tribeca is back, seems fine. Keep your fingers crossed. My dad had a good saying he learned in the military - First time - bad luck, 2nd time Coincidence, 3rd time definitely enemy advancement

...Let's hope there is not a third engine problem.

ateixeira · May 2008

Hope so! :shades:

chuck68 · June 2008

I have a B9 with around 40,000 miles. The engine light came on one morning and it shut down. The Subaru dealer did a compression test and found that one of the cylinders stopped working. They said they had never seen anything like it and keep it for two weeks. Luckily, it is still under the powertrain warranty. They replaced valves, several gaskets, O rings and spark plugs. It runs, but now it knocks and backfires. Is this a lemon or what? I can't believe this. I have a call into the dealer again about this. Has anyone had or heard of another B9 with this problem?

paisan · June 2008

Sounds like when they put the engine back together they may have messed up the timing chain (may be off by a tooth or 2) and that is probably what is causing the knocking and backfiring.

-mike

ateixeira · June 2008

40k miles is way too late for a lemon law claim, that's usually for the first year only or 12k miles.

swon · March 2009

swon · March 2009

I have 06 Tribeca and want to drain coolant.
How can I remove the under cover?
I saw two screws - could not unscrew them yet, since they are too tight...

Please advise....

ateixeira · March 2009

Are you sure they are screws? Are they metal?

Subaru uses plastic fasteners that looks like screws. You turn them slightly and they back out, then you pull the entire plug out, towards you.

They look like this:

Here is a side view:

Hope that helps.

maybach622 · June 2009

Hey,

I was also having trouble removing the undercover from my 2007 Subaru Forester in order to flush the cooling system. There are plastic fasteners as well as metal screws that are on tight. I was wondering if I should try to get them off myself or have the dealership do it

Thanks for your help

ateixeira · June 2009

Check if there is an access door, i.e. if part of the cover pivots out of the way for access.

If not it still should be too hard. My 98 Forester had 2 metal screws and at least a pair of those plastic clips above, and it never took more than a minute or two to take off.

chuck68 · June 2009

The exact same thing happened to our 2006 Tribeca this year and last year. The dealership tried to blame us for using bad fuel, but I complained to the national Subaru company and then the story changed to a bad ignition coil. Is there an ingnition coil for each cylinder?

ateixeira · June 2009

I'm not sure about the Tribeca but my 98 Forester had just one single coil for all 4 cylinders.

cambrinb · October 2009

Hey guys, I brought my 06 Tribeca back in March of this year. Just today are we seeing a problem where it doesn't even start. A few days for the last week we have just seen some hiccups while starting up. We figured it was just the change in temperature. But today it doesn't start, the engine doesn't turn. There is a loud whiny clicking noise when you turn the key. All the lights come on. Everything in the interior works.

If you have any ideas or information please send them my way quick. If you need more info just ask me.
Thank You.

cambrinb · October 2009

And when i try and start it there's a code that is display on the odometer: ER IU.

bvsmith · November 2009

My wife's Legacy GT had the same "ER IU" code showing after we jump-started it. The dealer didn't know what the code meant. Don't trust the dealers in diagnosing this issue. I read in another forum that the following sequence might work:
1. Disconnect the positive battery cable from the battery and ensure it stays disconnected while you are in the car. Bend it a little so it doesn't "creep" back to it's usual place.
2. Press the brake pedal and hold for 30 seconds to completely discharge the electrical system. While pressing the brake pedal, turn the key to the "start" position for about 5 seconds. Then turn the key to the "off" position and release the brake pedal.
3. Reconnect the positive battery cable to the battery.
4. Turn the key to the "on" position and wait for at least 30 seconds. Sometime during the 30 seconds, the "ER IU" message should change to the odometer reading as normal.
5. Start the car, do a test drive.

I just tried this and it did work. The "ER IU" message went away and I didn't notice when. I then test-drove the car and the cruise control worked fine. If this does not work, keep trying the web. Someone knows. Good luck.

ateixeira · November 2009

I've heard that, but if that doesn't work try leaving the battery disconnected for 20 minutes or so.

The brake light is supposed to use up any residual energy (didn't work for me for some reason), but giving it time will do that as well (that did).

mistyone1 · November 2009

Had my 08 H6 in the dealer to perform an oil consumption test after i told them that it was low on oil between oil changes. The first two checks at 1000 miles there was no noticeable difference in the level. Went on vacation from Floria to the Blue Ridge Mountains and and the dealer in Henderson ville checked the oil and they had to put in .5 qt and noted it on the form. The next 1000 miles drove around and went back to my dealer in Florida after driven 1050 miles an they said that it was down 1 qt. and that it met SOA standards of 1 qt per 1000 miles and that the car only burned 1.5 qt. for the 4000 miles. They guess that it was a qt low and did not fill it up. The next day I filled it up and it took 1.5 qts to the level mark. SOA says that if it burns over 1 qt per 1000 miles, do a compression check. It seems like when driving at interstate speed and in the mountain, the car is under stress and burns oil. Has anyone had similar problems and how did you get them resolved. It's not the oil filter, it is dry as a bone.

benjarrett · November 2009

I had the same dealer oil analysis done on my 2008 Tribeca. The car had about 12,000 miles at the time. It took great effort to find a dealer that would agree to do the analysis. They claimed 1qt for 1000 miles is normal for Tribeca's. I spoke to four different dealers before I found one that seemed honest.

The first time the dealer topped it off after 1000 miles, they said they put in .8qts with the oil level on the dipstick at the bottom of the E hole. When I checked the dipstick it was overfilled by about 1/2 a qt. I took the car back and they removed the extra oil. I brought it back after 1000 miles again. They added a 1qt. but when I checked it was overfilled again. I asked if overfilling was their technique to disprove an oil consumption issue. I did this four times in total. Only once did they not overfill it. Then they agreed to do the wet/dry compression test. It came back normal. 125-135psi per cylinder. I was then told that 1qt per 1000 miles was acceptable and that usage had to be over 1qt per 1000 miles. SOA and Zone/Area rep confirmed this and stood behind the dealer.

When I picked up the car the dealer wrote on the Repair Order that I had tampered with the test and was purposely draining out the oil between each 1000 miles. I was horrified and asked the dealer why they would write that, yet not say anything about it to me in person. The dealer said they had marked the drain nut with a plastic ring but it was missing when I brought the car on the last test. I reminded the dealer that I had a quick release valve not a drain nut, and perhaps their plastic ring fell off?

The car now has 28,000 miles on it and it drinks oil like water. No dealer will touch it. The only theory that has been given to me is that I probably did not break the car in hard enough and that resulted in cylinder glazing. I've owned a lot of cars and none of them use a qt every 1000 miles. I hate adding oil every week. I despise Subaru and will never own another one. It bugs me so much, that sometimes I'm tempted to pay an independent shop to re-hone the cylinders and install new rings. I've read oil consumption without smoke can only be via the EGR valve or cylinder consumption. But the $4-6000 I have been quoted is not worth it. That would buy a lot of oil.

Cars use oil and I've read boxer engines use more, but most Tribeca owners I talk too don't have this problem. I guess my Tribeca is defective and I'm stuck with it. My stomach sours every time I lay eyes on that car.

xwesx · November 2009

That car is still under warranty. Raise hell or bring suit against the company, and I'm sure they will do something about it.

It is NOT normal. I have owned four Subaru's and not a one used oil. Well, okay, the '96 with 220,000 miles on it would drink maybe a pint every 1000 miles, but that was a gradual progression over many, many miles.

mistyone1 · November 2009

Update, after arguing with the service manager, I got the general manager to approve a compression test. They showed me the results and every thing was in SOA guidelines 185- 215psi. Anything below 164psi is bad. Of course they performed the test with out a load and just crank the engine to 350rpm. Just because their test passed does not mean that the car is not burning oil, especially at interstate speeds or when the car is pulling something.

If your car ia an H6, I would definitely take it back to the dealer if it check out 125-135 psi. Also your car engine is under warranty for 5 years or 50,000 miles. There can be some bad engines out there, I don't think SOA is that perfect in producing an engine that is trouble free. Maybe they are aware of the problem and it would cost the company too much to recall all of the H6 and fix the problem.

I just don't trust there test procedures. Four days prior, my battery went dead and had to have my son jump start it. Took it down the next day and they performed their load test and showed me the results, everything was up to standard. Made me look like a fool and they where kind of smug and "see there is nothing wrong" attitude. The next day the car would not start again, this time I called there roadside service to jump start it. The next day it did the same thing, this time roadside hauled it down to Subaru to fix. When I picked it up they were very surprised that there test did not determine it was a bad battery. So don't believe everything they tell you, research it.

What kind of oil do you use, I change my own to Castro 5w-30 with a top of the line Fran filter.

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benjarrett · November 2009

For the first 20,000 miles I used 5W-30. Tried Castrol, Mobil 1, and Valvoline. Mobil 1 burned the fastest.
Since then I have also used 10W-30 and tried a 20W-50 in the summer. That helped, but I know it puts extra stress on the oil pump.

I was not aware the compression test numbers should be 185-215psi. They told me 125-135 was the normal range and everyone else (SOA, other dealers etc.) I spoke to at Subaru confirmed that.
I could not find the compression numbers in the technical manual either. I would need some sort of official supporting documentation or the dealer is not going to touch it.

mistyone1 · November 2009

The values for the compression was a printed out on the results of the compression test and it listed the SOA range for the test, I have a copy but don't know how to show it on the forum. If you want to send me your email I'll attach the printout of my test with their range.

benjarrett · December 2009

The Dealer only gave me the compression results on their own Repair Order so I could never see the comparison. I asked for the results, but they said the Repair Order was the only result they had.
Mistyone1 if you wanted to email me your copy that would be very beneficial. I could not find a way to email you via this site, but my email address is public if you click on my screen name.

Thanks

wangum · February 2010

mine's a 2006 ltd. check engine, cruise and traction control on all at same time. obd codes P0301, P0303, P0305 which are misfires for cylinders 1, 3, and 5. none of the techs at the dealership have seen this ??? new plugs, air filter, good gas, injector treatment every 5k miles. help please !!!

ateixeira · February 2010

The EZ30 had been reliable so I'm not surprised if a small, local dealer had not seen that issue on that engine yet. But they should be able to talk to their regional techs and get some help, no?

They say spark or fuel, so add the ignition coil and ignition wires (does that model have 'em?) to your check list.

lordbalo · February 2010

My 2007 tribecca just had the same problem. we had a really bad snow storm in maryland and i turned off the traction control to get out of a turn i was stuck in. I reved it really had though them all the same lights came on. Check engine light, traction control light stay on and Cruise light blinks. now am hearing a little rattling the suv. some pls help. unlike the above gentleman I have done good gas and proper oils changes. never had a turn up done and its only got 40K miles on it.

cuse2 · April 2010

I just bought a 2007 Tribeca with 30,000 miles. A couple days after we had it I drove it up a long (200 yard) hill and noticed that it shudders slightly on the way up. It is smooth as can be under any other conditions. Any thoughts on what this could be. Thanks.

3135js · June 2010

I am new to this forum. I have a 09 B9 Tribeca and I find that I am adding 1 qt of oil every 800 miles. The selling dealer claims this is normal. I have owned Hondas, Toyotas, Jeeps, all with several hundred thousands of miles that never used a quart between oil changes. How is it that a more modern engine is consuming so much oil? How do you proceed with the dealer/Subaru in getting this situation resolved?
3135js

mistyone1 · June 2010

I have notice that when I do high speed highway driving, my oil consumption increases. during a trip, I alwayways have to check it. The dealer will only say that is normal, like you i generally do not add oil between oil changes on other cars. I had to get the manager to do a oil consumption test in which every 1000 miles you have to bring it in to the dealer to verify the oil level. When they told me that losing a 1 1/2 is normal. I rgued with them and they agree to do a compression check. Everything checked ou to their specs and they found nothing wrong. I am still losing oil and notice that it only happens during stressful condition on the boxer engine. If it is still under warranty, have them do the test, oyur consumption seems excessive. I also think that using 5w-30 is the problem.

ateixeira · June 2010

1 quart per 1000 miles is the industry norm, 800 miles exceeds that, albeit slightly.

What weight are you using? Dino or Synthetic?

xwesx · June 2010

Just for reference, with a 2.5L SOHC, I put 7500 miles on my car, replaced the oil filter, and added a quart to top it off. Since then, I have put another 3500 miles on it and it still is barely under the full mark on the dipstick. Granted, this is the four versus six cylinder engine, but 1-quart per 800 miles is definitely excessive.

Oh, and I use synthetic.

sweetpete · June 2010

>> 1 quart per 1000 miles is the industry norm.

That's surprising, at least to me.

My '07 with 64k miles burns NO oil, which is great, since I use expensive Mobil 1 (0W-30).

robr2 · June 2010

>> 1 quart per 1000 miles is the industry norm.

That's surprising, at least to me.

My '07 with 64k miles burns NO oil, which is great, since I use expensive Mobil 1 (0W-30).

I think what juice meant was that burning up to 1 qt per 1000 miles is an accepted tolerance in the industry. Anything less than that is acceptable.

mistyone1 · June 2010

I change my own also and use Castrol Syntethic blend 5w-30 and normal dring in the city it does'nt lost any, the minute I go on the intersate and in the mountains, I lose about 1-2 qts.

ateixeira · June 2010

Correct.

Lately none of my engines burns any noticeable levels of oil, knock on wood.

My 1995 Mazda 626 did, a little. Still less than a quart between oil changes, though.

digitalace · September 2010

There is a separate coil for each cylinder. My 2006 Tribeca is currently in the shop having one of them replaced as it was misfiring and after a month of on and off misfiring it actually burned out while I was on my way to the mechanic to replace it. I thought bad gas as well, but I always use Hi-Test (93) and have used different gas stations. When I first had the misfiring I also used a gas treatment. It seemed to work but the issue came back again. Ignition coil ran me about 160 installed.

ateixeira · September 2010

6 coils, really?

My 4 cylinder Forester had just one single ignition coil.

I replaced it ($80) when chipmunks chewed up the wiring around it.

digitalace · September 2010

Yeah 6 coils. I just confirmed it today with the mechanic. Each cylinder had its own and one of them (coil for cylinder 2) burned up which in-turn blew a safety fuse that controlled cylinders 2,4 and 6. The car wouldnt start at all. I was told that the car needs at least 2 of the 4 cylinders to start. All said and done, its going to cost me $240 to replace the coil that burned up and to replace the fuse that blew. Im going to pick it up tomorrow. Ill let everyone know how it runs.

robr2 · September 2010

My 4 cylinder Forester had just one single ignition coil.

More manufacturers are changing from a single coil and going to one for each plug. It eliminates the distributor and improves ignition performance.

mtsubies · December 2010

since the 2008 tribeca has increased horsepower than the 2006-2007, can you change the ECM on the older units to a 2008 ECM and pick up the increased hp since it is using the 2008 fuel programming? :confuse:

ateixeira · December 2010

The engine is very different - it went from 3.0l to 3.6l, longer stroke, dog-leg piston shafts, etc. I'd guess it would not run at all.

Subaru B9 Tribeca Engine Problems

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