Subaru B9 Tribeca: Problems & Solutions

renjord

My rear defogger does not seem to work- or it is really slow. Has anyone else experienced this?

tsstrand

Have a question about the passenger airbag sensor on the Tribeca. When my wife is in the passenger seat and I start the vehicle, the airbag display indicates the passenger airbag is on. However, after a few minutes of driving the display indicates the passenger airbag is off and continues to indicate this until the vehicle is turned off. When I'm in the passenger seat and my wife is driving, the passenger airbag indicator continues to stay on as it should.

Does anyone know why the display would initially indicate the passenger airbag is on but then change to off? What is a reasonable weight threshold for the passenger airbag sensor? Thanks!

subearu

It's weight sensitive. Is your dw light? Maybe she's not sitting properly on the seat bottom?

-Brian

megreyhair

same situation here. But it switches back to on after a few seconds. My wife weights around 120. I guess it all depends on where she sits.

Here's my solution: Have them seat in the last row. :shades:

cluelesspa

:shades: well the subaru regional rep was at my dealer yesterday. dropped off my B9 the night before.

they finally found the squeak that is heard when going over bumps. its not really a rattle but more like an eeeek sound. turns out the hood hinge was the problem. they re-alligned and tightened the hood hinge and supposedly its fixed. picking it back up tonight.

They said the rep actually rode under the hood while the svc manager drove the B9 over some bumps so they could hear where it was coming from ... not sure how much is true but that is going the extra mile for the customer

Second, they will replace the fog lights under warranty ! order a replacement set for me... the rep said that they currently do not mfg the lens only but will soon. I thought strange since the lens was in the parts system already at around $75 or $80 each or $84 for each fog light. He is bringing the issue back to Subaru. I still think they will need to change the material or make a screen like they do for the WRX.

after I get them in, I will get the 3M film to protect them xpel film. anyone with the film have a re-occurance of the fog light cracked?

njswamplands

They said the rep actually rode under the hood while the svc manager drove the B9 over some bumps so they could hear where it was coming from

would love to see a pic/vid of this. b9 eats man, film at 11......

ateixeira

Glad to hear they took care of you. That's exactly what they should do to keep Tribeca customers happy.

-juice

samiam_68

They said the rep actually rode under the hood while the svc manager drove the B9 over some bumps so they could hear where it was coming from


Does the Tribeca have a FOURTH row of seats under the hood we didn't know about?
:P

subienewbie2

Don't be silly - SOA has nano sized regional reps for just such situations

cluelesspa

actually they are called Mini-Me Reps ... :P

well opened the hood to make sure that all was well and they forgot to reinstall the strut that pushes the hood up on the left hand side! oh well they will put it back when they install the fog lights. then its off to get the 3M film installed.

harvpt

Its cold here in the Northeast now, and I am experiencing the rear hatch gate not opening all the way up. I have hit my head a couple of times. Has anyone been having this experience? Is it the cold on the hydrolic rods? Or has anyone brought the problem to a dealer for resolution?

cluelesspa

same issue ... forgot to mention it... tried lube-ing the struts on the door but dont think it worked. guessing there is some seal inside that slides up and down.

but yeah I think they made the gas struts too weak to make closing the rear hatch easy.

harvpt

Did you mention it to the dealer? I am bringing in my "Tribe" next week to get my rear seat rail replaced (the cause of a rattle, which they removed) and I will mention it to them. I will let you know what they say.

subienewbie2

The de-icer on the rear hatch appears to be defective or worthless.

Earlier this week I was parked next to a Toyota van here in Chicago. While we were both parked it started snowing. The van owner and I left the parking lot together. I was behind him and turned the de-icer on almost immeadiately.

Traffic was crawling and after about 5 minutes I could see the snow on the van's rear window beginning to melt, after about 15 minutes his window was completely free of snow and mine was just beginning to show signs of melting.

My B9 goes in Tues for its in warranty fog light replacements - so I will have them check the rear de-froster. Any one else find it to be weak?

kmartin

I've had this problem for a few months now, and I live in the desert southwest. It started when the weather was still warm. I took the vehicle in about a month ago and they ordered the parts. Talked to the parts folks again yesterday, and they have decided this is definitely a supply problem ("national backorder"). I was told that Subaru has determined that the lift arms used on the Tribecas are not strong enough for the heavy hatch, so eventually they might all fail. SOA is looking for a replacement part from a different manufacturer, but still has not found one. Supposedly they will know something in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, I was told if the problem is bad enough they will swap struts with one of their inventory vehicles. I didn't think that was hardly fair to the next buyer, so I will just remember to manually lift the hatch for now and learn to duck :-)

Weird thing is, I had a Forester for six and a half years, and the hatch lid had a curved place in the corner that was just exactly the height of my temples. After a couple of mild headaches, I subconsciously learned to duck...I still found myself doing it with the B9 even before the problem started...some habits are hard to break...

-Karen in AZ-

kmartin

Are you certain you are pushing the right button? The front de-icer and rear defroster buttons are kind of similar, and the labels aren't very easy to read. They are both located above the fan control, but the left one is for the front and the right one is for the rear. Fortunately I haven't had a need to try either one yet :shades:

-Karen in AZ-

ateixeira

tee-hee.

-juice

kmartin

Don't laugh too loud or the freezing folks up around Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon will hunt you down :-)

Actually, our temps in the outlying metro areas of Phoenix (like mine) can change from 30-40 degrees on any given day. We've had several nights in the mid-20's at my house and then it warmed up to 65+ the following day. Kind of hard to know how to dress!

No humidity to hold the heat in at night. We seriously need some rain here again and snow in the higher country. Ten years of drought has had its toll....

-Karen-

samiam_68

Subaru de-icers, heated mirrors, defrosters, etc.. are pathetic. Toyota units are so powerful you can sometimes see steam coming off when they're working. This is from personal experience - own both Sub and Toy. So, chances are, yours is working as "designed".

rsholland

Karen, I have a cousin who lives in Wickenburg, AZ, which is about 60 miles northwest of Phoenix. He's a retired Air Force Lt. Col., and has lived just about everywhere. He loves it out there.

Bob

ateixeira

Yeah, I've been, what an amazing contrast in climate.

I loved sliding down the stream in slippery rock (is that what they call it?).

-juice

kmartin

Wickenburg gets about the same weather as Phoenix, but a few degrees cooler...great Dude Ranch country, and quite peaceful there. Slide Rock is up between Sedona and Flagstaff...gorgeous country, but it gets purdy daggone cold up there! You wouldn't want to be sliding down Oak Creek Canyon right now, as it probably is icy cold, if not iced over :-)

Arizona has just about any climate you could possibly think of, from low (lush at times) deserts to 12,000-plus-feet-high pine-covered mountains. Sometimes it even rains and snows out here, believe it or not :-) Phoenix will be around 70 today and 40 tonight; Flagstaff is 120 miles to the north, and will have a high of 50 and low of around 18. That's about normal...except this should be our wettest month, and we've had nothing so far...

About 5 years ago, as my mom and I were driving in suburban Phoenix (Glendale) on my way to do some Christmas shopping the first weekend in December, we actually drove through snow! (It wasn't sticking, but it was pretty cool). When we got to the mall, we spotted Santa Claus backing out of the parking lot driving a Ford Taurus, and we took his parking spot! A day to remember...

We see a lot of Subarus especially in the winter (mostly retired snowbirds from the northwest and midwest), but you'll see lots of 'em around Flagstaff and Prescott all year long. You can sure have some fun out here on the desert and mountain roads with AWD!

-Karen in AZ-

cluelesspa

the nice thing is the heated wiper blades. that button is down on the front dash below the mirror controls. next to the turn off traction control button. it goes after a set time or certain speed if I remember correctly in the manual...

cluelesspa

thanks Karen for the info, I will also file a complaint on the 800 subaru line so that they log the issue like the fog lights, and hopefully come up with a TSB repair for it. TSB= Technical Service Bulletin :sick:

kmartin

Yes, good idea. I believe my dealer already has made that call to SOA to let them know, but it wouldn't hurt if the owners also call it in. I had assumed we'd see a TSB somewhere along the line, but the sooner, the better...and maybe eventually I'll quit whacking my noggin :sick:

-Karen in AZ-

cluelesspa

I wouldn't mind so much if it just was stuck going open... but my hatch will not stay fully open when I manually push it to the top in cold weather...

it slowly drops back to about 75% open! :surprise:

ateixeira

I thought of this when I read you recent posts...

harvpt

I also e-mailed SOA and alerted them to the Rear Hatch problem, and that several Edmunds.com forum posts also :confuse: referred to this problem. Lets see what they say.

kmartin

Juice, we have our own version of this out here...

cluelesspa

what thickness did everyone get installed of ExPel film for their foglights and headlights?

I did find an installer that was more reasonable but further away. he said that the bumper stuff they use is 20 or 30 mil thick and that their computer equipment can only custom cut up to 30 mil. the stuff you buy from the factory kit is 40 mil?

did they install the thicker or thinner material on your headlights?

megreyhair

The 1 from 3M for lights is 40 mil.
3M paint protection is 6 mil. So I don't know what they are using if the one they put on paint is 20 to 30 mil thick.

BTW,the film has to be stretched to conform to the curves. So
if the guy is using precut for your lights, it might not come out good because its hard to stretch precut ones as there are not much of the material he can hold on to when pulling.

cluelesspa

I am thinking the bumper stuff is 20 mil... and the computer has a program from the factory they download that autocuts the parts exact fit for each car. not sure how its done but they are one of the Expel designer locations. but he said the equipment is only designed to cut up to 30 mil. so he is ordering the 40 mil kit from xpel directly for the B9 headlights and foglights.

cluelesspa

can someone take a quick peak under the front hood and tell me how many lifter struts you have to hold open the hood? is there one on both sides or only the RIGHT side?

mellowviper

We are due to get our fourth set in 4,000 miles!!! We are told that a "New" Design is coming soon but until then they will continue to replace them with the "Old" Struts!?*@#%!!! Other then that we Love our Scuby Limo, and We pity
anyone without Puddle light's this time of year!
Ken in Kirkland, WA

mikejl

I finally had a chance to get my Tribeca in to the service department so they could inspect the fog lamps. I was pleasantly surprised to find that replacements had already been ordered under warranty before I picked it up. I will be ordering the protective film before today ends.

I also have the problem with the rear gate not opening all the way. I have been treating it as an annoyance, but after reading all the other posts about it, I'll be asking Subaru to fix it for me.

One more, just for the record. I personally like the climate control system very much. I have/have had similar systems on other vehicles and I rank this one right up there with the best. If you think yours isn't operating correctly, have it checked. Don't assume it isn't designed correctly.

megreyhair

The bumper is 6 mil, same as the hood, fender, and side mirrors.
Instead of getting the precut 40 mil from factory, see if they can use 40 mil from a roll and freehand cut the piece after it is on the light. It will fit better and will be alot easier to install.

My installer cursed at the lights while doing it and these guys know what they are doing.

megreyhair

Does your ac comes on when its like 40 degree outside?
It annoys me like crazy.

As for the film, are you going to do just the foglights or the headlights as well? The headlights are very difficult to do yourself because they have too much curves. A flat sheet of anything doesn't go well on curves If you are just doing the foglights, I recommend getting a sheet of the film from ebay or something and cut it yourself. It is alot cheaper than spending $70 to get the xpel headlight kit.

cluelesspa

anyone ?

can someone take a quick peak under the front hood and tell me how many lifter struts you have to hold open the hood? is there one on both sides or only the RIGHT side?

subienewbie2

I paid 49.95 for a 4 piece set.

cluelesspa

was it the 40 mil precut from expel? how hard was the install of the headlight portion?

mikejl

I literally never mess with the climate control, other than setting it at 71 if my wife or daughter changed it on me. The AC may well come on when it's 40 outside, but I have never noticed if it did. I never feel an unwelcome blast of cold or hot air. I'm just comfortable. That's the key to me - I'm comfortable and I don't have to mess with it to stay that way. I think it works very well. And that opinion has been formed over more than 14,000 miles in the heat of summer and the extremely cold weather we've had lately.

I ordered the 4-piece X-PEL kit from www.drivingcomfort.com for under $50, including shipping. I will install the fog lamp pieces right away, but I'm going to wait for warmer weather before tackling the headlights. If it looks too complex for my limited skills, I'll call an X-Pel installer and work a deal.

stever

Does your ac comes on when its like 40 degree outside?

It could be normal behavior since it may be trying to remove some humidity so the windows won't fog up (think of it as conditioning the air). I think most defrosters work like that these days too.

Steve, Host

subienewbie2

It is pretty thick - I assume it is 40 mill.

I am having installed tomorrow, I was quoted on the phone about $45 for installation.

mediaguy1

I now have 10,000 miles on my Tribeca. The problems are starting to pop up. The rear struts, as mentioned in recent posts, are useles and have been on backorder for over a month. I guess Subaru didn't do any cold weather testing and if they did they missed this. The transmission sounds and feels as if it is going to slam through the floor when shifting through the gears when cold. I mean extremely loud bangs. The dealer is testing for this in a few days. I'll let you know the outcome. I am also burning a quart of oil every 600 miles.

megreyhair

Yes it's 40 mil. Install is hard on the headlights. Its hartd to get the film to stick to the curve part. The guys used a lot of alcohol/water mixture and had to stretch it alot to get it fitted.

megreyhair

That's cheap. Xpel's website said 70. I was able to get it for $60 from installer

cluelesspa

you definitely have an issue if your burning oil :surprise:

I would be requesting a loaner car and dropping off the B9 until its fixed.

mediaguy1

I do have a rental car. Just checked my fog lights and one is cracked. Called the dealer and they said, without seeing the vehicle, that it was caused by a stone. ESP I guess. Subaru should start acting like Lexus..."don't worry, we will take care of it no matter what it takes."

samiam_68

In another 10,000 miles, your 'beca will be "dust in the wind"....

mediaguy1

What do you want for $33,000...a Toyota? I will update the forum after my visit to the dealer.