RoadVitals

2007 Subaru Tribeca

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
4
Latest Dec 20, 2017
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
8
Latest Apr 11, 2019
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
0
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0

Overview

Our database contains 4 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2007 Subaru Tribeca, most frequently naming the airbags, brakes and engine categories. 8 safety recalls have been issued covering this model year; and 46 manufacturer communications are on file.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Airbags240.0%
  • Brakes120.0%
  • Engine120.0%
  • Seat belts120.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

8 campaigns cover this model year

View all 8

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.

Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov
19V297000

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

Apr 11, 2019
511 units potentially affected
The defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, 2008-2011 Impreza vehicles, 2008-2014 WRX vehicles, 2005-2014 Legacy vehicles, 2005-2014 Outback vehicles and 2006-2008 Tribeca vehicles equipped with a mechanical key ignition switch installed as a replacement part. The ball spring inside the switch may break, reducing the strength of the ignition switch. If this occurs, the weight on the key ring and certain road conditions could cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position to the accessory position, turning off the engine.
The risk: The engine turning off unexpectedly can increase the risk of a crash. If a crash occurs under this condition, the air bag may not deploy, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ignition switch, replacing the ignition switch, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 10, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUF-91.
Subaru of America, Inc.Manufacturer number WUF-91View on NHTSA.gov
17V026000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Jan 11, 2017
69,529 units potentially affected
The defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Baja, 2009 Forester, Legacy and Outback and 2006-2009 Impreza (including WRX and STI models) and Tribeca vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
The risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger front air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2017. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-17.
Subaru of America, Inc.Manufacturer number TKB-17View on NHTSA.gov
17V016000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Jan 10, 2017
62,764 units potentially affected
The defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Baja, 2006-2008 Impreza (including WRX and STI models), Tribeca, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
The risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 8, 2017. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-17.
Subaru of America, Inc.Manufacturer number TKC-17View on NHTSA.gov

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Brakes
Filed Dec 20, 2017

THREE DAYS AGO I BACKED MY 2007 SUBARU TRIBECA DOWN THE DRIVEWAY AND APPLIED THE BRAKES.....THEY DID NOT WORK AND THE BRAKE PEDAL DID NOT DEPRESS. AFTER PUMPING THE BRAKES FOR ABOUT TWO MINUTES OR MORE THEY FINALLY STARTED TO WORK. I TOLD MY WIFE AND SHE INSISTED THAT SHE TOLD ME ABOUT THIS HAPPENED EVERY WINTER WHEN THE TEMPERATURE WAS BELOW 25 DEGREES. I GUESS I NEVER LISTENED TO HER. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE LOCAL DEALER IN SCHAUMBURG AND HE STATED THAT THIS WAS A TYPICAL PROBLEM WITH THE 2007 TRIBECA AND I WOULD WASTE MY MONEY TRYING TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I CALLED SUBARU AND THEY TOLD ME TO BRING THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALER AND THAT HE WOULD DISCUSS THE PROBLEM WITH THE DEALER. THE NEXT DAY I TOOK THE CAR IN AND NEVER RECEIVED A CALL FROM EITHER THE DEALER OR SUBARU. I CALLED SUBARU AND THEY STATED THAT THEY COULD ONLY FIX THE PROBLEM IF THE DEALER MECHANIC EXPERTS RECOMMENDED A FIX. I THEN CHECKED ON LINE AND FOUND THAT THIS WAS A TYPICAL PROBLEM WITH TRIBECA, THAT MANY PEOPLE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH A FREEZING CHECK VALVE GOING TO THE BOOSTER PUMP. THIS IS A SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM AND THERE SHOULD BE SOME SORT OF FIX. I HAVE FOUND OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, PLEASE SEE LINK:HTTP://WWW.CARPROBLEMZOO.COM/SUBARU/TRIBECA/SERVICE-BRAKES-PROBLEMS.PHPHTTP://MY.CARDONE.COM/TECHDOCS/PT%2053-0002.PDF PLEASE SEE BRAKE SECTION IN THIS LINK: HTTP://WWW.ARFC.ORG/COMPLAINTS/2008/SUBARU/B9_TRIBECA/

NHTSA ID
11055729
Incident
Dec 18, 2017
Mileage
10,000 mi
AirbagsSeat belts
Filed Aug 8, 2016

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 SUBARU TRIBECA. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V096000 (SEAT BELTS); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE. UPDATED 09/28/16*LJ *TR

NHTSA ID
10894060
Incident
Jun 20, 2016
Airbags
Filed Jul 27, 2016

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 SUBARU TRIBECA. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V358000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA ID
10889114
Incident
May 25, 2016
Engine
Filed Aug 11, 2014

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 SUBARU TRIBECA. THE CONTACT NOTICED EXHAUST FUMES MULTIPLE TIMES WHEN THE ENGINE WAS STARTED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VALVE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 107,747.

NHTSA ID
10621346
Incident
Jul 28, 2014
Mileage
107,747 mi

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

TKA-17R, TKB-17R

AIR BAGS

SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. has determined that a defect, which relates to motor vehicle safety, exists in certain Subaru vehicles listed, equipped with a non-desiccated Takata-sourced passenger side frontal airbag containing the propellant Phase Stabilized Ammonium Nitrate (certain specific vehicles only).

01-168-09R

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT; LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide replacement key and immobilizer information along with an overview of the Subaru Lock Information web-site.

15-302-22

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT

This bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a description of the proper exchange procedure.

01-167-08R

EQUIPMENT

This bulletin contains additional information for recommended materials listed in the Service Manuals for individual models.

15-192-22R

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

This bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic essential information during diagnosis and repair of the Infotainment concerns. (Applicable to all models with Harman or Denso CP1 Infotainment).

01-167-08R

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT

This bulletin contains additional information for recommended materials listed in the Service Manuals for individual models

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Subaru Tribeca by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2014040—
2013360—
2011280—
20104100—
2009590—
2008149052.1
2007Viewing480—
2006980—

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.