Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 5 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2009 Subaru Tribeca. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Showing 1–5 of 5
THE CAR WAS STARTED IN THE DRIVEWAY ON A VERY COLD DAY. THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS INITIALLY ABLE TO BE PRESSED, BUT THEN BECAME ROCK HARD AND COULD NOT BE PUSHED DOWN. AFTER 10 MINUTES OF LETTING THE CAR WARM UP, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS ABLE TO BE PRESSED, BUT THEN SEIZED UP AGAIN 1 MINUTE LATER. THIS COULD CAUSE A CRASH IF IT OCCURRED ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR
I WAS GOING AROUND A BEND AND THE BRAKE PEDAL LOCKED. I WAS UNABLE TO UTILIZE THE BRAKES. DUE TO THIS BRAKE FAILURE, I DROVE UP ON A HILLSIDE AND SMASHED INTO A TELEPHONE POLE. FEEL THAT THIS IS A MECHANICAL DEFECT IN THE CAR WHICH CAUSED THE ACCIDENT AS THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS LOCKED INTO PLACE. THE CAR HAD NO KNOWN MECHANICAL ISSUES AND WAS INSPECTED IN JULY 2014. *TR
DRIVING CAR AND IT JOLTED, SHIFT GEAR LIGHTS WENT OUT AND ALL LIGHTS CAME ON DASH BOARD, ATT-OIL TEMP, CRUISE CONTROL, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, AND SLIPPERY WHEN WET LIGHT, CAR LOST POWER DOWN TO 2-5 MILES PER HOUR. THOUGHT IT WAS TRANSMISSION HAD IT LOOKED AT TWICE BY CAPITOL TRANSMISSION IN HARTFORD, THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THEN THE LIGHTS WENT AWAY DROVE IT AGAIN FOR A WEEK IT JOLTED AGAIN AND LIGHTS BACK ON AGAIN. TOOK IT TO GABE'S TYRE (COUSIN) HE REPLACED THE OIL PRESSURE GAGE THINKING IT WAS THAT SINCE THEY HAD ANOTHER ISSUE WITH A SUBARU SIMILAR WITH MY ISSUE, AND THAT DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM WITH MY CAR. HE SUGGESTED I TAKE TO THE DEALERSHIP. COULD NOT DRIVE TO THE CANTON SUBARU TOO FAR SO DROVE IT TO PREMIER SUBARU IN WATERTOWN, CT. THEY HAVE HAD MY CAR SINCE SEPT. 9TH. THEY HAVE SPOKEN WITH SUBARU OF AMERICA TO HELP THEM TRY TO FIGURE OUT THE ISSUE WITH THE ELECTRICAL SHORT, THEY HAVE REPLACED THE 2 DIFFERENT BIG EXPENSIVE PARTS COSTING ME $2, 300 AFTER SUBARU KICKED IN $500 TO HELP DEFRAY THE COST BECAUSE ORIGINAL COST WAS $2950. I PICKED UP CAR LAST NIGHT DROVE IT LESS THAN 3 MILES AND IT JOLTED AGAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY ROAD ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT AND ALL LIGHTS CAME BACK ON. I NOTICED THE SHIFT GEAR LIGHTS WERE NEVER FIXED. DROVE CAR BACK UP TO DEALERSHIP THIS MORNING LET THEM KNOW THAT THE CAR IS NOT FIXED AND ALSO TOLD THEM ABOUT THE GEAR SHIFT LIGHTS WERE NOT FIXED WHICH WAS IN MY ORIGINAL COMPLAINT ABOUT THE CAR, ALSO IN MY FIRST COMPLAINT WAS THAT I HAVE BEEN REPLACING HEADLIGHT BULBS SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR EVERY 3-6 MONTHS A HEADLIGHT WOULD GO OUT. I HAD THE HEAT ON THIS MORNING AND NOTICED IT WAS SCORCHING HOT ONLY ON 75 DEGREES SHOULD NOT FEEL LIKE A SAUNA. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ANOTHER SUBARU CAR I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND ANY RECALLS ON LINE FOR THIS. NEED YOUR HELP! *TR
WHILE DRIVING MY CAR I RESTED MY LEFT FOOT ON THE "FOOTREST" OF THE DRIVERS SIDE FLOOR AND THE HEEL OF MY SHOE WENT RIGHT THRU THE FLOOR OF MY 2008 SUBARU TRIBECA. I HAD TO TAKE MY FOOT OUT OF THE SHOE TO GET THE SHOE "UNSTUCK". I THANK GOD I WAS NOT DRIVING ON THE EXPRESSWAY AND COULD PULL OVER WHEN IT HAPPENED. WHEN I TOOK THE SHOE OUT I COULD SEE A BLACK WIRE IN THE BACKGROUND AREA. I KNOW THIS IS NOT NORMAL OR SAFE AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE AND HOW I CAN GET THIS REPAIRED. *TR
#1 THE VIN # IS CORRECT. #2 THE BRAKE TRAVEL IS TO EXCESSIVE FOR PROPER RESPONSE TIME. THIS HAS BEEN NOTED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED WITH 15000 MILES. LITHER SUBURU IN WHITE BEAR LAKE MN WAS REQUESTED TO CHECK THIS OUT FOR ANOTHER SERVICE MAINTENANCE. THEY WOULD NOT CHECK IT BECAUSE IT WAS NOT UNDER RECALL SUCH AS THE 2011 LEGACY MODEL. SINCE MY WIFE DRIVES THE VEHICLE SHE IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE AS TO THE DISTANCE THE FOOT PEDAL SHOULD TRAVEL. I HAVE SPENT YEARS IN AUTOMOTIVE AND HEAVY EQUIPMENT AS A SERVICE ENGINEER SO I FEEL QUALIFIED TO SAY THAT THIS IS A SAFETY DEFICIENCY. I HAD ANOTHER ENGINEER DRIVE IT TO VERIFY MY CONCLUSION. *TR
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.
Data on this page last refreshed .