RoadVitals

2011 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.
2
Latest Aug 10, 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 Jan 9, 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 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2011 Subaru Tribeca, most frequently naming the airbags category. 8 safety recalls have been issued covering this model year; and 67 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

  • Airbags1100.0%

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
19V007000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Jan 9, 2019
43,394 units potentially affected
The defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Forester, 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, Legacy, and 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 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 explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
The risk: An explosion of an inflator within the passenger frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the front seat passenger, driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy: Subaru has notified owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-19.
Subaru of America, Inc.Manufacturer number TKA-19View on NHTSA.gov
19V008000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Jan 9, 2019
330,120 units potentially affected
The defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, and Legacy vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles 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 passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
The risk: An explosion of an inflator within the passenger frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the front seat passenger, driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy: Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-19.
Subaru of America, Inc.Manufacturer number TKB-19View on NHTSA.gov
19V009000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Jan 9, 2019
452,630 units potentially affected
The defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Legacy and Outback vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles 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 explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
The risk: An explosion of an inflator within the passenger frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the front seat passenger, driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy: Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-19.
Subaru of America, Inc.Manufacturer number TKC-19View on NHTSA.gov

Recent owner complaints

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

Filed Aug 10, 2017

CRUISE CONTROL RANDOMLY QUITS WORKING.. I WAS PASSING A SEMI AND THE CRUISE JUST SHUT OFF.. AND STARTING BLINKING.. HAS BEEN DOING THIS RIGHT ALONG, SINCE I BOUGHT IT AT 46,456 MILES ON IT.. I NOW HAVE 93,000 ON IT.. I HAVE TO PULL OVER AND DO THE "GM" OIL RESET CODE.. TURN THE KEY TO ON POSITION, AND PUMP THE GAS PEDAL 3 TIMES TO RESET IT.. IT IS DANGEROUS... SPECIALLY WHEN IT TURNS OFF WHILE PASSING OR DRIVING.AT 70 MPH

NHTSA ID
11014146
Incident
Aug 6, 2017
Airbags
Filed Dec 9, 2016

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 SUBARU TRIBECA. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V358000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT. THE VIN WAS NOT PROVIDED.

NHTSA ID
10934058
Incident
May 25, 2016

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.

01-167-08R

EQUIPMENT

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

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.

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).

09-83-21R

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

This bulletin announces design change to the water pump assembly.

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—
2011Viewing280—
20104100—
2009590—
2008149052.1
2007480—
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.