2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca

Typical pattern

7.7% of complaints about the 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2006 vehicle — around the middle of the 250 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 9.3 yr in service. The most-reported system is structure (28 complaints), typically at 8.8 yr or about 108,000 miles.

Complaints: 117
Median age at failure: 9.3 yr
Median mileage: 102,984 n=85
Crash / fire / tow: 23.1% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Structure 21,000 mi 10 mo in service

NOISE HEARD, THUMPING, IN FRONT END OF VEHICLE BEGINNING ON OR ABOUT 7/2006. REPORTED TO DEALERSHIP. DEALER REPLACED STRUTS IN ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE PROBLEM (10/2006) NO CHANGE IN PROBLEM. PER SUBARU TSB - DEALER ATTEMPTED REPAIR TO CRACKS IN FIREWALL BY WELDING (11/10/206). PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. AWAITING RESOLUTION BY SUBARU. *NM

Structure 71,000 mi 6.9 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING OUR SUBARU TRIBECA B9 ON THE HIGHWAY, THE HOOD FLEW OPEN AND SMASHED THE WINDOW. LUCKILY WE WERE ABLE TO STEER THE CAR TO SAFETY. NO ONE WAS HURT, OTHER THAN THE EMOTIONAL TOLL. A FAILURE OF THE HOOD LATCH AND SAFETY MECHANISM. *TR

Structure 108,000 mi 7.3 yr in service

DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 55MPH, THE HOOD FEW OPEN AND SMASHED THE WINDSHIELD AND DENTED THE HOOD. WE PUT WASHER FLUID IN IT THE DAY BEFORE AND DROVE IT FOR HOURS WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM. WE HAVE HAD MANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS IN THE PAST AND HAVE REPLACED IT ONCE ALREADY. *TR

Air bags 5,450 mi 1.0 yr in service

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND GOES OUT WHEN OCCUPIED BY A PASSENGER WEIGHING 105 LBS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A SERVICE DEALER, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED.

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

How to read this