2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca

ON FEBRUARY 23, 2018, THE HOOD LATCH WAS REPAIRED DUE TO A HOOD LATCH RECALL. THIS WAS WITH THE NEW HOOD LATCH. IT WAS FRIDAY JUNE 6, 2018, A LITTLE PAST 0600, I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK. I WAS DRIVING ON A TWO LANE COUNTY HIGHWAY, DOING BETWEEN 60-65, WITH CRUISE CONTROL ON. I HAD DRIVEN ABOUT 4 MILES FROM HOME WHEN THE HOOD SUDDENLY FLEW OPEN,AND SHATTERED THE WINDSHIELD. I WAS ABLE TO SLOW DOWN AND MOVE TO THE SHOULDER. THANKFULLY NO ONE ELSE WAS IN THE VICINITY. AFTER I GOT OUT OF MY VEHICLE I CLOSED THE HOOD, IT TOOK A LOT OF EFFORT. I NOTICED MY VEHICLE WAS NEAR THE END OF A GUARDRAIL AND THERE WAS A GRAVEL AREA, SO I MOVED MY CAR OFF THE ROAD. WHILE I THE VEHICLE I NOTICED THAT IT WAS RAINING GLASS. I GRABBED MY WORK GEAR AND JUMPED OUT. MY CAR WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP, AND I WAS GIVEN A RIDE TO WORK.

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SUBARU B9 TRIBECA. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 16V359000 (AIR BAGS) AND 16V060000 (STRUCTURE, LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES). THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME FRAME TO SCHEDULE THE RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER DID NOT GIVE A SPECIFIC DATE FOR WHEN THE PART WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER COULD NOT PROVIDE AN ESTIMATED DATE FOR WHEN THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WOULD RECEIVE THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONTACT WAS NOT EXPERIENCING A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

WE WERE IN THE LEFT LANE OF THE INTERSTATE GOING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH. WITHOUT WARNING THE HOOD OF OUR 2006 SUBARU B9 TRIBECA UNLATCHED ITSELF AND THE FORCE OF THE AIRSTREAM FOLDED IT BACK PAST THE LIMITS OF ITS HINGES SHATTERING THE WINDSCREEN, SEPARATING THE REAR VIEW MIRROR FROM THE WINDSCREEN AND DISLODGING MANY PIECES OF TRIM INSIDE THE CABIN. OUR VIEW OUT TO THE FRONT ON THE VEHICLE THROUGH THE WINDSCREEN WAS COMPLETELY OBSCURED BY THE HOOD AND BY THE SHATTERED SAFETY GLASS. MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE BY REFERENCING THE DIVIDER WALL AND BEGAN A SLOW DECELERATION AND MOVED TOWARD THE LEFT SHOULDER. AS THE LEFT SHOULDER PROVED TO BE TOO NARROW TO SAFELY ACCOMMODATE THE VEHICLE, SHE THEN MANEUVERED THE VEHICLE ACROSS THE INTERSTATE TOWARD THE RIGHT SHOULDER, REFERENCING TRAFFIC BEHIND US BY LOOKING OVER HER SHOULDER. SHE ALSO ACTIVATED THE FOUR WAY FLASHERS TO INDICATE TO OTHER TRAFFIC THAT WE WERE IN DISTRESS. I LOWERED MY PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW AND ASSISTED HER WITH CROSSING THE INTERSTATE BY GIVING HER RAPID INSTRUCTIONS AS TO THE LOCATIONS OF OTHER VEHICLES AND SIGNALING TO OTHER VEHICLES THAT WE WERE IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. WHEN WE REACHED THE RIGHT HAND SHOULDER, WE STOPPED AND EXITED THE VEHICLE. AFTER CONFIRMING NO INJURIES WERE SUSTAINED TO ANY PASSENGERS, I LOWERED THE HOOD AND SECURED IT. I OBSERVED THAT THE ROOF WAS DENTED IN AND THAT THE SECONDARY LATCH THAT SECURES THAT HOOD DOWN WAS NO LONGER CONNECTED TO THE HOOD. THE TWO FASTENERS HAD SHEARED YET THERE WAS NO DEFORMATION OF THE SHEET METAL AT THE ATTACH POINT OF THE HOOD AND THE LATCH. YOU COULD CONCLUDE FROM THIS THAT WHATEVER THE FASTENERS WERE WAS MADE OF SUCH AN INFERIOR MATERIAL THAT IT DID NOT HAVE THE STRENGTH TO EVEN MILDLY DEFORM THE SHEET METAL BEFORE THEY THEMSELVES FAILED. WE WERE LUCKY WE WERE NOT KILLED.

WHILE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MILES PER HOUR ON A CITY STREET, THE HOOD OF MY TRIBECA POPPED OPEN AND COMPLETELY OBSCURED MY VIEW OF THE ROAD. AFTER PULLING OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD I ATTEMPTED TO CLOSE THE HOOD, BUT WITHOUT SUCCESS. ONE OF THE PLASTIC ANCHORS HOLDING THE SAFETY LATCH IN PLACE HAD BROKEN WHICH ALLOWED THE SAFETY LATCH TO ROTATE IN PLACE.

WHILE TRAVELING AT 65 MPH ON A MULTI-LANE HIGHWAY, THE HOOD FLEW OPEN, SHATTERED THE WINDSHIELD AND LODGED OPEN, COMPLETELY BLOCKING MY VISION. I WAS ABLE THE SLOW DOWN AND PULL INTO THE LEFT BREAKDOWN LANE. HAD THIS HAPPENED TWO MINUTES EARLIER OR LATER I WOULD NOT HAVE HAD THE LEFT LANE OPTION. TWO MINUTES EARLIER THERE WAS A LEFT LANE MERGE AND TWO MINUTES LATER WAS A RAMP WITH NO BREAKDOWN LANE. I UNDERSTAND THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN REPORTED BY OTHERS WITH THIS MAKE, MODEL AND YEAR. APPARENTLY THE PLASTIC CLIPS HOLDING THE HOODS ARE FAILING. THESE CARS NEED TO BE PULLED OFF THE ROAD ASAP BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT.

WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH, THE HOOD LATCH ON MY 2006 SUBARU B9 TRIBECA FAILED, CAUSING THE HOOD TO FLY UP AND SHATTER THE WINDSHIELD. LUCKILY, THERE WAS NOBODY NEAR ME AT THE TIME AND I WAS ABLE TO VEER OFF ONTO THE MEDIAN WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. WHEN I HAD IT REPAIRED, THE BODY SHOP INSTALLED AN ENTIRELY NEW DESIGN FOR THE HOOD LATCH SYSTEM. IF SUBARU ALTERED THE DESIGN OF THE HOOD LATCH FOR REPAIRS, THEN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL FOR EXISTING CARS. *TR

WE HAD BEEN ON THE ROAD FOR APPROXIMATELY AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES, TRAVELING AT A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, WHEN SUDDENLY THE HOOD POPPED OPEN AND SMASHED INTO THE WINDSHIELD, LEAVING ME TO BLINDLY NAVIGATE, UNDER STRESS AND PRESSURE, TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER. MIRACULOUSLY, WE WERE NOT INJURED PHYSICALLY, BUT SUFFERED FROM SHOCK AND WERE QUITE DUMBFOUNDED OVER THE INCIDENT. WE HAVE SEEN NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS OF THIS SAME THING HAPPENING, AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL ON THE 2 HOOD LATCHES THAT FAILED. *TR