2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca

TAKATA AIRBAG ISSUE -- SUBARU HAS HAD YEARS TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM BUT NOW TELLS ME THAT WE CAN'T USE THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT UNTIL THEY FIX THE AIRBAG AND THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE THE PARTS TO FIX IT WITH. THIS IS RIDICULOUS CONSIDERING HOW MUCH TIME THEY HAVE HAD TO PLAN REPAIRS AND HOW MUCH DANGER THEY PUT US IN. NOR HAVE THEY OFFERED TO COMPENSATE US FOR LACK OF USE AND CONVENIENCE OF NOT HAVING USE OF PART OF THE VEHICLE.

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.

I AM NOT SURE WHAT HAPPEN. I PASSED OUT AND WHEN I CAME TO I WAS SITTING IN SOMEONES YARD. THERE WAS A LADY THAT SEEN IT ALL. I WENT OFF THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE ROAD THROUGH SOME HIGH GRASS AND TELEPHONE POLES. THEN SOME HOW I END ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE ROAD MY CAR WAS TOTAL. I HAVE 6 OR 8 AIR BAGS AND NONE OF THEM DEPLOYED. MY SELT BELTS WAS GOOD. IF I DIDN'T HAVE IT ON, I AM NOT SURE HOW IT WOULD HAVE TURNED OUT. THE DOCTOR SAID I HAD A CONCUTSION WHERE MY HEAD WAS MOVING AROUND SO MUCH. MY BACK, CHEST AND LEG TO HIP AND NECK WAS HURTING.. I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHY DIDN'T MY AIR BAGS GO OFF.

THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND TURNED OFF AND WHEN WE GOT NEAR IT WE COULD SMELL AN ELECTRICAL BURNING SMELL AND SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE DRIVER SIDE REAR PUDDLE LIGHT. WE IMMEDIATELY OPENED THE HOOD AND STARTED DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY. BY THE TIME THE BATTERY WAS DISCONNECTED THERE WERE VISIBLE FLAMES COMING FROM THE PUDDLE LIGHT, AND SMOKE WAS COMING FROM UNDER THE DOOR THRESHOLD INSIDE THE VEHICLE AS WELL. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED, AND CONFIRMED THAT THE FIRE WAS OUT BY THE POINT THAT THEY ARRIVED. WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE 5 MONTHS AGO, AND WHILE RESEARCHING IT BEFORE PURCHASE WE READ ABOUT A RECALL FOR THE PUDDLE LIGHTS. BEFORE WE EVEN TOOK POSSESSION OF THE VEHICLE WE CALLED THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALER AND GIVE THEM THE VIN AND ASKED IF THE RECALL NEEDED TO BE PERFORMED, AND THEY STATED THAT IT DID NOT. AFTER THE FIRE THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHO THEN INFORMED US THAT THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM BEFORE. AFTER INSPECTING THE CAR THEY SAID THAT THEY WOULD ORDER NEW BULBS FOR THE PUDDLE LIGHTS, BUT MADE NO MENTION OF A RECALL. WE ARE WORRIED THAT SINCE THERE WAS SMOKE COMING FROM INSIDE THE CAR THAT OTHER THINGS MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGED AS WELL, BUT THEY INSIST THAT ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IS TO REPLACE THE BULBS. *TR

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