Hey! Fellow Subaru technician here; I hate the Tribeca because they're like a red-headed step child: everything is JUUUUST different enough that working on them is (slightly more) complicated, and parts are often DAYS away. That being said, we had a Tribeca as a shop car (run-around, shuttle, etc) for over a year that we abused the living hell out of without issue. I'm talking neutral drops, bouncing off the rev limiter continuously, intentionally putting the transmission in manual mode just to keep the revs above 5,000 for extended periods of time. Not a single oil change, never ever warmed up (usually in gear and accelerator flat to the floor before the starter stops spinning), and the car just TOOK IT. We hopped curbs with it, hit every pot hole we could find, punched and kicked the interior for fun, etc. and we were never let down.

Personally I think the pre-facelift Tribeca looks better than the Chrysler-ish looking facelift model.

Those EZ30s have real good power for such a good sized vehicle. I bought my mom an 06 Tribeca a few years ago, thing is a beast in the snow

I don’t understand the hate for the tribeca. I had a 2006 and it was fantastic. The little H6 was a really solid engine. Back when Subaru made fun and funky cars like the Baja, this car was peak Subaru.

I particularly like the Tribeca interior, reminds me a little bit of the SVX interior in how it wraps around the cockpit. I'm also jealous because up here in New England a lot of the quirky Subarus have gone to salvage yards because the salt destroyed them :( I haven't seen an early Tribeca on the road in years. It's also a shame the quirky Subarus didn't sell better, because I agree, they really gave Subaru an identity.

Tribecas came with 5 or 7seats depending on trim level.... I know it's not your cup of tea but a sleeper Tribeca would be hilarious

I love my 2006 Tribeca! I purchased used about 5 months ago. The only issue I'm having is with the starter. The body has almost 300k on it and the engine is replaced with about 123k on it. So far I've replaced tires, spark plugs,ignition coils,and now the starter. The navigation is outdated and I'm thinking about replacing the unit, but there arent many units that will tell you the mpg. This is a decent suv for a tall person over 6'5!

The EZ motors sound so good when given proper room to breath.

Little funky but has the real Subaru character in the styling. The H-6 engine is good performer and the Tribeca is practical and spacious.

I don’t really care for them, but since they have an H6, I see them as a good swap donor.

I had a first year Tribeca, and I loved it. Sure it looked "unique" on the outside. But you're not looking at it when you're driving it. At western US interstate speeds the H6 sounded like a Lycoming at cruise speed. Mine only had five seats. With that experience we now have three, Crosstrek, Forester, Outback

Loved that style, you couldn’t confuse it with any other make. Hope you can get it running. 👍

That dongle and wiring hanging down is for aftermarket remote start. Had one in my old accord. Great find Mr. Subaru!

I really hope you'll bring this quirky Subaru back to life. It will be a video series of its own.

I love my 2008 Tribeca, fixed the air conditioning clutch, added new belt, 6 plugs and 2 camshaft VVT solenoid valve oil controls. Needs a new motor mount which I have and runs great after 5 years of ownership.

Congrats! I’ve kind of warmed up to the newer refreshed Tribecas

My parents owned one of these, I believe it was a 2006. They loved it, the only complaint my Dad had was that the seats weren't all that comfortable. Until the transmission went bad, and it was going to cost a small fortune to rebuild, or replace!

i know it probably makes more sense for you to use it as a part car but i also really want to see you restore this vehicle. would be super satisfying to see this hideous beast all cleaned up

I like the looks of the 1st-gen Tribeca. My only hate (shared with the EZ30D) of the vehicle is having to feed it Premium.

My wife has the same car and it has been a great car so far we have 140,000 on it still running great

I always thought the 1st gen Tribeca front end was fine. Nice deal for $250 brother!

I’ve always wondered about the tribeca so nice to see you picking one up so we don’t have too. Way to take one for the team bud 😂😂 I’ll be watching to see what you do with it.

I love the Tribeca!!!! Thanks for sharing . I own a 2003 Subaru WRX AND 2017 Subaru STI. ❤️

I have one yes like that 2006 black and beautiful and still go strong.

The story I was told by a dealership mechanic was that Tribecas were bought mostly by folks who owned Lexus and similar, not Subaru folks. And they just didn't get the maintenance requirements of a Subaru.

Angels are real man I'm so glad you're alive now if you could make a video on installing a aftermarket head unit I would greatly appreciate it 🙏

We got a 2006 Limited to replace our 2002 Outback H6 VDC, the kids were getting bigger and we needed a few more seats when we took their friends along. I know it gets a lot of grief but TBH it was a pretty good Subaru to us. It was really good in the snow, If I remember it had the 5EAT with VDC and VTD. It was great on long trips, we had the DVD player option so the kids were happy. It never gave is any trouble, yes it was goofy looking but you didn't notice so much from the drivers seat :)

Liked based on thumbnail. Good luck!

Thanks brother..i also have 2006 bica..need little bit of tune up have it for 10 years now put in 100k miles now it has 155k till runs no head gasket issue just some little common things .please keep uploading videos how to revive our tribecaz..

Glad I found this site. I have an 06 Tribeca closing in on 200k. Bought it used about two years ago to replace a wrecked Forester. Just did a tune up on it (plug replacement is a bitch!) and I'm ramping up for a radiator replacement and a few other pre-emptive maintenance projects, as I can't afford a new car (with full coverage insurance in NJ). Hopefully I can get as much info on DIY mechanic work right here.

My friend just repaired his Tribeca that he thought had a bad head gasket. Turned out one of the heads was cracked. So when you get it apart give the heads a quick look over. My friend fixed it the SECOND time he pulled the engine out!

I have a 2006 Tribeca with 58,000 miles and it is still amazing. Thanks for the video.

The only reason I’m watching your video right now is because I saw two Tribeca’s here in Chicago today so keep up the good work and I did not know that you had to drop the motor to change the head gaskets

I owned 2007 Subaru Tribeca! It’s a reliable and beautiful car!!!

I love my Tribeca. I don't have that funky grill though. I needed the third row.

I personally like them. My only beef with them is for some reason they are hard to find parts for.

5:01 That looks like it’s for a remote starter… I have the exact same thing on my ‘08 F150… Great video and these were the predecessor to the Ascend, always kinda liked them… and the 3.6… 🤤

SO, I love your channel. My wife was in a horrible accident in GA in 2017 that totaled out our car (and sadly almost her). She is doing much better after operations and physical therapy. So at that time I ended up stepping into the world of Subaru via (YIKES) The infamous Tribeca. We liked the look and it was super clean. Paid cash for it $6000. Yeah probably overpaid as I didn't know the history etc of this model. SO, has it been a good car?? Well being used and even though I let it idle forever and it didn't seem to having a temp issue, it did turn out that it had a head gasket problem. At the time I could not afford to repair- so I tried BLUE DEVIL and I drilled three holes in the new thermostat I installed and SURPRISE, it has run pretty flawless since, driving all over the country. Didn't have an issue until about a month ago due to leaking oil probably from a rear seal and figuring out what to do. CAN I place a later model rebuilt motor (2012) in this old 2006???

The tribeca is what we wanted when we moved to Alaska. This was 2008 we ended up getting a 2007 forester LL bean. It was perfect for Alaska. We ended up trading that in for a AWD Toyota Sienna. Oh well now we wish still had the forester.

gotta a project car with most of the dismantling already done for you.... sweet!

I can relate to what you said about it being worth it just for new tires lol I just bought an 03 OBS for 300 with a brand new set of tires

I am 1 of the 6 Tribeca owners and I am in the United Kingdom and love the car!

Yep one of the last quarks now I see one on the road I love em

I have an 09' with 120,000 miles. I beat the hell out of it. I finally found the button to turn off traction control or whatever cuts power when your trying to mob up a hill with foot deep of mud, works alot better when you can keep the rpms up. Kills it in the snow too. I love subaru especially crazy winters like this year here in Utah. I can definitely handle it.

I had a 2006 tribeca I really liked the it mine had 164k still ran great and had lots of power and it didn’t a cvt transmission.

Dad bought one to resell,it ran good and had no lookers.Ended up taking it back to the auction selling it there.Had to do a reseal,had bad oil leaks out of the engine.Did pull the engine out to do this

I just bought my first project car as a subie! A 05 legacy gt hatchback manual!!

I like the look of it. Sounds like they needed a better transmission for it as it got poor gas mileage

Beautiful car!

Hey Mr. Subaru! Like you said, the interior is neat and is the same for both pre and after face-lift. I find it very cool even today. Mine is a 2011, I really love my car. Just changed the PCV valve and it really fixed the oil consumption issue. Now I'll have to change my radiator, it's leaking coolant by the lower right corner, where it is bolted to the fan. I'll take the opportunity to do a coolant flush. Couldn't you make a video on how to change the thermostat on an EZ36D engine?

Hello, I drive a 2010 Tribeca here in Australia. Have previously driven Mercedes, Volvo, Audi etc and my Subaru is the best of the bunch. Genuinely built in Japan and is almost at 200k, has never been off the road for a day except for regular servicing (which I get done locally by a Subaru trained Mechanic, NOT a Technician as seems to be the Norm these days). Probably the best equiped and most reliable car I have ever driven, five or seven seats, way ahead of its time as far as tech goes, comfortable and any new passengers I carry all rave about the wrap around dashboard. If you know the right person GPS Map updates are available. No engine problems, ultra reliable and comfortable with great gas mileage. I'm keeping it - exterior styling is still modern, love it - Go Tribeca !

I have owned an 06' Tribeca B9 5psngr since 2019. I got it as is for under 8k as the 5th owner @ 91,990 miles, everything worked, clean interior and also had new brakes. I learned from Carfax it had been in a couple accidents that might have caused minor structural damage. I have had it on a lift and inspected at a Subaru dealership and it has passed their inspections. The car drives in a straight line without touching the wheel, doesn't dog-walk, doesn't have suspension sag, squeaks or body lean/misalignment. But I can see some cheaply done paint respray work to cover up the scraps and scuffs from the accidents. In the end of 2020 I noticed the heat gauge had an extra line when I was on the interstate so I had a compression test done to find I had a few low compression cylinders and I was cooking off engine coolant. I had the head gasket done and a few other things refreshed while it was in the shop. In 2022 I had an electrical problem that was getting worse over time since I had bought it, and it finally made the engine have a constant misfire. Turned out to be damage to a wire harness behind heat shielding at the firewall behind the engine, probably from one of the accidents it's been involved in. That caused the ECU to become damaged and needed replacement, $1300 for a new one and $1100 labor for the entire 2month process. Now I have ben able to enjoy driving my Tribeca without issue and plan to keep her as long a s I can. I've learned a lot about how modular a lot of the equipment is on the Tribeca which allows easy replacement of the drivetrain, suspension, brakes and wheel components by myself in my driveway on a weekend. I appreciate and don't agree with a handful of things about the car, but overall I give it an 8 out of 10 in the SUV family of vehicles.

I own a 2007 Subaru B9 Tribeca and she has 337,000 on it and still going strong. No head gasket issues either! Bought it for $2500 cash with 200,000 miles on it.

My buddy is gonna be stoked.

My 2008 is working well at the moment.

A Tribeca belongs in your collection, even if it's only a donor for another one .In a few years they will be a piece of Subaru history impossible to find.

I just had an issue with my OBK H6 which is the same powerplant as the Tribeca and the biggest issues I've had has been the ECU and the Valve body on the transmission malfunctioned. Got em repaired...back on the road!

I just got an 06 Tribeca for the wife to replace her 08 Forester. She wants 3rd row seating. Paid $1,000 for it.California car with 212k miles, clean inside and out. Leaks oil, valve tic after it warms up and the throttle control isn’t responsive when cold. CEL, traction control and cruise lights on, haven’t pulled codes yet. Most likely going to drop a JDM engine in it and be done. Seller said trans acting up, but I think it’s just the throttle control issue. Good find on your Tribeca. Best of luck with it.

My 06 Tribeca still going strong. 151,000 miles, only real problem was it needed a new radiator at 95,000

I own Tribeca Limited 2011, this car never disappointed me. It is so feature rich - so we have a hard time to find the replacement for Tribeca, I would buy easily another Tribeca if Subaru were still making them. Also 10 Speaker Harman Kardon is one of the best car audio for this money. Here is the list of features in this car: 7 sets Back Up Camera. Bluetooth. DVD Player for Rear and Front Seats. Sunroof, Heated & Powered Front 2 Seats with Lumbar Support. Driver Seat Memory. Tri-zone Climate Control. 10-speaker Harman Kardon Sound System with a 6 CD changer. Sirus Satellite Radio. Reclining Rear Seats.

Good work

Fun fact at least for the face lifted tribeca like my 08 they use the same 55rear 45front torque split as the WRX not sure about the B9 tribecas

We had 2007 Tribea with the 3rd row and loved it. We had 178k miles before we 'blew' the engine. Might have been a head gasket, but were told threw a rod. Anyway it was great and would have bought another but it had been discontinued. We ended getting a VX Crosstrek.

We have a 2014 Tribeca with 140,000 kms on it. Got it for my wife to drive when our 4th child was born, and needed the extra seat. It's been super reliable, but has one annoying issue that makes me not enjoy driving it. When accelerating from a quick stop or coast (like at an intersection or roundabout), sometimes it will hesitate, then lurch violently forward if you are not very careful with the throttle. Maybe something to do with the torque converter binding up? We had the transition fluid replaced a couple years ago but made no difference. Anyway I replaced the PCV a while back at your recommendation. It's also due for a coolant flush and would be great to have an instructional video on how it's done, if you get the opportunity to make one.

Good score man! Too bad about the SG Forester but even at $1000 it was too much to spend on it with all the problems and condition of the chassis etc so probably for the best. There are better deals to be had

That a old remote start from viper that little button is the valet switch

I vote to get it running!

still have and love my 06 tribeca! unfortunately it is succumbing to the rust(i'm in the northeast, in a beach town to boot), exhaust pipes keep breaking and i was told it will need the full exhaust system replaced. i'd love to keep it on the road, i just love the interior and can't find anything else i like as much or am as comfortable in. gonna have to make a hard decision soon but i hope i get to keep it longer. shout out to all my fellow tribeca owners!

I think you can apply for one in Vermont, then transfer to your home state.

We rarely get tirbecas in at our dealer when we do its never anything major tires here tie rods there but never engine work and I had no idea the 6 cylinders took premium fuel

If I could ever find a timing chain and figure out why it always kills the battery, I’d like mine a heck of a lot more lol. That said it is comfortable riding

I picked up one like that and the issue turned out to be a cracked head. I wound up using a low-mileage JDM engine (Paid $1000 + taxes) to put it back on the road. Very few modifications were required. It took a while to burn off the anti-freeze in the exhaust once it was fixed. I did wind up having to replace suspension bushings on it as well. One thing I observed is that larger people have a much easier time getting in and out of a Tribeca than the Outbacks. Not a great seller though, as you alluded to, with its airplane cockpit styling meant to reflect Fuji Heavy Industries history in aviation.

All those extra wires and stuff is an aftermarket alarm/remote start.

It may be ugly but I love em!! Like you said, it's unique 👍 it's a Subie!

Had an 07 Tribeca. Had transmission shift problems and constant codes that I never could solve.....didn't keep it very long....otherwise was a descent vehicle.

I literally found your channel trying to rebuild a '08 Tribeca!

That’s my car, well one that is the exact same model year and color. Either way seeing this is a big help

We have a 2009 Tribeca with 167,000 kilometres. We’ve done a good job of keeping up with our maintenance. Will I be looking at a timing chain soon

I've got a 2013 tribeca it's great but mines got the 3.6R in it.

You should be able to do a title search. Or if the person you bought it from was the owner they can request a duplicate title. Clearly the person working on the car had NO idea what they were doing. I like the EZ30 H6 and that generation was less prone to leaking. Early 'becas were really hard on all the suspension since they used most parts from the BL/BP legacy.

Might be fun (for your viewers at least) to restore it to running condition as a project car for the channel. Not necessarily a flip car although you could sell it later to recoup part of the expense. Just a thought.

My sister has the 06 and I have a 08 tribeca and I honestly don't have anything to complain about except the gas mileage but that is to be expected with the 3.6

2006 STI same face. I have both! 221,000 on the STI rebuilt motor. Tribeca 93,000. Only thing with Tribeca...A/C needs a recharge...I hope

I love my 06 Tribeca it’s got 117000 miles still going strong.. I like the quirky look of the 06 and 07…

I’m interested in the radio and one of the wheel caps if you are parting out. Let me know, thanks!

That thing hanging down from the top of the windshield is a aftermarket remote starter antenna

The only thing I don't like about these cars is their cooling system isn't great for the h6. The one I had rebuilt the engine on had an over heating issue that turned out to be micro cracks in the head between the spark plug hole and valves. Went through 3 pick n pulls to find one that was rebuildable

My fams 2nd car was a tribeca. I remember thinking how high tech it was

"Airplane Grill" was not the common vernacular for the 1st Generation Tribeca's front end. The common description (female reproductive anatomy) was the big motivator for Subaru to redesign it.

"Cascades into a waterfall for the center console". Ditto!

$250 is a deal. Get that engine running and sell with ECU and harness for a VW vanagon engine swap.

My good friend had a Tribeca here in Australia. It was too big for me, and I’m not sure about the pre-facelift nose.

would like to see starter replacement video. my 3.6's starter is not always disengaging in a timely manner.

You should change the Ford grill emblem for the Tribeca's Subaru grill emblem. That would be funny

My wife & I looked at an early model. Outside, eh. Inside was gorgeous (for the time) & we would have bought one if we weren't looking for more interior space, having 2 small kids and pets. Glad now that we didn't get one. Nothing against Subaru, I love my 05 Outback XT but the Tribeca doesn't have a great history.

3 kids so... a couple of years ago I almost bought a 2012 Tribeca.... SO glad I got the '16 OB instead....

Just found this channel and have binged many of the videos! You do a great job. I have an 08 Tribeca (196k miles) and have loved it so far. I do have a maintenance question if anyone else can help me: After a dealer multipoint inspection, they said the head gasket needs to be replaced due to multiple oil leaks (would cost $5700). I did see in your top 3 problems with the EZ30/36 engine that the PCV valve is a more likely cause. How can you differentiate the 2 types of repairs and which one is more likely?

It's unusual yes, but thanks to that it's so cheap, and has a flat 6. It can be a nice car

I have a 2008 Tribeca with a 190,000 miles it's been a very reliable car

I love my 08 tribeca