NHTSA Complaint #10572584 — 2006 SUBARU B9 TRIBECA

ON 3/15/2014, TRAVELING AT POSTED HIGHWAY SPEED OF 70MPH ON I-71 SOUTHBOUND MILE MARKER 50 AT APPROX. 10 AM. THE PRIMARY VEHICLE HOOD LATCH FAILED AS DID THE HOOD SAFETY LATCH. THE HOOD FLEW COMPLETELY UP, INSTANTANEOUSLY SHATTERING THE WINDSHIELD AND COMPLETELY RESTRICTING VISIBILITY WHILE TRAVELING AT FULL HIGHWAY SPEED. THE INTERIOR HOOD SAFETY LATCH MOUNTING SCREWS WERE COMPLETELY RIPPED FROM THE HOOD LEAVING THE SAFETY LATCH MECHANISM DANGLING IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE HOOD WAS DAMAGED, THE ROOF DENTED, THE MAP LIGHTS WERE DAMAGED AND SHARDS OF GLASS LITTER THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. VEHICLE WAS SAFELY MOVED TO HIGHWAY BREAKDOWN LANE. A PASSING KY STATE TROOPER WHO STOPPED TO ASSIST US LOOKED AT THE DAMAGE AND INDICATED THIS WAS LIKELY A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. THE HOOD HAD NOT BEEN OPENED SINCE THE OIL HAD BEEN CHANGED NEARLY 4 WEEKS AGO. A SUBSEQUENT INTERNET SEARCH ON SIMILAR ISSUES REVEALS THAT THE 2006 SUBARU B9 TRIBECA HAS HAD NUMEROUS, NUMEROUS, NUMEROUS IDENTICAL INCIDENTS; SOME OCCURRING MORE THAN ONCE TO THE SAME OWNERS, WITH NO MANUFACTURER RECALL TO DATE. THESE VEHICLES NEED TO BE RECALLED AND THIS PROBLEM ADDRESSED--THIS HAS GREAT POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SEVERE INJURIES AND FATALITIES. AS A FORMER ATTORNEY WITH DOT/FMCSA UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2010, I AM CALLING UPON NHTSA TO INVESTIGATE THESE INCIDENTS. IT IS PARAMOUNT THAT NHTSA ADDRESS THE HOOD LATCH FAILURES WITH THESE VEHICLES AND TAKE ACTION ON THIS REPORT. *TR