Infamous front end "Clunk" fixed - kudos to dealer

[Divemaster]

We have a 2007 Tribeca with 55K miles on it and we had been hearing the infamous front end "clunk" sound for a little while when we went over bumps. After reading some of the other threads on this forum, I concluded that it was probably the swaybar / lower control arm bushings. We have the Subaru "Gold Plan" extended warranty out to 7yr./100K with $0 deductible, so I called my dealer (Byers Imports in Columbus, Ohio) to see if it was covered by the extended warranty. They said it was and scheduled an appointment right away and included a free loaner car. Per Subaru’s direction, they first tried to simply put new bushings in, but that didn't completely solve the problem. They ended up having to completely replace both lower control arms. I am glad we had the warranty as that work would have run about $1,200! They also addressed the rattle noise from the rear hatch free of charge. They were very quick with the repairs and very knowledgeable about the problem/solution (seems to be a rare trait among auto service places these days).

So, kudos to the service staff at Byers Imports for their prompt and knowledgeable service and kudos to the Subaru extended warranty for covering all of it!

Our Subaru is now back to its old self and there are no more weird noises coming from the front end.

[hipower]

I had the same problem but my swaybar hanger bolts were missing so the swaybar bushing was just hanging

[Tribeca_06]

so the rattle noise..is it the backseat rest of the second row..? or is the liftgate? good luck with repairs..mine stopped making the noise so i just forgot about it and my mercedes e-class is the same problem and the bushings need to be replaced alot..and same with the tribeca it seems

[Divemaster]

so the rattle noise..is it the backseat rest of the second row..? or is the liftgate? good luck with repairs..mine stopped making the noise so i just forgot about it and my mercedes e-class is the same problem and the bushings need to be replaced alot..and same with the tribeca it seems
Our rattle noise was coming from the rear liftgate, but it is now gone after the dealer made some adjustments. Not sure if it will be a permanent fix. They did say that there was one more adjustment they could do if the noise returned.

They did mention that some Tribeca's have a rattle coming from the second row headrests, but ours did not appear to have that problem (yet).

I am just happy that the front end problem has been resolved as that was more important from a safety standpoint than a rattle! :)

[Tribeca_06]

yeah the rattle annoys me so muchh now and i notice that the whole back of the second row seems to shake/move when you hit a bump and i think its that..not that head rests? and i think the rear liftgate is making a noise to which can prob be adjusted which is great