How do I replace headlight on 2006 subaru tribeca

To remove light bulb from Tribeca B9 low beam simply 1) remove outer cap, 2) reach into round cavity holding bulb and disconnect two leads, 3) then press on one end of wire clip--the one with the larger bracket (use mirror to view then go by feel) and while pressing on wire move outward away from bracket and clip will swing up and out of the way while being held from falling away by screw on other side of bulb socket. 4) pull bulb out noting that there is a tang which goes back in the same location. Driver side is easier if you remove battery. Other side only requires you remove air intake vent to air box ----- two pop-outs hold it in. Do not take the front end of the car off or light unit out as suggested above.

Took me less than 10 minutes to replace low beam for driver's side, following different advice in these posting.

Let me summarize:

1. Loosen battery to it can be twised away.

2. Unscrew plastic cover to low beam hide out.

3. unplug top wire to lamp and push up and out of way.

4. Unplug bottom wire to lamp and push down and out of the way.

THis way you should find it easy to plug back on.

5. Now you need to unhook clip holding lamp in. You push spring clamp inward and to ground to unhook. "The side that releases is on the fender side, and it swings toward the motor"!

6. Pull lamp out and notice tab is pointing towards ground.

7. Put lamp back in.

8. Swing clip back around, pushing down and inward till you feel it latch.

9. Put bottom wire lead on.

10. Put top wire lead on.

11. Screw on cap to lamp hideout.

12. Move battery back in place and secure.

Really, no more than 5 minutes needed.

Thanks to pjwalonee for providing a great solution. I'll steal his answer and add pioctures to make it easier to understand.

First here is what you do! For either side you have to remove the intake for the air box(2 plastic screw plogs)



then take off the Plastic piece under( like 9 plastic plugs)


Then: Drivers side - Remove the how do I replace headlight on 2006 subaru tribeca - ddc7dc1.jpgke 2 top screws out of light assembly



then underneath the fendehow do I replace headlight on 2006 subaru tribeca - 68f183f.jpgove 3 lower plastic plugs and 1 plastic plug screw, pry open plastc skirt and look inside



There you will see a plastic piece on the bottom of the light assembly connected by 3 small screws on the bottom and a screw in the front like on the top of the light, I took the front scrhow do I replace headlight on 2006 subaru tribeca - 00ec686.jpgt, its a 10mm, and removed the 3 small screws with a magnetic ratcheting screwdriver( keeps screws from being lost and installs them great)



once this piece is off the bottom of light assembly the light willl come right out, ..
IMP... Dont forget to remove main harness plug from entire light assembly to remove it so you can work on it outside, this will make the light and little spring easy to remove,

Passenger side is a little easier, but the Air filter box must be removed, 2 10mm screws and a 10mm nut. otherwise the lower fender/spoiler piece lowers the same . not bad really just take your time and work slow.

Well just did mine and don't know how you guys got into your solutions. Hardest pasrt was battery removal. Twist off cap and a clip holds the bulb in. Push clip and remove bulb. Repalce and clip back in !! Simple!!

First I would like to say! This is Possible although I didn't think so!
First here is what you do! For either side you have to remove the intake for the air box(2 plastic screw plogs) then take off the Plastic piece under( like 8 plastic plugs)
Then: Drivers side - Remove the Battery, take 2 top screws out of light assembly, then underneath the fender skirt remove 3 lower plastic plugs and 1 plastic plug screw, pry open plastc skirt and look inside. There you will see a plastic piece on the bottom of the light assembly connected by 3 small screws on the bottom and a screw in the front like on the top of the light, I took the front screw off first, its a 10mm, and removed the 3 small screws with a magnetic ratcheting screwdriver( keeps screws from being lost and installs them great)
once this piece is off the bottom of light assembly the light willl come right out, ..
IMP... Dont forget to remove main harness plug from entire light assembly to remove it so you can work on it outside, this will make the light and little spring easy to remove,

Passenger side is a little easier, but the Air filter box must be removed, 2 10mm screws and a 10mm nut. otherwise the lower fender/spoiler piece lowers the same . not bad really just take your time and work slow.

I was frustrated, but this will work! and save you at least 50 bucks a side, change both together, for obvious reasons!
good luck. [email protected]

I have very large hands and I was able to replace both headlights from above without removing anything extra besides the little screw cap behind the lights.

Quite frankly I was worried about replacing my lower beam bulb in 2006 Tribeca since I was due for a oil change anyway I asked my local Jiffy Lube shop to replace it for me...$20.00 and that include labor and part...I watched the whole thing ,it took him 20 min...no problem at all!!

For low beam light on drivers side. Take the battery out. Take the cover off of the fuse box( more room to see). DO NOT TAKE THE LIGHT ASSEMBLY LOOSE. Screw the back of the low beam light cap off. Pull off the two wires to back of bulb (make sure you remember which wire goes where. Push the retaining clip in and down towards the ground. It should open about 100-110 degrees. Remove old bulb. Install new buld with square side toward the ground. There is a guide in which the square side fits. Flip retaining clip back into place. Push the clip in and it snaps under a little metal holder. Plug wires back in. Put cap back on. Put fuse box cover and battery back in. Smile and tell your friends it took you 30-45 minutes!

Like dannivi, just twist off the cap, push retaining clip sideways (hardest part to figure out-especially going back in), and remove 2 clips from old bulb. Total time less than 5 min.

Don't get discouraged. Read solutions 3 and 10; use a mirror as suggested to see how the clip releases. The side that releases is on the fender side, and it swings toward the motor (I just did my driver's side). Once you get the clip figured out, you're "10 minutes from home." Seriously.

I have the same problem with my Tribeca. I replaced more headlights in this car over three years than I replaced in the life of my driving, I have been driving for 32 years.
I attempted the right side and chickened out. Then I went to the dealer and the labor and the bulbs are costly!!! I thought it was my dealer ripping me off with cheap bulbs. This is the only trouble I have had with this car. Because of the light bulb problems I probably will not buy another Subaru. It is plain ridiculous.

I just finished replacing the driver side low beams. I could unscrew the cap but for the rest I had to unsecure the battery (different from actually removing it) so I had enough room to get my hand in there.
Hardest part (besides having the patience of a Buddha) was getting the spring clip on and off.
Total time was 2 hours.

The driver's side will require you to remove the battery. Once done here is what you do. Remove the cover from cup/tube that leads to the bulb. Then, remove the 2 electrical leads to the bulb. There is a wire clip that holds the bulb in place. It is REALLY EASY to remove if you know the trick. Push the wire clip forward and it will pop loose. Then grab the bulb by its' lead and remove. Note the position of the bulb. Get the replacement bulb, and hold it the same way, by the lead. Do not touch the bulb, as any contamination can reduce bulb life. Remove protective covering from bulb while holding by lead. Insert, and then close wire retainer by pushing it forward. It will click in in a very obvious fashion. Replace the 2 electric leads, Put tube cover back on, On passenger side, that is it. On driver side, replace battery.

I to could do this with out going under to remove whole thing.. it just turns a half turn then pops out..

I just replaced both bulbs in the 06 Tribeca. Time taken 40 min. ( 2 beers)
I removed the battery bracket and moved the battery across to gain access to the light housing. I didn't disconnect the battery- i could move it far enough. Then unclipped etc as per others advise. (1 beer)
The other side ( I'm in Australia so can't say driver passenger side as this may be confusing). I removed the air intake as per manual then removed the air filter box. This gave me enough access to the housing to replace bulbs. (2nd beer)
Tools 10mm ring spanner and socket. Phillips head screw driver for air clamp.
Be patient and as others have said take note and look which way the lug is facing on the globe.

Completely was able to do this without taking everything out as well.. however, I don't suggest doing it this way if you don't have a good feel for auto work. I might as well have done this blindfolded, cuz doing this without removing anything is all touch and feel with your arm contorted and hand shoved into blind crevices. Don't know how the guy with the large hand did the driver's side cuz i'm skinny and was barely able to feather the bulb through without dropping it.

My 2 cents (if you attempt to do this without removing all those pieces) -
- if you removed the bolts holding in the headlight assy put them back in, it'll make it harder to undo/redo the spring (it needs resistance)
- pull the plugs (2 per bulb) straight out and tuck them away so they don't impede putting the new bulb in
- pull up this page on your phone and keep the pic of the back of the bulb handy (http://www.dr-chuck.com/csev-blog/2010/05/how-do-i-replace-the-headlight-on-2006-subaru-tribeca/)
- feel for the loop in the spring mechanism, push in and down to release.. this is where it helps to have the pic in front of you
- DON'T DROP THE BULB!!! just do it all in reverse and your done
- I suggest doing the passenger side first since there's a little more room and you can get a better understanding of how the process goes before doing the tougher driver's side

Don't loosen any screws to the tension springs for the bulb. Once you take the round plastic cover off where the headlight bulbs are, you unplug the two wires first. The small tension spring just has to be pushed down where it goes under a small metal piece. The other side is held in place with a screw. You then take the old bulb out and put the new one back in. On the drivers side you have to loosen up the battery without taking it all the way out in order to get to the light housing. On the passenger side you have to reach in by the air intake cover and take the plastic round cover off there. I made the mistake of taking off tension spring off and everything went wrong from there. I then found out that the other side blew out as well. The drivers side bulb had bulged in the glass part of the bulb and then when I tried to get it out of the socket, it blew up. there was a whole blown out in the side of the bulb. A five minute job turned into a five hour one.