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Post by firemac on Oct 28, 2022 11:44:33 GMT
Now this seems a strange thing; our trainee son-in-law has a Lexus RX450h and went to local Lexus dealer to get a roof bars fitted. “Sorry, Sir, but as your car has a glass panoramic roof, you can’t fit a rack”; despite having the roof rails that all RXs seem to have. Now, who came up with the brilliant idea of making a factory accessory available on an SUV that precludes fitting roof bars/rack? It also eliminates the fitting of a roof box, ski racks, bike racks, etc. What kind of frigging SUV is that? And I convinced him that the Lexus was a much better option than his fault-riddled Disco Sport…🥺
It then occurred to me that our RAV also has a pan roof so presumably no roof bars for me either. Think some more research is called for. ☹️
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Post by philip42h on Oct 28, 2022 13:29:17 GMT
That sounds like dealer b/s to me ... Toyota will certainly sell me a full range of stuff to go on the top of mine based on the VIN which, presumably, knows that I have a pan-roof. And, anyway, why would have a pan-roof rather than a sheet of tin make any material difference?
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Post by firemac on Oct 28, 2022 13:50:37 GMT
That sounds like dealer b/s to me ... Toyota will certainly sell me a full range of stuff to go on the top of mine based on the VIN which, presumably, knows that I have a pan-roof. And, anyway, why would have a pan-roof rather than a sheet of tin make any material difference? Indeed. So I tried a different Lexus dealer and the first question they asked was - wait fir it - "does it have a pan roof?" Sorry, but the roof isn't strong enough to take the weight of a roof rack's contents. Apparently it can crack!! Nevertheless, Halfords and Thule list racks for the RX so, who's liable if you buy one or they fit one and the roof cracks? Words fail me..... |
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Post by charliefarlie on Oct 28, 2022 16:38:51 GMT
If it has rails surely cross bars will fit ? Could it be they don’t recommend in case something damages or breaks the glass ? Or could it be the roof is not stiff or strong enough ? I wonder what it says in the handbook about maximum roof loading ? If the glass roof cars can’t carry it will surely say ?
If it was my car I would have bought a Thule kit ( I have Thule on my car) and fitted in blissful ignorance….
I can’t believe the roof structure isn’t strong enough.
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Post by firemac on Oct 28, 2022 17:05:16 GMT
If it has rails surely cross bars will fit ? Could it be they don’t recommend in case something damages or breaks the glass ? Or could it be the roof is not stiff or strong enough ? I wonder what it says in the handbook about maximum roof loading ? If the glass roof cars can’t carry it will surely say ? If it was my car I would have bought a Thule kit ( I have Thule on my car) and fitted in blissful ignorance…. I can’t believe the roof structure isn’t strong enough. I thought that the first dealer was simply full of sh1t hence the second try. Yes, the car has rails but because Lexus have said they won’t supply roof bars on a pan roof, trainee son-in-law is spooked. He is anal about the car anyway so there’s no way he’s going to ignore what the manufacturer says. The guy in Lexus Chester that I spoke to said that the roof can crack if the load is over spec; since the average owner probably doesn’t think too carefully about the weight on the bars, I guess it’s very possible that cracking can occur. And let’s face it, a cracked glass roof would write the car off. And he only wanted to mount three bike carriers for a weekend at Centre Parcs!🙁 |
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Post by philip42h on Oct 28, 2022 18:02:01 GMT
I really don't know about these fragile Lexi. The 4.5 with a pan-roof also has specific mounting points for the cross-rails, and I can't believe Toyota would do that if they didn't intend owners to fit roof furniture ...
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Post by firemac on Oct 28, 2022 19:03:34 GMT
I really don't know about these fragile Lexi. The 4.5 with a pan-roof also has specific mounting points for the cross-rails, and I can't believe Toyota would do that if they didn't intend owners to fit roof furniture ... That’s my logic as well. I intend to phone Mr. T in the morning to check. |
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Post by Hoovie on Oct 30, 2022 17:02:17 GMT
If they say the roof is not load-bearing and it was ignored and aftermarket (or vehicle unapproved) crossbars fitted and the roof glass shattered due to stress fracture, don't expect the warranty to pay up!
SUVs in the past may have been workhorses, but now they are just the popular style of vehicle to replace the "hot hatch" - just look at the stupid tyres fitted to Range Rovers and ask if they are suitable for any off-road or even slight green laning? For those who actually want an SUV for what an SUV used to provide need to shop carefully I think.
The presence of rails means little as well. Could be purely a styling thing. I remember when I was looking at Qashqais, there was a Roof Rail accessory in the catalog - but was flagged as something like "appearance only - non load bearing". The model I bought in the end did actually have Roof Rails as standard in fact which WERE load-bearing (and I used THule Cross Bars on it). Not sure if it had what would be called a panoramic roof or just a very large glass sunroof?
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piers
Junior Member
Posts: 5
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Post by piers on Nov 5, 2022 20:02:09 GMT
From memory the 'MG' mk1 5 estate was sold with decorative roof rails (which confused the reviewer).
I wouldn't buy a car that couldn't have a tow bar and roof bars ... I felt cheated by a citroen c5 lx that had the hinges for the rear window, but no catch (higher spec models only)!
A glass roof will weigh much more than a steel roof, so not authorising roof bars could be related to vehicle stability (roll-over more likely with a glass roof and loaded roof bars).
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