Short story, I would like to know if there is any play when Yeti roof bars are correctly fitted and mounted? Like if they are properly clamped, and you wiggle them, is there any movement at all, or does the clamping mechanism grip the mounting stud bolts tightly?

Long story:

When I attempted to remove my recently dealer-installed factory roof bars for the first time, I discovered that they had been installed incorrectly. Sure, the installation and attachment of Yeti roof bars is elegantly simple, and the Ikea like instructions are clear and straightforward.

But unbelievably, my dealer had actually screwed the roof bars permanently into place using the mounting stud bolts, and then cranked down on the fastening levers. Instead of grasping the mounting at the correct location, the 'grip' part of the fastening mechanism is currently grabbing the mounting stud at the widest possible point.

I have an appointment to go in and get them to review their handiwork next week, but I fear that they are simply going to reassemble the rack in the correct order. I am concerned that the mounting jaws will be bent out of place (to say nothing about the chance of thread damage to the roof rails). As I intend to carry bicycles that are worth a significant percentage of the value of the car, I really don't want a sub-standard, or damaged rack.

It gets worse, too. When I noticed the botched installation, I was going to re-fit the bars myself, but I found a piece of tool snapped off in the first bolt I tried to undo! At that point, I photographed the whole thing and decided to proceed no further. If the roof rails are damaged, I don't want them to be able to throw it back on me.

Sadly, this is not the first post I imagined myself making here, but thanks in advance for reports from anybody with factory roof bars.

Edited 17 January, 201511 yr by nicbrown

There is no movement when they are correctly installed. I would love to see a picture of what they have done , because what they have done sounds far more difficult than putting them on correctly. 

The proper bolts are tapered towards a slot in which the roofbar clamp sits , to locate and hold it steady.

The taper should ensure that the fitting slides automatically into this groove.

If they have used standard bolts with a cylindrical top this will be unsafe.

The bolts are very tight to fix and to remove because they have a liberal amount of thread lock applied to them. They are also a bit awkward to fit, because the are tilted down towards the roof, so you have to be careful that the tool you are using does not slip out or break!

What he said ^^^^^^^^

 

Photo please!!

As requested:

Because the cam lock has been closed with the jaws approx double the width apart, I have a gut feeling that they are not going to clinch down properly when refitted and clamped in the right place.

Most of the bolts have had their Torx splines 'shaved' off too, indicative of having a hex key pushed in:

The whole event has been deeply frustrating, to say the least. When the rack arrived, I had to wait a week to get it installed, and was basically lectured on it being a dealer fit item. I *have* a torque wrench accurate in the single digit Nm range, as I often do work on carbon fibre bicycles.

Edited 17 January, 201511 yr by nicbrown

That dealer must be bloody stupid!! 
The instructions provided with the bars are so simple to understand and don't show anything like that!!

You are going to need new studs and possibly a new set of bars if the clamps have been forced.

It certainly is NOT a dealer fit only item; lots of us have done it.

That dealer should consider a career change, to a butcher!

 

Fred

It is going to be a very interesting job getting those damaged studs out, without damage to the roof rails on the car.

So it could be new roofbars, studs and car roof rails.

 

Colin

They'll come out alright with something like a Mole Wrench but will need to be replaced with new studs.

Gobsmakingly  bad is all I've got to say--Oh and change your dealer!

Gobsmakingly  bad is all I've got to say--Oh and change your dealer!

 

Not so easy to do in Australia!

Yeah, as angry as I am about the whole thing, I am doing all I can to remain calm and diplomatic until I get this resolved. There is a 2 1/2 hour drive to the next nearest dealer, which is not ideal.

The steel that the studs are made from appears to be very soft (hence the 3x install limit), so it shouldn't be a major issue removing them. Vice grips should bite into the metal pretty well, and failing that, you could file flats and use a wrench. This makes sense, as you want the studs to be the sacrificial part in the system, and yes, new studs are going to be needed.

Edited 18 January, 201511 yr by nicbrown

I bet the dealer doesn't have any spare studs.... they'll not be a stock item so will have to be ordered. Which from what you say means another long drive when they admit they've messed up.

An update:

It turns out that installing the factory roof bars in the manner that they did, leaves them damaged and not fit for purpose. The dealer has now ordered replacement bars, which I should have in a few days.

My local dealer is about 20mins away, but the *next* dealer is a 2 1/2 hour drive. Not having a choice within a reasonable distance means that it is in my interest to keep things civil. Your assistance here has helped with that process, and with my negotiations. Thanks all!

Looks like a salesman fitted them. Have seen similar here in the UK.

I fitted factory bars to my new Yeti in less than 1 hour and am using with a Thule basket. They come off and go on easily. The job done by your dealer looks like an unskilled apprentice or salesman did it. You will need new bars, which will come with new studs as the photos show the damage they have caused. Sorry pal, you will need to monitor this dealer. Fortunately Skoda do not break down too often so few visits to the dealer

Goodness gracious...  Someone in that dealership sent the office clearer to do what should have been a very simple job and really bothched it. Easy mistake. I would also have thought anyone could understand those IKEA instructions...  Good luck. Hope you get it sorted.

The best tool for removing the studs is a screw extractor. They are cheap to buy if you can't borrow any.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/screw-extractor-5-piece-set/18643#product_additional_details_container

Noticed these the other day as well, didn't realise there was a specific tool to remove damaged torx fittings

http://www.screwfix.com/p/laser-torx-extractor-bit-set-7pcs/6329f?kpid=6329f&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&kpid=6329f&cm_mmc=Google-_-Shopping%20-%20Hand%20Tools-_-Shopping%20-%20Hand%20Tools&gclid=CP-shNOZpsMCFdMatAodnBAAcg

I have an original Yeti roof bar set arriving from ebay today. I thought the fitting was going to be straightforward?

 

After reading the above I'm now concerned that I might mess up the installation, does anyone have the original instructions please?

I have an original Yeti roof bar set arriving from ebay today. I thought the fitting was going to be straightforward?

 

After reading the above I'm now concerned that I might mess up the installation, does anyone have the original instructions please?

There are a number of threads on here about the bars

The issue is complicated somewhat by the fact that the spec for the small bolts has been changed

Firstly you need to have at least 8 of the tapered fixing bolts to fit the bars. No other bolts but those that come with the bars will work as they have a groove machined in them that the bars attach onto.

If you have a pre FL car there will be 10 holes for the bolts. This was in order to give you an alternative fixing position at the rear of the car

The original bolts were fixed using a torx fitting. This has been changed now to an allen key, which having fitted both types, is much better

When fitting them I placed a thick old towel on the roof as the bolts are inclined downwards towards the roof and are quite close, so if your wrench slips you are in grave danger of scratching the paint. Also because they are inclined downwards it is very easy to get them cross threaded. Getting them started is further complicated because there is a thick layer of threadlock on them. You will need to do it off a stepladder or similar.

The torque for the bolts is quoted at 5nm. I don't have a torque wrench which goes that low or is small enough to fit in the space, so I nipped them up tight and figured the threadlock will do the rest. All fine so far anyway! Don't go mad, 5nm isn't very much.

If there does not appear to be much threadlock on the bolts supplied, I would put some more on.

You can buy the bolts separately, but they are a kings ransom for 8 bolts[£24 from memory]

The instructions say they should only be reused 3 times, I guess that will be because you will lose threadlock every time

Sounds complicated but just take your time. The biggest issue I think is not to get cross threaded

Good luck!

Thanks a lot for your fulsome reply.

Roof bars did arrive, damaged and with no studs. Currently trying to get a refund but it is hard going. Wish I had not sought a bargain and had paid the money to Skoda.

Oh well, you live and learn. 

If they arrived damaged then there shouldn't really be any problem getting a refund.  If the seller won't play ball then just raise a case through eBay - they tend to side with buyers anyway.  In the past I've had refunds without even having to return the misdescribed/faulty/damaged item; often sellers can't be bothered to pay for the return, especially if the item is damaged and can't be sold again.  I'd suggest that you take photos of the damage so that you can demonstrate that, as received, the bars did not match the description/photo(s) in the listing.  Make sure that all your correspondence with the seller is done through eBay's web site - don't be tempted just to hit 'reply' when the seller's response lands in your normal e-mail Inbox.  Doing it this way will allow eBay to review the correspondence and verify that the seller is being unco-operative.

 

Good luck!