Easy roof rack bar removal

[dmitri]

well i was bored so i decided to do it. Other people said just to pull up really hard and wiggle, but this wasnt working and i was really shaking and pulling the cap hard...So instead i decided to figure out a simpler way.Get a flat head screwdriver and pry the side of the back plastic cap up a little bit on the side of the cap facing the wheels.Then, push the flathead up slowly and feel around making sure your touching the top of the cap with it and not the plastic clip.Once its touching the top, tap it a few times (not hard because it could go through!) and the cap will pop right off.

[MadBill]

That sounds a bit more scientific than my approach, dmitri. I just waited till a hot day and pried as gently as I could. It realy felt like a flip of the coin as to whether it would come off in one piece or not! What I did do though was to put a dab of grease on the little yellow christmas trees befor I snapped the covers back on. Hopefully it will go a bit easier when/if I want to put the bars back in.

[dmitri]

exactly, when i pushed the screw driver up and hit it a few times it popped right off, real easy. Just a different way then trying to pull it off which might or might not work.

[SuPeRioN81]

I don't know about all that... I just pulled mine off within 3 seconds...

[Toasted7]

You say they came off easily, but did they go back on without breaking? If so... how did you do it? I'm sure you had to remove the antenna and then how did you get the crossbars off from there... they just slide out once the black covers are removed? I'm leasing my Vibe and want to make sure I can get them back on in a few years when my lease is up.

[dmitri]

yea its like a 1 way clip i forgot what their called but it snaps in place really easy. The bars slide right off, just take off the antena then it goes over it , kind of pushes the antenna base down but no big deal.To put it on just do exactly the same thing and out the cross bars back its easy.

[Toasted7]

Looks like I will attempt this tomorrow if it doesn't rain. I can only hope that they are as easy to remove as you say they are and that nothing cracks or breaks in the process!?! Wish me luck... I'll post more after I'm done. (I'm a little nervous)

[dmitri]

lol

[Toasted7]

No luck here... tried today and felt like the black covers were going to crack right off of the roof rack, so I gave up. Didn't want to damage anything that badly. I just thought having the roof racks off would be cool. Oh well...