I'm getting roof rails just for the looks. Only $420 here on eBay http://bit.ly/12biyMm

 

I'm getting roof rails just for the looks. Only $420 here on eBay http://bit.ly/12biyMm

$420 spent on roof rails just for looks, instead of paying down say a Visa or MC (19%) over the next 30 years until you retire is $120,042.00. They must be really nice looking and draw lots of attention for that kind of money.

 

Not sure I'd have "Corky" drill holes in the top of my car by for cosmetics only. Different if I needed them or they were done at the factory.

 

Car is definitely pre-manufactured for rails, it's just a question of installing aftermarket crossbars and attachments on the OEM rails.

My concern is low profile - what accessories will work, because some may touch the roof.

 

Purchasing the proper OEM attachments is an option.

 

Instructions to Assemble the options

Read the Instruction Sheet: .
Acura online store - 2014 MDX Accessory installation (DIY) instructions


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I have installed the rear Window Air deflector on two on my MDXs. I think I will only install the Cargo Mat and All Weather Floor Mats on this one.

 

Does anyone, with the factory rack, think at a third party rack manufacturer will be able to make an attachment foot that will hold onto the rail at various points along the rails? Yakima makes the rail grab, Roof Rack Systems | Yakima, but it looks like it needs an edge on the inside of the rail and I don't recall seeing one on the MDX advanced. It is a real deal breaker for me because I put a bunch of stuff on top of my current MDX, skis, box, bikes, surfboard, and even a small sailboat! I really need the flexibility of moving the crossbars front to back to change the spacing and also, I need the extra width afforded by having the cross bars extend out past the rails. So, is there any sort of edge on the rail to grab? Or is it completely smooth? Thanks in advance!

 

Instructions to install are here:
08L02-TZ5-200 - Acura Roof Rails (MDX) - Bernardi Acura Parts & Accessories

 

Thanks for the info on the rack installation. I should have explained that I'm looking at the Advanced model, so it already has the rack installed. But if you can only use the fixed point cross bars, then it is of little use to me. And it might in fact block a Yakima/Thule foot. But Yakima specifically makes one cleverly designed to grab onto to the flush rails but it does need some sort of lip or edge on the interior side of the rail to grab.

So, anyone who has a factory rack, could the just run their hand on the inside side, to see if there is anything for the Yakima rack to grab hold? My Acura dealer is 40 min away and I don't want to waste my time just to see if this is possible. A photo of the inside of the rail would be awesome if anyone has one.

Thanks!

 

Guess what, I just encountered this and I am very very sad to report factory installed racks and crossbars from Acura SUCK SUCK SUCK, DO NOT GET THEM! you can not use any of your Yakima stuff unless it is shorter than the 14 version. i am so disappointed by this. the Acura crossbars and racks ARE FIXED! What a BOZO design!

 

Yes they do suck, but according to the Yakima fitment guide, you can just put Q-towers over the acura rack, or better yet don't get the Acura rack at all and use yakima towers & bars. They'll be much stronger and more versatile anyway.

 

I just installed the OEM roof rails and crossbars on my 2014 myself (see my thread detailing the install). Some pertinent points -

- The roof rail channels, i.e. where either the trim strip or the roof rail are installed, are not parallel - they taper inward toward the rear.

- Because of the non-parallel rails, the crossbars are different sizes with the front one being longer than the rear one and because of this there's only one spot each along the tapering inwards rails where each crossbar can fit hence they're each in a fixed location. I've never had a vehicle that had non-parallel rails and non-adjustable crossbars. I definitely like the adjustable kind better. Acura could have solved this by having the rail channels parallel with each other rather than parallel with the side edges of the roof (which aren't parallel with each other). They must have thought that would look weird and went for the look over the utility.

- Because the rails are solid to the roof as opposed to having some 'air' between pedestals like many rack roof rails, there are no tie points on the rails to keep cargo from slipping side to side.

- To compound the lack of using the rails as a tie point, the crossbars have no tie-down points on them at the mounting bracket or elsewhere so there's no side to side tie-down points on the crossbars either.

- Given the lack of side to side tie-down points I plan to jury rig some way to do it that's not too invasive.

- Acura offers a number of accessories that can mount to the crossbars and most likely other vendors will as well so with any of these there's no question that the roof rack offers some utility - it does, but it has its limitations. I have a cargo rooftop bag (by 'Keeper') I want to use sometimes but I won't be comfortable having it up there without some side to side tie-down points.

- The roof rails are chrome and to the casual observer may appear to be stainless steel, chrome steel, or another solid metal piece but they aren't. Each side of the roof rail is in two pieces - a thick solid plastic piece that mounts to the roof rail channel in the roof, and a thin plastic chrome 'cap' that snaps into the solidly mounted piece. This means that anything you might consider to mount or clamp to that will be mounting/clamping to the thin plastic cover which I wouldn't trust to have anything mounted/clamped to.

I installed the factory rack anyway after considering the options. I'm sure I can manage to get some utility and use out of it. I didn't want the tower types from the aftermarket vendors due to the way they clamp to the roof - I didn't want to potentially mess up the finish of the roof and the door weatherstrips. Maybe there are other good alternatives available or will be available as this model is out a bit longer.

 

I just purchased a 2014 MDX and want to install the roof rails myself. I downloaded the installation instructions but can't figure out how to remove the roof molding. Do you lift up in the middle somewhere with a trim tool?

 

mdxstang, thanks for the detailed info on the roof rack. I'd love to meet the idiot that came up with the flush roof rail design! It isn't just Acura, as a number of other manufacturers seem to be doing it as we'll. It completely reduces the utility of the rack as you have noted.

I was hopefully that the Yakima railgrab foot would work, but when I looked at the advanced model, it was completely smooth with out any edge to hold the foot. Now that you have described the chrome shell on the plastic rail, I now know that isn't going to ever be an option. Very disappointing indeed! I put a lot of stuff on the top of my current '07 dealer rails with thule cross bars... Sailboats, kayaks, skis, bikes, cargo box... Most of that will now be difficult to impossible with the factory rack.

The Yakima and thule tall feet designed to go over factory racks is the only option. That sucks! The is a very high chance for scratching the paint and screwing up the door seals. And they look silly.

At this point, I'm going to hold onto my '07 because this is a deal breaker for us... We need an SUV with utility. I love my '07 with 150k miles, but I was really looking forward to the '14. Maybe, they will come to their senses next year and switch back to the standard non-flush rails. Or maybe an enterprising company will see a need for non-flush roof rails for all these manufacturers going this ridiculous direct.

-Matt

 

I was hopefully that the Yakima railgrab foot would work, but when I looked at the advanced model, it was completely smooth with out any edge to hold the foot. Now that you have described the chrome shell on the plastic rail, I now know that isn't going to ever be an option. Very disappointing indeed! I put a lot of stuff on the top of my current '07 dealer rails with thule cross bars... Sailboats, kayaks, skis, bikes, cargo box... Most of that will now be difficult to impossible with the factory rack.

The Yakima and thule tall feet designed to go over factory racks is the only option. That sucks! The is a very high chance for scratching the paint and screwing up the door seals. And they look silly.

I'm sort of stunned at this lack of utility of the rails and cross-bars. As of now, Acura itself does not have a cargo box, and it does not appear that there are any 3rd party options other than the Yakima and thule tall feet designs.

Has anyone on this forum tried to mount a cargo box atop the 2014 MDX?

 

I haven't seen one in person with a rack and cross-bars yet, and the cross-bars seem so thin and small from the photos from this thread.

I don't think the cross-bars are particularly thin or small in comparison to other crossbars I've used on other SUVs. I don't see a problem with the crossbars other than the fact that they're in fixed locations rather than adjustable. The size of the crossbars seems to be within the range needed for roof box mounts, etc. (I checked either Thule or Yakima or both - I can't remember which).

The utility of them just depends on what you end up wanting to use them for.

 

Has anyone tried to fit the roof rail for previous gen on the 2014 model? It would solve all the problems (if it does fit).

 

^^ I highly doubt it would fit - the 2014 vehicle has completely different dimensions than the gen 2.

I don't have experience with the gen 2 roof rack but on the 2014 the rails aren't parallel, which means the crossbars end up in fixed positions with the front crossbar actually being longer side to side than the rear crossbar, and the rails themselves have to fit precisely into the track and align with the bolt studs already in the roof. There's virtually no way this is the same as the gen 2.

 

It looks like Thule makes a Podium foot that is designed to bolt into the flush rails at the fixed points. They make a fit kit for the CRV, which also has these flush rails, so it must only be a matter of time before Thule makes a kit specific for the MDX, unless the CRV one already works. But knowing Honda, the bolt spacing is probably slightly different than the CRV. In any case, it they make it, it will then accept the standard thule square or aero bars and then any of their attachments. The fixed points makes it slightly less versatile but still workable.

 

btw - I happened to walk by an Audi Q7 the other day and noticed it had roof rails almost the same as the ones on the 2014 MDX - i.e. solid flush chrome ones with fixed locations for crossbars. Maybe it's a design trend (not a good one).

 

Well I finally got around to trying to fit my Thule cargo box to the cross bars, and unfortunately it is a no go, even though I'm pretty handy at making modifications. The fixed location of the cross bars are so far back, and so close together that they are pretty useless for cargo boxes of a reasonable length if you care at all about opening the rear hatch.

Hopefully someone will produce a longer cargo box that fit the lame cross-bar configuration of the 2014 MDX.

 

I have a previously purchased Thule Atlantis 1600 cargo box which mounts fine on the 2014 MDX factory rails and bars. It's 74" in length: not one of the long thin ones, but a decent size. The quick grips need to be slid back as far as they go and in this position the box just clears the fin and doesn't obstruct the tailgate. In fact, it's a perfect fit - but only just.

 

Thanks! I will definitely have to look for one of these!

 

Has anyone noticed that the cross bars are kinda low and its almost impossible to tie down any large items??? The fin antenna on the roof also gets in the way since the cross bars are so low. i ended up returning the item since it would fit in the trunk or tie it to the roof rack/crossbars. argh!

 

As some of may know, there are currently no larger cargo boxes that fit the 2014 MDX cross-bars given their very rearward position atop the roof. The longer cargo boxes could be fitted, but you could not open the rear hatch.

I was able to fit the Thule Sonic 635 which is 90 inches long. In this box, the rear mounts are capable of positioning fairly far back rearward. However, the front adjustments are not capable of moving far enough back, given the distance between the cross-bars, to make full use of the most rearward position of the rear adjustments. Hence, I had to reposition the front adjustment about 1.5 inches rearward, allowing the rear mounts to move 1.5 inches rearward effectively. Not too difficult a modification for those handy.

I will definitely have to position the bulk of the heavier items rearward.

 

Great photos! Looks like that box was ALMOST designed for the MDX! I'm curious to know how much action/vibration there is with that box on the highway at high speeds 80-90mph? Between the rearward sloping roof line and the long overhang... It could create some serious lift under the box front edge. I fully separate the connection point on my old 1600 with the adjustable crossbars on my '07 and I feel like it vibrates unless I have it loaded to the gills. You should post some photos of the modification.

At this point I'm waiting to see the '14 X5. It has the flush rails as well but I'm hoping they engineered a sliding crossbar. The third row was a joke on the old one and I'm hoping that was increased a little (but unlikely). Or at least a sliding second row (go MDX!). We don't need the third row with only 5 of us but it is great to have when the kids have a friend over or the grandparents come to visit.. or we simply need to separate the kids.

We love our current MDX. I hope Acura is reading these message boards... Lots of good feedback.

-Matt

 

I'm curious to know how much action/vibration there is with that box on the highway at high speeds 80-90mph? Between the rearward sloping roof line and the long overhang... It could create some serious lift under the box front edge. I fully separate the connection point on my old 1600 with the adjustable crossbars on my '07 and I feel like it vibrates unless I have it loaded to the gills. You should post some photos of the modification.

I had no vibrations that I noticed, but I also did not have anything in the box while testing. I drove between 75-85 going over the San Mateo bridge which is about 7 miles. Not a large sampling, but it was fine thus far. I will know more after this skis season!

I will take some photos of my modification when I remove the box.

So I present this option, have you considered matching the paint scheme of your MDX to your Thule rooftop box?

No plans on color matching.

One comment......the nose of the box is sure pointing up in the air.

I have basically the same Thule box & used it on a '12. It also had a slight upward tilt, but based on your photo, yours is has the "rocket launcher" look that I wouldn't want and how about wind drag?

The front cross-bar is actually taller than the rear cross-bar. Unfortunately, due rearward slope of the roof and the cross-bar height disparity, there isn't much you can do. Currently, I don't know of any manufacture that make a longer cargo box for the MDX 2014 that properly fits. Not only that, if they wanted to orient the box more horizontally, relative the car roof, they would have to raise the rear mounts, which might make it MDX specific, and what cargo box manufacturer would make one that fit only one car?

I just had a thought that I could switch the rear cross-bar with the front cross-bar (essentially canceling out the rearward slope with the uneven cross-bar height. I will report back when I try this.

 

Calbenzo, this is a great post...now as mattholland says, it ALMOST looks like it was designed for the MDX. So I present this option, have you considered matching the paint scheme of your MDX to your Thule rooftop box? A couple of years ago we did a "back east" 5 week trip with a box on the top of my wife's SUV. While on the imfamous North Carolina 129, Tail Of The Dragon, 318 curves in 11 miles, several photographers take pics of every vehicle that passes them in hopes of selling photos.
I looked up our pics online back then and really wished our rooftop box was colormatched. But your green car and silver-gray combo was a heck of a better match than ours was.

 

One comment......the nose of the box is sure pointing up in the air.

I have basically the same Thule box & used it on a '12. It also had a slight upward tilt, but based on your photo, yours is has the "rocket launcher" look that I wouldn't want
and how about wind drag?

Here it is on the '12:

 

What model box is this? And do you have more pictures of this installed?

 

Looks like an aircraft wing on take off!

How fast do you have to go for that to happen?

 

If the bars don't interchange (F/R), possibly adding a rubber spacer in the rear between the rail & box bottom would raise it.

If I recall on my Thule, the hardware had some play to accommodate different
thicknesses of crossbars. Unfortunately don't have the '14 bars to do a test fit.

The rack/crossbar detail was something I never considered when purchasing the '14.

 

I just had a thought that I could switch the rear cross-bar with the front cross-bar (essentially canceling out the rearward slope with the uneven cross-bar height. I will report back when I try this.

You can't swap them - they're different widths.
I think if you want to try to cancel out some of the height differences you'd need to put spacers of some kind between the box and the rear crossbar.

I really think the MDX roof rack is a poor design driven by the stylists rather than the 'utility' practicalists. It still provides some useful function but it isn't all it could be.

 

Yeah, a poor design to say the least! For one, why make the front bars higher?

That stinks that you can't swap the front and rear. I thought I might have found a partial solution.