I have a 2007 Honda Odyssey van. I purchased some cross bars for the roof rack but I am having some issues installing them. The instructions tell me to use a small flat head srew-driver to push in the retaining tab on the cover of the roof rack end but I can’t get the cover off. Any suggestions?
With the price of gasoline, remove the rack and seal the holes. Travel lighter.
I would like to help you, but I would need to see a picture. You can attach one to a reply or you can upload pics to a free service like photobucket.com and give us the link.
That was helpful.
Since the vehicle is this new, I’ll bet the guys in the service department at the dealership from whom you purchased it would be glad to show you. It should only take a couple of seconds. Bring a dozen donuts, and they’ll probably jump at the chance.
Here is a diagram of the rack stay covers.My issue is removing them.
looking at the curved lines, once you press the tab, try sliding the covers away from the rack (forward in the front, towards the rear in back). Don’t try to lift up on them until after you slide them. Then after sliding them they should come off easily.
Any luck yet?
wrong, weight savings would add up to zero and the sealed holes will leak
I tried and tried but I couldn’t get them to move. I called the local Honda dealer and they did it for free. Apparently there is some technique to removing them. I was afraid that I was going to break them.
Told ya! ;0}
Will you be able to do it yourself, should the occasion arise again?
There is a small hole on the INSIDE of the rack stay covers (i.e., toward the center of the roof - you can see it easily from the other side of the vehicle). You need to stick something in there to release a spring catch on the stay (philips head screwdriver worked for me). Once you release that, they slide right off (as stated above, forward in the front, towards the rear in the back)
I’ve just installed my cross bars, and here’s the trick to removing the roof rack end cover: 1. As suggested, depress the spring with a philips head screwdriver or something else then and cylindrical to release the spring catch. 2. While depressing the spring, use a thin flathead screwdriver to wedge the end cover off. As you insert the screwdriver head, gently turn it to push cover away from the other end of the roof rack. 3. Once the cover is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch away froom other end of rack, you’ll be able to use our hand to simply slide the cover off.
I was concerned I was going to break something if I forced the covers off, so I hit google and ended up here.
Thank you, Lewisjam, for the detailed instructions. I now have my crossbars on and can pack for our trip.