First Prius and I love it. Anyone keeps crossbars on the car all the time or better to remove?

Congratulations! I think Geeks Life did a review about a year ago and mentioned about noise. Here is his video link:

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

What exactly do you mean by "crossbars" ??

 

When I first got my PRIME, I was considering getting OEM crossbars and car top carrier on mine to circumvent small cargo space but decided not to get one after reading a report from someone about awful noise with it on a highway. Let me see if I can find the thread.

Edit: Found the thread. See my comment and others about noise. Crossbars Noise | PriusChat

 

I like the looks of the OEM crossbars on mine, but the noise is horrible! One of the links has someone who tried a thule wind deflector to apparently good result in decreasing the wind.

That said, the OEM's come on and off in only a few minutes, so unless you're using them simply for aesthetics I'd keep them off.

There is a hole above each door. Installation is simply removing the shipping plug. Then all it takes to install the crossbars is imply removing the end cap (using the included screw tool), loosening the mounting clamp (using the included torque wrench), opening both doors and putting the cross bar across the roof. then on each side simply glide the pin into the hole and use the torque wrench to tighten it up (inclusion of a torque wrench is awesome as you don't have to worry about overtightening and damaging the bodywork of the car). Each of the crossbars is marked with the location and orientation they go on the car so as long as you follow that it's a no brainer putting them on.

It's a one-person job and I can do it in a few minutes (although the first time you might want a helper until you get used to it so as to not accidently scratch the roof).

 

Yeah I was wondering the same thing. Think it's a generational thing, and I'm guessing they're talking about "roof racks"??

 

Toyota calls them "Roof Cross Bars"
Roof Cross Bars - Toyota (PW301-47005) | TRDShop.com

 

Probably right.
It might also be a "generational thing" to ignore questions.

 

I would remove them, just simply for better looking

 

For people complaining about noise, when I had round crossbars on a previous car, wrapping a single bungee cord in a spiral several times around the bar almost completely eliminated the noise. I don't know if it would work for these non-round bars, but it's worth a try.

It's awesome that Toyota actually designed these cars to have roof racks. On my last car I had to carefully measure the location when installing a roof rack, so I rarely removed it.

 

It is a common dealership scam to put $299 crossbars on just about every car. Buyers can tell the dealer to take them of the car...and the price...if they want the deal. Some dealers are so lazy that they leave the bars on and take the $299 off the price.

Any accessory that isn't glued on can be removed and the price deducted before you buy the car. It just takes a steely eyed look at the salesman or his manager. They want to sell cars more than they want to sell crossbars. Keep'em if you want them, but ask for half off the price and probably settle for 20% off.

 

Fyi, it's actually illegal to utilize bungee cords on the exterior of a vehicle in NJ. Apparently one too many state legislators ran over the metal end of one on a HW.

 

I found the noise annoying from crossbars hence removed it. It is easy to put back. So far I didn't find a use for it. Maybe in future if I had to get a mattress or carry more luggage bags, then may be it could be of use.

 

Bungee cords are running neck-and-neck with lawn darts: besides making for insecure tie-down, they can let loose unexpectedly, get you in the eye, whatever.

 

Hi.

I recently bought some OEM cross bars for my Prius from Craigslist and didn’t realize the key was missing : (

Do any of you have a suggestion as to how to solve this challenge?

Are the keys unique or universal that I can ask a fellow Prius owner with racks to borrow keys?

Thanks!

 

IIRC in CA there are NO laws about Wth is strapped to "exterior" of vehicle, or how any load is secured, and I must say it kinda shows. Always seeing aluminum ladders on highway that have been run over a few times and thinking "that musta been exciting for someone, lol". I've picked up about 5 nice plastic shop carts over the years on side of road.

But interesting tip about bungie cord to reduce noise from racks. Must be "spoiler" effect, although the Factory racks do have little chevron pattern on top. Will try, I guess. I'm sure you could wrap racks in colored cord of local sportsball team colors or something and not worry about cops.

I normally cruise with earbuds listening to stuff straight from phone, done it for years because I feel it reduces overall noise levels. I've worked construction for years and was wearing earplugs all day every day before it was common. Never had issue with "not hearing" something important, safety or conversation, maybe less than others TBH.

Kinda like how it looks with racks, considering painting the black plastic of racks to roughly matching white metallic.

Haven't really tried yet but wondering about will random stuff (bike carrier, rocket box, etc) want to fit on Toyota racks and/or how much THAT gonna cost and will be some dorky extra spacer "adapter" layer?

 

Hi everyone, I just happened to be looking for Cross Bars and found this thread very helpful. Would you all recommend the OEM bars or the Thule bars? What about a Cargo Box, any good recommendations for one that fits well for the Prius Prime and will not block the opening of the rear trunk?

Thank you in advance.