Tidbits

After much excitement, we tried to install the bike rack on my car but it just won’t work because the kit was too big to fit between the weather strip. We tried brut force and even used a screwdriver to widen the gap! Last night I even check out the PDF instruction to see how it is done but that didn’t help either. So this morning I did some more research and was pretty much at a point to give up when I ran into this on the Thule website.

Question: After much effort the front clamps do not fit the car as claimed by Thule. The Thule clamp, which is designed to fit over a produding pin above the door, beneath rubber molding, cannot be placed over the pin, because of interference by the metal chanel that holds the rubber molding.

Answer: The confusion is that the instructions do not fully explain that the weather stripping needs to be pulled all the way out. Starting at the top back corner of the rear door, there is a small nipple on the back side of the weatherstripping that fits into a notch in the doorframe. The weatherstripping should be gently slid upward (toward the sky) to release the nipple from the notch. At that point it can then be "peeled" forward toward the windshield. Stop once the studs in the front doorframe have been revealed. The brackets are the dropped down into the now revealed internal raingutter and the lifted up and over the correct studs (rear on the front doors and front on the rear doors). We apologize for the confusion. We have been working with Thule Sweden (the manufacturer of the Fit Kits) to improve the instructions.

Well, at least I have an answer now but hopefully the hole I had put on my weather strip due to the screw driver won't cause leaks!!!! And I feel stupid for not having done the research first instead of listening to the person who sold me the kit; to use brut force and screw driver (but of course he look like a 250 pound football linebacker).