Dianeg

I have an 05 RX330, the roof topluggage rack on both of the front sides is now loose?! I have never used that thing once, needless to say the constant rattling drives us nuts when we are driving down the road? Anyone else have this issue and a "fix it yourself" solution?

tawm

Just noticed the same rattling issue on my 2008 RX 350, apparently the screws holding the cross bars are loose on one side. I have to find a SHORT or angled philips head screwdriver to fit in there and try to tighten the screws. anyone with experience- How tight? Any risk of stripping the screws (if they're not already stripped from rattling around).

ukrkoz

I had same issue with crossbars on our then 99 RX300. Those bars vibrate from air flow and likely loosen themselves. Tightening ***** on the top was very awkward. I tightened - stuck screwdriver into **** head - the hell out of them and yet, had to re-tighten once a year.

tawm

Thank you ukrkoz for sharing that. Turns out the screws holding the cross bar are not Phillips-head, but Torx (6 pointed) about 125mm. I have trouble using a right-angle tool - even an adjustable wrench holding the driver bit doesn't seen to turn / tighten the loose screws. Very awkward given the low clearance between the downward-facing screws and the roof top (<1.5 inches). Anyone have experience?

tawm

Update: the crossbar screws are not loose, so it may not be the roof rack making the rattling noise. Both crossbars have some play on the passenger side; I checked someone else's model RX 350 in the parking lot and The crossbars had the same play. I read in another website that this may be a "traveling noise" from elsewhere, perhaps the fuel tank cover flapping against the undercarriage, and the sound travels so appears to come from the roof.