Hey everyone,
My EX came with the roof rail crossbars. I also have a set of Yakima crossbars that I will be using as a bike rack. But, I found that the factory crossbars get in the way of the bike rack. So, I would need to remove the factory crossbars to make the Yakima rack work for me. When looking at the instructions for the factory crossbar kit, they show a "roof rail clip", or a plug that is placed in the screw holes of the roof rails. My question is, are they really necessary?? Or will moisture and water get into the roof rails from the screw holes and cause problems later?? Funny too, the instructions also say that these clips "are not reusable and should be discarded after removing". I never saw them since the dealer put the roof rails on when I bought the car. My guess is that they are a plastic plug just to fill the screw hole.

I tried using the existing screw to place back in the holes without the cross bars, but they are too long. My other alternative is to buy a screw with the same threads, but shorter from home depot and use them instead.

Thanks for the help!!

Shorter, same thread screws with a rubber/plastic washer should do the trick says my boyfriend...

Just bought some nylon 1/4inch in diameter screws to plug up the holes from Lowe's. Being nylon, they won't rust or deteriorate. I had to cut them down so that they would fit flush, but they worked.