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Roof rack cross bar wind noise

48K views 51 replies 28 participants last post by  frank79430 
#1 ·
I have seen several posts on this forum concerning the OEM Mopar roof rack cross bars on the WK2, including an excellent write-up on installing them (http://www.jeepgarage.org/showthread.php?t=16025). But nobody seems to be complaining much about wind noise. In fact, most people praise them as aerodynamic. I had the dealer throw in the cross bars when I bought my Laredo two weeks ago and finally go around to installing them over the weekend. The wind noise is unbearable! It's the loudest whistling noise you can imagine at any speed over 35 mph. I have triple-checked that the bars in the right position (front vs. back) and that the correct edge is facing forward, according to the stickers on the bars. I have tried full-spread positioning and the owner's manual recommendation of placing them 24 in. apart. No luck. My last attempt is going to be putting the rear bar as far back as possible and then moving the front bar towards it in small increments to see if there's a position where the noise goes away or is at least tolerable. If that doesn't work, I'll just remove them and put them on only when I actually need them (i.e., ski trips). Anyone else dealing with this? I can't believe Mopar would make such an unusable item.
 
#2 ·
I don't run mine all the time because of the wind noise. Mine doesn't sound as loud as yours, but you can definitely hear the wind flowing around them....enough I don't run them all the time. In fact, I can put a fully loaded cargo bag on top and it doesn't make anymore noise than when running the bars empy.

I have always positioned mine as far forward for the front and as far back for the rear. Only had whistling/resonating under cold temperatures.
 
#3 ·
Welcome, krpatrick!

I have to say that wind noise has not been an issue at all for me. Caveat: I live in the DC area and got my WK2 in late December, so haven't been driving around with the sunroof open or even vented, nor have I had my windows down enough to notice. Are you hearing it when you're all buttoned up or when windows are open?

You covered all the things I would have asked about, especially checking whether they were installed in the proper orientation. Hmmm...
 
#4 ·
I have to say that wind noise has not been an issue at all for me. Caveat: I live in the DC area and got my WK2 in late December, so haven't been driving around with the sunroof open or even vented, nor have I had my windows down enough to notice. Are you hearing it when you're all buttoned up or when windows are open?
I don't have a sunroof (just the base Laredo) and it's not warm enough in NC this week to have the windows down. The noise is coming straight through the roof!
 
#6 ·
I live up here in MA. I put a set on my Laredo X 2 weeks ago (no sunroof). I have done driving around town and also highway driving for 40+ miles at highway speeds and hardly notice a difference. This weekend I'll be putting ski racks on and travelling to VT. I expect to get more noise then, but with the base racks I would have to say the increase in sounds is negligible at best. I’d think about the previous post that perhaps they were labeled backwards. Good luck.
 
#11 ·
Are you sure that the economy hit isn't more like 2% SvenskaJG?

Seems like it would take a huge sail-like structure to create that kind of penalty (20%).
 
#9 ·
This is my front crossbar shot from the driver side looking down. The rear crossbar is installed in identical orientation. It doesn't have a Mopar sticker, but that same fat edge is the trailing edge on the rear bar.

One other thing to check is that on the passenger side of each rail, the load capacity sticker should be on the trailing edge of the bar.
 

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#12 ·
This is my front crossbar shot from the driver side looking down. The rear crossbar is installed in identical orientation. It doesn't have a Mopar sticker, but that same fat edge is the trailing edge on the rear bar.

One other thing to check is that on the passenger side of each rail, the load capacity sticker should be on the trailing edge of the bar.
My front cross bar is definitely mounted reverse of yours. I'll try switching it around this evening and see if that helps. Thanks for the tip!
 
#10 ·
Our OEM roof cross bars whistled noticeably the first day we put them on, but by the 3rd day (right when we we going to take them off), it miraculously stopped. They have been on for 2 months now without a sound. We have no idea why it stopped, but we're not complaining!!
 
#14 ·
I'm going to throw out a huge guess here....

I have Laredo X without sunroof. I have the mopar crossbars installed. The wind noise with just the bars is not very apparent, but it is there (what do you expect when you install bars on your roof??)

However, when my Thule ski racks are on the cross bars..... at certain speeds there is a low pitch resonance noise. Basically like the subwoofer is playing at ~60-80 Hz. I figure this is due to wind buffeting on the roof and the actual sheetmetal roof acting like the subwoofer diaphragm in the Jeep. Doh!
My guess is that owners with the sunroof (especially the pano roof) would not have this issue.

my 2 cents.

PS.... even with crossbars, ski racks, 2 snowboards.... I still manage to get 20.5mpg highway. Hardly a 20% sacrifice..... come on now
 
#18 ·
2%... still.... Let's say your yearly fuel tab is $4k. That means leaving your racks on all year will "cost" you $80 for the year. To me that's worth the hassle of taking my racks on and off. Plus you could "save" or "use" 2% of fuel just based on how you drive. Not like anyone is going to do that. I love my WOT on freeway on ramps....
 
#19 ·
I'll buy that. Like most people, I find it hard to get through the day without a rationalization of some sort. Plus, I like the way my Jeep looks with the racks on. OK, JayB, you sold me. :cool:
 
#21 ·
There is a rubber strip that runs down the middle of both of those racks, if it is missing or not fully seated, it will whistle.

I have ski racks on mine and get the ghetto bass boom referred to earlier. But I'm going skiing this weekend so I don't care :D
 
#23 ·
Sure enough, the folks at Mopar put the FORWARD sticker on backwards on the front cross bar. Once I got it turned around, the noise went away. In fact I'm not noticing any wind noise at all. Thanks to all who posted pictures and descriptions to help me get the orientation correct. You guys were a big help!
 
#24 ·
Glad to hear you got it sorted out. Nice to find a simple and lasting fix for an irritating problem. Curious-- are your crossrail locksets now on the same side of the vehicle or one of each?
 
#28 ·
As far as a comparison, I didn't notice any obnoxious wind noise from my new Yakima FatCat 6 carrier. However, it has a somewhat aero shape. Thule's, especially older models, always struck me as being very flat and vertical compared to Yak gear. Have fun on the snow, fireguy.
 
#30 ·
^^Sorry for the dumb question. I was thinking of the locksets on my Yakima ski carrier which are only on one side. You're right, the Mopar setup has locks on all four ends.
 
#32 ·
I have not experienced any significant wind noise with the Mopar roof rack nor the Mopar/Thule ski rack, unless the moon roof is in the VENT position.
 
#34 ·
Can someone post a couple of photos of their Jeep with the cross bars on? Am really curious how they look. My 08 came with them; wasn't an OEM part.

Thanks,
 
#35 ·
One more question about the roof racks. On Amazon there are two separate racks listed. One set is just listed as OEM Mopar racks, and other says it includes T connections and keys for security. The second set is actually cheaper than the first. Does anyone know what the difference is between the two. Does one set ride higher than the other?
 
#36 ·
I just bought my JGC and put the Mopar rails on it according to the directions when I got home from the dealer. The racks made enough noise to make it uncomfortable to drive at higher speeds. After reading this forum I decided that the "forward" stickers might be pointing in the wrong direction. I turned them around and went for a test drive. Now I can barely hear them. Nice to have a simple fix. Thanks for the tips.
 
#40 ·
My father-in-law bought a 2013 Grand Cherokee Overland 3 weeks ago with a Mopar roof rack. He complained about wind noise and when I rode in the vehicle for the first time I couldn't believe how loud the noise was. Looking at this site, we determined that the noise was as much resonance as actual wind noise, and that the bars were possibly facing the wrong way despite what the factory sticker pointing "forward" indicated. We confirmed by looking at the Thule aerodynamic cross bars that, in fact, the thicker side of the bar should face forward as the leading edge with the thinner edge in the rear, exactly like an airplane wing. Ten minutes later we turned the bars around, headed out on the freeway, and noticed 100%+ improvement in the wind noise, to the point of almost being undetectable. Bottom line, the Mopar factory labeled the bars incorrectly, the Jeep dealership followed their lead, and the bars were installed incorrectly. Flip them around so the leading edge is thicker and you'll have almost no wind/resonance noise from your beloved Jeep and its roof rack.
 
#41 ·
Thanks to all for all the information regarding the cross bars!
I just put mine on yesterday and have a really bad wind noise. Im looking forward to getting home after reading through everyones posts and switching them. One thing, some ppl mentioned that the front vs back sticker was switched also. Do you all know if the shorter rack goes in the front or back. Right now I have the shorter one on the back......
 
#42 ·
Hello Jeep Garage! This is my first post. Just bought a 2014 Limited Maximum Steel. I also just put up the Mopar crossbars. I moved them 24" apart and I have them facing the right direction.

The Wind Noise is CRAZY... The rubber that fills the inner void is not sitting totally flush on top. It is seated correctly but with the pushing and prodding getting it in there its not completely flat. I read one user say that 3 days after installation the noise went away. I wonder if the rubber will heat up under the sun the next 72 hours and perhaps lay flat (If the rubber is in fact the culprit.)

I may have to ditch the racks and only use them when needed but I'd hate to do that.
 
#43 ·
I have mine moved as far apart as possible and I have no wind noise with the exception of going across one of our floating bridges when the wind is just right. Try adjusting the location of the front bar and see if that helps.
 
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