I'm currently in the process of negotiating a '14 MDX AWD base. We have an '08 MDX without roof rails and we really want to have them on the new vehicle.


I was reading on another board about the problems with attaching different brands of cargo boxes to the factory-installed roof rails and crossbars on the MDX. Can anyone tell me if this will be a waste of money for me to get the Acura factory-installed rails/crossbars? Can anyone share their personal experience with this?


Also, is it better to negotiate these into the price of the car or just deal with the service department after the sale?

 

I've always included any OEM accessories when negotiating for the vehicle. So far, Acura has installed the accessories I wanted at a discount and no labor cost compared to install after the sell. Now will be the time to add running boards or hitch if you like the OEM version. A hitch tray/box can be 1/2 the cost of a roof mount cargo box sometimes and you don't have the height limitations in parking garages.

Yakima/Thule have fitment guides for Acura vehicles and cargo boxes on their websites with and without OEM roof rails/crossbars. I made sure I picked a cargo box that would fit my MDX and RDX. You might have fit problems with other brands or cargo boxes.

 

I have rails and cross bars on my 14'. I also have thule (i believe its the 1800-mid size) it
Will fit on roof but does interfere w open tailgate fully. I keep towel in trunk and shut off power liftgate. It is pain in neck but cheaper than buying a new roof rail. We only use it few times a year.

 

I found the same as TLbullet, but again, only need the extra storage a few times a year. My OEM bike rack from my 2004 Acura works fine and we had 3 bikes hanging off the back, so we we loaded up fully for vacation.

 

Just bought a 14' Elite, and thought i would install my old Thule Atlantis 1800 XT on my factory cross rails (fit great on my '08 MDX)
The box sits way back, the roof antenna has to slide in between one of the notches in the box with almost no clearance, and the trunk can only open half way...I'm disappointed with the location of the cross rails..I wish there was a way to move them forward..has anyone tried that?

 

Check out MDXers. There's a few solutions but I'm not sure if I can post a link. Check the 3G forum.

 

Just bought a Thule Hyper XL, 17 cu ft, that's fits perfect on the factory cross rails on my 2014 Elite. The back of the box slopes up so it misses the antenna and the tailgate opens no problem