melvin

I have a new gl 320 which I ordered with crossbars. The crossbars that were shown to me were flat -black and in the 2007 brochure. The ones that were on the roof at pick-up were the "roof rack basic carriers" they are taller, tubular and aluminum with a rubber strip on top. I was so taken back by the new car at delivery, I made no notice of the change in the cross bar type. On the way home, I had to stop to dismantle the racks, since at any speed over 15 mph they start to whistle. I plan to return to the dealer, but would like to know if anyone has found a way to stop the whistle on the tubular carrier. Or did anyone get the flatter crossbars and are you experiencing a similar whistle.

Thanks in advance Mel.

fmr

I took delivery on 12/31 of 2008 320, it had the 19" wheel pkg which included the cross bars and a few other items. The cross bars are black and fairly flat. were your cross bars ordered separately or part of a package?

Stumblefoot

Mel,

I have a 550 and when our roof carrier was installed, when experienced exactly what you describe. I found out that our cross-bars were missing the rubber strip that runs the full length in the middle of the bar. Be sure this rubber strip is seated completely into the channel and flush with the bar. We've never had whistling since.

Good Luck!

melvin

The rack was an option and not part of any package. I presumed since the 2007 brochure had a gl with the flat black racks in it, then that would be the ones provided. I did not know there were two types.
I have the black rubber strip running the full length of the aluminum tube, but the whistle was unbelieveable. Had to remove them on the side of the highway. Stumblefoot, does your 550 have any air deflector infront of the crossrails? It was suggested by the MB dealer that possibly an air deflector infront of the sliding roof may be of help. Any thoughts?
Thanks Mel.

canvasback13

I have the cross bars but did not install them. The dealer warned me that they whistled at highway speeds.

oinick

There will be no whistling when you put the roof carrier on the crossbars. Until then, take the crossbars off. I had this exact problem with my GL and with an X5. I don't think the bars you describe are made for driving around without the carrier.

fmr

you may want to check with your dealer to see if they will swap the roof rack to the one you expected. I recently mounted a ski rack on my black cross bars but prior to that was driving around with the cross bars with no noticeable wind noise. You can see the thule ski rack intallation post for pics of my crossbars.

Stumblefoot

Mel,

We don't have a deflector for our crossbars.

Here's a pic of the front of our GL so you can see what we have.

You can find pics of our crossbars here; https://mbworld.org/forums/showpost....2&postcount=25

infamily

+we install it when we need to really use it.

N'AWLINS

Thought my sunroof had an air leak until I pulled the crossbars off...I agree with the other posts; take them off unless you need them.

BurnsDiesel

I purchased and installed the black crossbars on my GL 320 and both I and my wife immediately noticed a good bit of wind noise with them installed. Over time I notice it less and less but, although they don't whistle, they are audible and I think that I prefer driving the car without them. Now, that I think about it - I'm definitely foing to take them off tomorrow. I actually never put anything on the roof (we have Suburban for that) and I mainly installed them because I thought they looked cool. Now, if I can only find a place to store them...

dmfick

Stumble-foot, you have the low-profile OEM-style bars that are aero-dynamic. Seems like a lot of the rest of us have the heavy-duty blocky over-rider type bars that are an option. They can hold a lot more weight, but no way do you want them on there for regular driving. Kills mileage and are louder than should be. MB does make a fancy zippered storage bag for them with logo.

Stumblefoot

Thanks for insight DM. I'm certainly thankful that I don't have any wind noise.