I recently bought a 2025 MB GLE 450, which I really enjoy driving, even more yhan my old Porsche Cayenne S.

l install crossbars on all my SUV's, since on long trips, I can use the extra storage.

I was surprised to find out that one can only have a roof spoiler when you order one with it, since they say there are controllers in it, and it is a lot of disassembling work for installing one.

For the crossbars, I bought a 3rd party, but they were too flimsy, noisy, cannot open the moonroof, and require some tools to install or uninstall them.

Si, I decided to go for the OEM, which obviously is more expensive.

Imstallation was a breeze. There are no tools required since there are knobs that you can easily adjust to install or remove them.

One of the OEM crossbars come with some rubber stops for the moonroof, so that one has to be installed at the fornt, while the other at the back.

The rails on tue GLE, where you install the cross bars, are not parallel, it is wider on the front and narrower on the back, so you need to be careful when you install any crossbar. The crossbars will not fit in the places where it is too narrow.

When I fist took a test drive, they were noisy, so I put some foam inside the lockable covers, whiich really cut the moise and whistling.

Then, I put some 1/4" x 25' Elastic Cord, as shown in the picture, and the wind noise went away ans is very quiet until I reach 55 mph, and then you can barely start hearing some wind noise and at 80 mph you can hear some wind noise, but you can still talk normally so its not bad at all. If course, if there high wind, you will be hearing wind noise earlier, but not bad at all, and a lot less than the one in my Porsche SUV.

The crossbars have to be 28.5" from each other, and there are instructions on where to place them and their separation too. Make sure the thick part of the bars point to the front,as described in the manual.

I am very satisfied with my OEM crossbars and the very low noise with them after my adjustments.. I am sure, you can do similar things with your non-OEM crossbars.

Now, for my roof spoiler, I bought it from Amazon,vand I jad to heat the carbon material with a blow dryer to bend it to the curve shape of my roof. I had to heat it up and put some weights to bend them correctly. Don't know if anybody will have the patiece to do it, or my luck.

The spoiler is described as a Universal Rear Bumper Lip Diffuser Spoiler 7 Shark Fin Style Gloss Black ABS 33" x 6". and was $27.00.

I really like the look, and even my wife praised me for the look, positioning, and work, which iw's the first time in30 years of marriage. I put a strong automotive 3M tape and used neutral curing silicon. Make sure it is neutral curing silicon, or the curing acidity of some silicone may damage your paint.

Hope it helps somebody. Currently, I like my 450 GLE a lot more than my former 2019 Porsche Cayenne S that was fully loaded. Much better designed, all electronics work as designed and are dependable, cabin is a lot quieter, user interface is outstanding, and alot more quality than my former vehicle.

I owned two Mercedes SUVs before my Porsche, and Mercedes has done a huge improvement in everything and every area, congratulations to all MB owners, hopefully, you are enjoying your vehicle as much as me and hopefully, it will continue to be trouble free.

 

Thanks for the roof rack tips, going to give the foam & bungee/elastic cord a try.

 

I had the OEM crossbars for my 2020 GLE 450 for 6 years but seldom used them. The last time I did the threads stripped out on the internal piece that the knobbed adjuster screws into and and it proved to be irreparable. I had to trash the whole set (actually was able to recycle the aluminum). Don’t think I would get them again. What 3rd party set did you try?

 

Below is the description of the non-OEM I originally got. Bar beams are smaller than the OEM. and closer to the roof.

ERKUL Roof Rack Cross Bars for Mercedes Benz GLS Class 2020-2025 | Aluminum Crossbars with Anti Theft Lock for Rooftop with Raised Rails | Not Compatible with Sunroof - Black.

 

I've got the Yakima RailBar S56YB. Much sleeker, they almost look like part of the original car kit.

 

I'm happy with my inno crossbars. What I really like about them is the ease of putting them on and off. Takes less than 5min so wind noise is never an ongoing issue as they are so easy to throw on and remove when not used.

 

What happened to the ZERO on 450? It’s missing, fell off, intentionally removed? Just curious.

 

I always hated more than 2 numbers on any automotive model description. In my early 2000's ML 500 model, I had it as ML 50 instead of 500, and had the wide Jurassic Park wheels/options.

I am impressed on the improvements that MB has done on the GLE (ML was the old model), though, I miss my low range gear/lock options, but my off-road days are over.. I really enjoyed using the low range options, decades ago, in Big Bend State Park in Texas.

 

I have the 42" and 45" Inno bars here:
https://a.co/d/8Yu3BsK



Sunroof operates just fine.

 

I don't find these on their site.

 

I'm in Europe, maybe the model isn't available in the US.

https://yakima-eu.myshopify.com/coll...s/railbar-pair

 

Here's the US fitment.

 

I think this might be it (but double check the measurements) which look like they are based on the old Yakima whispbars:

Single
https://www.etrailer.com/Roof-Rack/Y...gnid=203663657

Unfortunately they only come in one width in the US, at least what I can find. You'll need different widths similar to my Inno, and similar to @mykel79's Yakima bars, which include two different width bars (S56YB package):

• Bar 1: 970 mm (approximately 38.2 inches)
• Bar 2: 1030 mm (approximately 40.6 inches)

 

These are different to mine. They are higher off the roof. The top of mine are almost flush with the top of the car's rails.