Hi guys. I havea little problem and I need some help from fellow Aussie members.
You may have already read in the "Roof Rack" thread that about a month ago or so I ordered a set of Rola crossbars from Australia (part number RB119) for my Canadian Outlander. While the transaction went well, when I tried to install the bars on the car as per the instructions, I ran into a fitting problem. While the front bar fit perfectly, the rear did not. The problem is that the bar itself is about 15 mm shorter. The mounting brackets match the shape of the rails so this is not an issue.

I contacted Rola and they said that there is nothing wrong with their product, it's the rails on my car that don't match the ones on the Australian model. Obviously, I highly doubted that Mitsu has different rails/placement for different markets. This would be madness in my opinion.
Anyway, they said to measure the distance between the rails in the position where the bar should go and get back to them.

What I need from one of the fellow Aussie members is to get the same measurement from an Aussie Outlander and compare the numbers.

If anyone is willing to help me with that, I will post some pictures as where the bar should be installed and what my measurements are.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Sorry I'm not an Aussie owner but, the roof and side rails for all models are the same. Some non-US/Can models came without the side rails, but thats the only difference. Rails from

here is the install of my aftermarket ski/board carrier. It has built in crossbars, which was nice. They are adjustable so you have like 2 feet of play to adjust for the distance in length from the side rails. https://mitsubishiforum.com/m_192215/tm.htm

15mm is not that much, the side rails might actually move apart in distance as you go towards the rear of the vehicle. Maybe try moving the rear crossbarforward a bit? And make sure the 2 crossbars aren't designed for one is for the front and one for the rear. If thats the case you might have them backwards?

 

Front and rear bars have different sizes as the distance between the roof rails narrows toward the rear of the car. You cannot swap the front (longer) with the rear (shorter) as it would not fit.
The thing is, I can mount the rear into the most extreme position (all the way to the rear), but this is not right for few reasons:
1. This is not who it's supposed to be installed
2. The span between the crossbars becomes 98 cm instead of 70 cm as it should be.
3. The rear crossbar would be installed just beside the point where two rail pieces are screwed together (if you look underneath the rail you see a screw head).
4. It's still a forced fit meaning it takes some pulling to get it tight against the rail as it should be.
On the other hand, the front crossbar installs perfectly in the indicated position.

I’m 99.99% that the roof rails are IDENTICAL worldwide but I need to prove it to them.

While 15 mm may not seem to be a lot, it's the difference between a good fit versus a poor one.
I hope one of the Australian Outlander owners will help me out to get this sorted out.

 

Hey dodo, don't mean to hijack your thread but I have a totally off topic question for you. You said that you ordered your parts from Australia, and you live in Canada. I was wondering how you went about ordering the parts, was it by mail,phone,or on aweb site? I livein the US but if you got the parts delivered to Canada, then its possible to get them to US as well. I really want that pet barrier they got over there,it looks clean and followe every line of the outlanders cargo section, and the best thingis that it bolts up, I hate using the ones with pressure points that can damage the roof (speciallyour aluminum roofs).

 

Not a problem. The crossbars I ordered are aftermarket. I ordered the parts by email from an Australian distributor and I called them up with the credit card. I opted to have the parts shipped via Australian Post (UPS, DHL, etc were very expensive). They were delivered to my door in 10 days.
I guess for the OEM accessories you should find an Australian Mitsu dealer willing to make a trip to the Post Office. Be aware that in Australia prices include the local tax (10%). If they ship for export they should not charge you the local tax (GST).

Man, where are all the Aussie owners when you need them?

 

Here they are some pictures of the crossbars and the issue I'm having with them.

1. The position where they should be installed. In this picture, the rear crossbar only seats on top of the rails without being secured.




2. If I attempt to install the mounting brackets, they would look like in the picture below. The problem is that they do not clamp the roof rails as they suppose to.



3. The only way to get a decent (not perfect) fit is to install them all the way to the back.




I posted the high resolution pictures on purpose, to see the details. If they are hard to view, I will resize them.

 

Looks like a design flaw from a aftermarket standpoint.

 

I know, but I need to prove it. Rola's argument right now is that the distance between roof rails is different in Australia compared to Canada (or elsewhere for that matter). I highly doubt it, but if I cannot prove it it's useless.
This is why I need to be 100% sure that this is not the case before I contact them back.
Isn’t this fun?
I need to compare the distance (physical measurements) between the rails, at the installation point, between my car and an Aussie version.

 

Hey Dodo2,

OK, I'm an Aussie with an 07 Outlander, and I've measured the rails for you, this is what I get:

My measurements were from the inner edges of both rails.

At your preferred installation point (as per your first photo): 1020mm
Halfway between the end of the rail and the mid roof mount: 1000mm
At the end of the rail (where the screw is visible): 990mm

Compare that to yours and see how you go!

 

Thanks a lot for your help. The measurements are the same on my car as I expected.
I finally got the talk to a manger at Rola and he is looking into it. I'll keep you guys posted. If they fix this issue, the crossbars are good (aluminum) and they look OEM.