Honda strikes again - roof rack bolt issue

[JHZR2]

Sorry, how do I know it was the dealer and not corrosion and seizure of the fastener?

It is quite clear to me that a lot of water sits in the gap between the rails and cross bar connector.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Sorry, how do I know it was the dealer and not corrosion and seizure of the fastener?

It is quite clear to me that a lot of water sits in the gap between the rails and cross bar connector.


As the OP mentioned the car was a showroom vehicle, and the roof rack is a dealer installed option. The vehicle is less than two years old as well. I doubt that corrosion is the issue. My guess is that they stripped the bolts and/ or over tightened them..

 

[Trav]

Just a thought, if Honda still uses steel weld in nuts for the rear license plate bolts either replace them with plastic or SS or at a min coat them with anti seize.
I run into this with these once in a while when people go to remove the plate after some years, it becomes a drill and tap operation.

 

[JHZR2]

Yeah I like to use SS fasteners...

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Sorry, how do I know it was the dealer and not corrosion and seizure of the fastener?


Is this the accessory cross bar package your van has:

http://www.bernardiparts.com/Images/Install/2014_Odyssey_Crossbars_AII49699.pdf

And the stripped nuts are in the roof rails rather than in the van itself? The instructions call for only 7.3 foot pounds of torque on those. If they were gorilla'd in, then I think the splines on those rivet nuts in the roof rail could easily strip in the holes.

I doubt corrosion is the cause, here. If these are the bolts you speak of, I don't think they'd be exposed to a lot of standing water. They're installed horizontally into the roof rail.

If this is not your set up, please post the instructions for what you do have. It might make finding a solution easier.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Sorry, how do I know it was the dealer and not corrosion and seizure of the fastener?


Is this the accessory cross bar package your van has:

http://www.bernardiparts.com/Images/Install/2014_Odyssey_Crossbars_AII49699.pdf

And the stripped nuts are in the roof rails rather than in the van itself? The instructions call for only 7.3 foot pounds of torque on those. If they were gorilla'd in, then I think the splines on those rivet nuts in the roof rail could easily strip in the holes.

I doubt corrosion is the cause, here. If these are the bolts you speak of, I don't think they'd be exposed to a lot of standing water. They're installed horizontally into the roof rail.

If this is not your set up, please post the instructions for what you do have. It might make finding a solution easier.


It's all OE. That is the equipment.

I agree that the torque rating is rather low. But it surprised me when I unscrewed the bolts that water dropped out. I think a little gets caught up in the gap at the interface by capillary action, not flooding into the roof rails necessarily...

 

[Hokiefyd]

The pictures of the nuts in your original post don't exhibit any corrosion whatsoever. I think that, if corrosion was the cause, they'd all be similarly afflicted.

Because the correct bolt torque is so low, I bet they were gorilla'd in, which started to strip the rivet nut in the roof rail frame. It probably would have been fine if left like this. When you backed them out, that rivet nut, which was probably already half spun in the frame, started to work the other way, which stripped it completely.

The accessory roof rails, I assume, are similar or identical to the OE roof rails -- just available in a box instead of on the option sheet. If the OE roof rails attach like the accessory ones, the dealer can order a new roof rail for that side of the van and swap it over in a matter of minutes. Or you could as well, if you didn't want this dealer touching the van anymore.

If you went that route, I wouldn't blame you. I started doing warranty repairs myself on our Town & Country, simply because I didn't want it at our local dealer.