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Cargo Bars
Posted by Glenn Chambers (more from Glenn Chambers) on Thu, 1 Jun 2000 11:39:34
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

I purchased the cargo bars (that mount on the 9-5 Wagon Cargo Rails) for a
bike rack system. 

To make a long story short, we had a near catastrophic failure when the
mounts for the front bar worked their way loose after about 5 months of
driving. With three bikes mounted on top, the front bar slid back and
slammed into the rear cargo bar, which fortunately held. The three bikes
hung perilously off the back of the car, giving me three nice dents on the
top of the lift back (where the bike trays smacked the top of the car) and
a broken middle taillight lens.  

By the way, let's hear it for Thule 'Big Mouth' bike racks for holding the
bikes! Otherwise we'd have lost a few thousand $$ worth of mountain bikes,
not to mention a possible serious accident with the car behind us.) We
immediately pulled over and tried to solve the problem. Fortunately we
were able to slide the front cargo bar (and the bike racks) back into
place. 

But silly me... I forgot to store a key to the locking covers to the cargo
bars in the car! We had to pry them off (much easier than I
expected...some theft deterrent, eh?) in order to re-tighten the front
bar's mounting bolts on the Saab's cargo rails. 

1. As I type this, I am attemping to glue the (cheap, flimsy) little
plastic ring that holds the locking cover to the bar mounts. I think,
however, they need to be replaced. The SAAB instructions for the cargo
bars do not list a part number, nor even spare-part ordering information.
There is a number stamped on the little plastic part, but the Saab Catalog
people are no help, and I've not yet called the dealer. Any idea on fixing
this?

2. Although I personally should have known better, the Saab instructions
indicate NOTHING about periodically re-tightening the cargo bars on the
Saab's cargo rails. The problem (or the risk, I should say) was therefore
out of sight, out of mind. Would I have recourse for Saab to 

a. replace the cargo bars (or at least the mounts)?
b. repair the body damage, including dents, taillight lens, and gashes in
the coating on the wagon's cargo rails?

Lessons learned?

1. Re-tighten the cargo bars periodically.
2. Keep cargo rack and bike rack keys in the glove box.
3. Thule makes good stuff.

Glenn Chambers
1999 9-5 Wagon, 16K miles 
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