Does Thule think the N American Miev is narrower than it is?

[burnabyimiev]

I tried to install a Thule roof rack on my 2012 iMiev this morning. I have 50 inch long square load bars left over from my Tercel, so I went with the Traverse Foot Pack 480 and the iMiev Fit Kit 1682 to go along with my old load bars. Problem: the 50-inch load bars specified by Thule in its fit guide are too short; when I install them in the front they stay inside the feet rather than sticking out a few inches like they're supposed to. This is probably not stable or safe. The situation for the rear feet is even worse, I can't get the feet on the car because the bar is too short.

Solution: It's possible that I'm doing something wrong, but a simple eyeball test--laying the bars on the roof of the car--seems to show that I need longer bars. It looks like I'm going to need the 58" load bars for this installation. Not a big deal, and I can get used ones on craigslist, but I'm thinking that Thule should correct its fit guide so that others don't have the same problem.

The manual for the Thule fit kit 1682 says that it is intended for: "Citroen C-Zero, 10-" and "Mitsubishi i-MiEV, 10-/*12-"; "*North America". The asterisk specifies that the kit is for North American cars model years 2012 and later. This may not have anything to do with the load bar length problem, but I wonder if Thule is going with the Japanese and European width of the car rather than the North American one.

Has anyone else in North America run into problems with the 50" Thule square bars?

I see in other threads that narrower European cars have gotten a different foot pack (Thule 754) to work, I'm not sure the length of the load bar in this case: http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1428&start=20

And it looks like offgridQLD got the fancier 53" long aero bars and a different foot pack from mine to: http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1934

 

[PV1]

If it is designed to fit i-MiEVs older than 2012 or the C-Zero, then that is the narrow design. The NA i-MiEV is wider, so I would say it is not made to fit NA i-MiEVs.

I would contact them and see if there is a different kit for the NA i-MiEV since this one doesn't appear to fit.

 

[burnabyimiev]

The fit kit is okay--it consists of 4 metal pieces and 4 rubber feet and fits fine. The length of the load bar suggested by Thule in its online "fit guide" is too short. I'll call Thule to see if they're aware of the difference between the width of the NA car versus the Japanese/European dimensions.