Forester Roof Cross-bar Rails

[Bogsat]

I'm trying to move a set of Roof Cross-bar Rails from a 2020 Forester Premium to a 2025 Forester Premium. The rails appear to be compatible, but when I tried to move the rear one over, the rail was about two inches too wide to fit on the 2025. There are 2 small bolts on one end of the bar that allow you to adjust the width, but the bar is all the way in, so I can't make it any shorter using these bolts. On the other end of the bar, there are 2 small bolts but they don't seem to allow any width adjustment. They appear to be there to hold the attachment assembly in place.

Please let me know if you have any ideas on how to shorten the bars by about 2 inches?

Thanks!

NOTE: The bolts have a "star" pattern which requires a special tool. The tool that came with the car works on the long bolts that attach the bar to the roof rails, but it is too big for the smaller bolts on the end of the bar. I'm hoping I can find a smaller "star" tool that works at Home Depot.

 

[Dick Foster]

Those are called torx screws and they're becoming much more common these days. Many if not most deck screws these days come in torx drive. Much more positive, non-slip drive characteristics than Phillips drive. You'll find many tor dive bits at home depot. Boxes of deck screws often include torx bits.

 

[Bogsat]

Thanks, didn't know what they were called.

 

[Bogsat]

Sounds like nobody else has tried this. I'm going to look into getting a new set of rails from a third party like U-Haul.

 

[izzyman]

We got a CPO forester and I bought a set off Amazon. They are nearly identical to the factory cross bars and use a regular hex wrench. I think it was $50. Zero regrets.

 

[Bogsat]

Unable to get the cross bars from my 2020 Subaru Forester to fit my 2025 Subaru Forester Premium (25SFP), I have been shopping around for a cross bar set but am not finding a lot of choices. There are products currently on offer on Amazon that claim to fit the 25SFP, but I got worried after reading one reviewer who stated that the cross bars were too short for their car. I measured the width of the side rails on my 25SFP and found that the front end of the rails are 42" apart and the rear end rails are 38" apart. The specs for one Amazon product (that claims to be compatible with the 25SFP) states that it is 35" wide. So I've completely lost confidence in Amazon and am still looking for ideas for where to find cross bars that fit. Thanks for looking.

 

[Bogsat]

Let me rephrase that:
I've been unable to get the cross bars from my 2020 Forester to fit on my 2025 Subaru Forester Premium (25SFP), so I have been shopping around for a cross bar set, but I am not finding a lot of options out there. Amazon is offering some products that say they fit the 25SFP, but I got worried after reading one reviewer who stated that the cross bars were too short for their car. I measured the width of the side rails on my 25SFP and found that the front end of the rails are 42" apart and the rear end rails are 38" apart. The specs for one Amazon product (that claims to be compatible with the 25SFP) states that it is 35" wide. So I've lost confidence in Amazon and am still looking for other ideas on where to find cross bars that fit. Thanks for looking.

 

[Dick Foster]

That sounds as if your car was assembled improperly. One would normally expect the mounting rails to be parallel and the cross bars to be of equal length.