My new Thule roof racks makes an intense howling noise at speeds much over 35mph. When I checked with the store where I made the purchase, they said "roof racks just do that"... I had a Thule rack on my last car Honda CR-V with no noise problem at all. O the shop's advice, I purchased and installed the Thule fairing today. It cuts the wind noise significantly but it's still there. The big downside of the fairing is that it covers approximately 1/3 of the glass area on the moon roof and prohibits the moon roof from opening.

I'm considering taking this Thule rack back and trying out the Mazda OEM rack instead. I've been told by the shop where I purchase it that they'll accept the return of the Thule rack and the fairing.

Can anyone comment on road noise or lack thereof with the manufacturer Mazda rack? Also any other insights (pluses/minuses) about the manufacturer rack would be most appreciated. I can get it for about $290 (roughly the same as the Thule set-up). My dealer tells me they have had no complaints about wind noise with it.

 

I have had several cars, with several different types of roof racks - 100% of them are loud. I have had Yakima, Thule, and VW racks, on an 85 Ford Bronco, 86 VW Golf, 96 Honda Civic, 07 VW GTI, and now the 08 Mazda 5.... they have ALL made lound wind noise. Just how it is.

We take our racks off when we dont need them - they are super easy to put on/off. Just mount them to the car when needed, perfect solution.

 

I will be getting a set of OEM Mazda5 roof rack in June, so I hope I don't encounter the same problem as the aftermarket kind.

 

I just purchase the Mazda OEM rack from my local dealer this afternoon. Took off the Thule rack and fairing and installed the Mazda OEM rack early this evening. There is a WORLD of difference. There is almost no noise with the Mazda OEM rack. It's blissful near silence. I'm thrilled! The store that sold me the Thule rack and fairing has told me they will accept the return. I'm so glad I went to the trouble to try the Mazda rack. By the way, if you are anywhere near Madison, WI, Don Miller Mazda on the west side has been a pleasure to deal with!

 

Good to hear that the OEM rack is quieter.

Can i ask you what model Thule rack you had? I have a 460R towers with Aero bars, and the noise is only noticeable with the sunroof tilted open. It's more of a "shumming" than an whistle or a howl, but still not tolerable with the sunroof open going 40+ mph.

Also, i cannot open the sunroof all the way with a board loaded on the rack, although i forgot to put the surf pads on the bars before i tried it.

Anyway, It's no surprise the OEM rack is quieter, same went for my Honda Element. I only had the OEM rack for it, but it was silent.

That brings up the question, which bar shape should be the quietest? Round (yakima), box (thule), or oval (thule and rhino rack) crossbars?

Jive

 

The roof rack I bought from a mazda dealer came with 4 pieces of cheap plastic that fits onto the crossbars. Place all 4 pieces of plastic on the front crossbar and aim the lip up and to the rear of car. This will completely erase the whistling noise.