The images below are from the installation booklet. While the rails themselves seem to support 600 lbs., the crossbars are limited to 165 lbs. That doesn't surprise me. It doesn’t differentiate between static and dynamic limits. What I do find concerning is the fact that the moon roof will collide with anything mounted on the crossbars. That fact is called out in the installation warnings and I just confirmed it with a large, empty, cardboard box. Opening the moon roof lifted it 1/4” off the rails even without any lashings or clamps. It will definitely hit my Thule clamps square and hard and I think there’s an excellent chance it will damage the moon roof.I can't find any mention of crossbars or roof weight limitations in regards to dynamic and static weights in the manual.
Thanks for the info on weights, seems pretty standard. I can't find any way to stop the height opening on the moon roof, just the forward and back movement can be stopped.The images below are from the installation booklet. While the rails themselves seem to support 600 lbs., the crossbars are limited to 165 lbs. That doesn't surprise me. It doesn’t differentiate between static and dynamic limits. What I do find concerning is the fact that the moon roof will collide with anything mounted on the crossbars. That fact is called out in the installation warnings and I just confirmed it with a large, empty, cardboard box. Opening the moon roof lifted it 1/4” off the rails even without any lashings or clamps. It will definitely hit my Thule clamps square and hard and I think there’s an excellent chance it will damage the moon roof.
Does anyone know of a way to lock out the moonroof to prevent it from accidentally being opened while the rack is loaded? The moon roof doesn’t seem to be damped or spring-loaded in any way and I’m not willing to test it to see if it has auto-reverse like a garage door does. But if it doesn’t, this is a serious problem. I’ll definitely be calling the dealer about it. Also, as I said in another comment, the wind noise is terrible at highway speeds. I’ve never had cross-bars throw noise like that before…
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Yes, the positions of the crossbars are specified clearly (in mm from the leading edge of the roof rails) in the install manual. Installation was straightforward and they even give you a little mini torque wrench with the kit. You also get permanent decals to mark the four locations for future reference. As long as nothing is on top of the roof rails the moon roof operates correctly. There is just a point between the two rails where the top edge of the moon roof “breaks the plane”. And the moon roof passes close enough to the bottom of the front rail that it would strike the front rail clamps on the Thule. I’ll need to look again to see if I can cheat the front rail forward enough to avoid a strike. I haven’t actually put the Thule on it yet but if it rides a half-inch above the cross bars and I can cheat the front bar forward enough to avoid hitting it, it might be ok. I’ll comment again when I play around a little more. (And when I hear back from the dealer.)Thanks for the info on weights, seems pretty standard. I can't find any way to stop the height opening on the moon roof, just the forward and back movement can be stopped.
Having spent some time on the Bronco Sport forum (gave up my order for the CX-50), I know the same thing happens on that vehicle also. I guess certain manufacturers don't want to infringe on head space by making the moon roofs drop down and go inside the headliner. My wife's 2017 Subaru Forester has a huge pano moon roof that opens the whole way by dropping down and going inside the headliner. Who knows what their thought process is for not doing that on the CX-50.
It's weird that Mazda is going to be selling the Merdian edition coming this fall with crossbars and a rack from the factory. Are they going to tell those buyers, "Sorry, if you want to open your moonroof, you will have to remove the rack or just never open it?
I can see your frustration if you are wanting to keep a rack or rooftop tent on more permanently. For my use case, I will only be putting on a Thule pod for longer duration trips in the winter so not having a functional moon roof then will not bother me.
In the instruction booklet, does it provide mounting point suggestions in terms of inches from the front and back of the rails? I know on the CX-5 it has bolt holes so you can't really mess it up. On the CX-50, no holes. Lastly, with just the bars on, the moon roof does open without hitting the front bar, correct? That would be a deal breaker
So I went ahead and carefully mounted the Thule on the roof rack crossbars. The attached images show:This is all I can find in the manual about an obstruction during the opening of the moon roof. I for one would not want to test this out to see what it would do when contacting a rail clamp or pod for fear of breaking the glass or a motor component. Having a moon roof disable setting in the Mazda Connect software seems simple enough. Perhaps when they do the first software upgrade after getting enough user feedback, this option will come with it.
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Hi there-The images below are from the installation booklet. While the rails themselves seem to support 600 lbs., the crossbars are limited to 165 lbs. That doesn't surprise me. It doesn’t differentiate between static and dynamic limits. What I do find concerning is the fact that the moon roof will collide with anything mounted on the crossbars. That fact is called out in the installation warnings and I just confirmed it with a large, empty, cardboard box. Opening the moon roof lifted it 1/4” off the rails even without any lashings or clamps. It will definitely hit my Thule clamps square and hard and I think there’s an excellent chance it will damage the moon roof.
Does anyone know of a way to lock out the moonroof to prevent it from accidentally being opened while the rack is loaded? The moon roof doesn’t seem to be damped or spring-loaded in any way and I’m not willing to test it to see if it has auto-reverse like a garage door does. But if it doesn’t, this is a serious problem. I’ll definitely be calling the dealer about it. Also, as I said in another comment, the wind noise is terrible at highway speeds. I’ve never had cross-bars throw noise like that before…
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Sorry, @KartyParty, I’m just seeing your request. I’m happy to share but I’m not sure if this site permits pdf attachments or not. If not, I’ll add a Dropbox link or something. … Looks like no worries. This is what came in the box with the crossbars. Let me know if you can’t open it. 🙂Hi there-
Do you think you may be able to post pictures of the instruction booklet, please? My CX50 came with the crossbars pre-installed by the dealer but they did not include the instructions with it. I want to remove mine but am having a hard time with it.
I’d appreciate it if you could! Thank you.
Sorry, @KartyParty, I’m just seeing your request. I’m happy to share but I’m not sure if this site permits pdf attachments or not. If not, I’ll add a Dropbox link or something. … Looks like no worries. This is what came in the box with the crossbars. Let me know if you can’t open it. 🙂