When I received my 2017 CX-5, the dealership installed the factory flush style rails, but were not able to provide cross bars, as they were not available; as far as I know they are still on backorder. I have use for the cross bars, and did not want to wait for the factory bars, so I started searching for aftermarket cross bars. As of this writing, Thule and Yakima (I know there are others) did not have information available regarding the fitment of their cross bars for a 2017 CX-5.
After some guesswork, I found the following combination works for a 2017 CX-5, at least from a Thule perspective.
Front Crossbar - Thule AeroBlade Edge 7603 (Large)
Rear Crossbar - Thule AeroBlade Edge 7602 (Medium)
Fit Kit (needed to attach the crossbars to the flush rails) - Thule Fit Kit KIT3160
Pros/Cons
1. The factory cross bars are designed to hold 100lb, the Thule weight limit is 165lb.
2. The Thule cross bars are an investment, all in all this is a decent set back cost wise after purchasing the two cross bars and the fit kit.
3. The factory cross bars might give a sleeker, more OEM look. But I feel like these come in a close second.
Installation Notes
1. The Fit Kit KIT3160 is designed for a Mazda CX-9 with the flush rails. However, I looked at the CX-9 rails and noticed that they had the same mounting holes for the rails as the CX-5.
That noted, both the factory cross bars and these aftermarket ones are fixed mount-point style on the rails. In my research I noticed that for similar style flush rails, on say an Audi, they make adjustable cleat style fit kits, but I did not investigate their fitment.
2. The front and rear cross bars are not the same size, at least for the AeroBlade Edge series. The minimum width of the 7603 is too wide for the rear, so the 7602 is needed and should be adjusted out 10mm on both sides to be centered.
3. The fit kit itself was easy to attach to the cross bars, and subsequently was relatively easy to attach to the rails. One thing I would note, as it appears from reading roof rack threads, that the cross bars need to be mounted with the rounded part forward facing (they can easily be mounted 'backwards' by mistake).
4. The Thule lock kit itself doesn't protect anything that actually attaches the cross bars to the roof rack, the four screws into the rails are the only thing that hold it to the vehicle. It might be hard to take the cross bars off themselves without access to the internals to loosen bolts, but just mentioning it, as you'll see I have the lock kit in my pictures. But that is primarily to secure the cross bar attachments to the rail (which otherwise could easily be slid off).
Installation Pics
The fit kit attached to the rail without the installation cover
Side view after install
Front view after install
View from inside the car
Quick Review
Having come off of an older CX-5 with factory cross bars, I would just say these definitely seem stiffer (as they should); after a year+ of cinching a kayak down to the roof of the CX-5, the factory bars were starting to show some sag. That being said, these *seem* nosier, even with their aerodynamic design. They sit higher as well, which could be conceived as a pro or con depending on your view. Initially the fit kit seems like a bit of an expensive item for a few pieces ($100), but figure with the number of fit kits they have out there, it's probably expected that the engineering and manufacturing into each kit, I wouldn't expect it to be cheap. And like noted above, this definitely is not a cheap cross bar solution, but then again from looking around, it appears they usually are not for quality aftermarket cross bars. I did purchase the conversion kit for a set of Thule Hull-a-port Pro J-hooks I have for my kayak, and the kit was pretty straightforward, and I like the way the hooks slide into the channel on the AeroBlade cross bars.
After some guesswork, I found the following combination works for a 2017 CX-5, at least from a Thule perspective.
Front Crossbar - Thule AeroBlade Edge 7603 (Large)
Rear Crossbar - Thule AeroBlade Edge 7602 (Medium)
Fit Kit (needed to attach the crossbars to the flush rails) - Thule Fit Kit KIT3160
Pros/Cons
1. The factory cross bars are designed to hold 100lb, the Thule weight limit is 165lb.
2. The Thule cross bars are an investment, all in all this is a decent set back cost wise after purchasing the two cross bars and the fit kit.
3. The factory cross bars might give a sleeker, more OEM look. But I feel like these come in a close second.
Installation Notes
1. The Fit Kit KIT3160 is designed for a Mazda CX-9 with the flush rails. However, I looked at the CX-9 rails and noticed that they had the same mounting holes for the rails as the CX-5.
That noted, both the factory cross bars and these aftermarket ones are fixed mount-point style on the rails. In my research I noticed that for similar style flush rails, on say an Audi, they make adjustable cleat style fit kits, but I did not investigate their fitment.
2. The front and rear cross bars are not the same size, at least for the AeroBlade Edge series. The minimum width of the 7603 is too wide for the rear, so the 7602 is needed and should be adjusted out 10mm on both sides to be centered.
3. The fit kit itself was easy to attach to the cross bars, and subsequently was relatively easy to attach to the rails. One thing I would note, as it appears from reading roof rack threads, that the cross bars need to be mounted with the rounded part forward facing (they can easily be mounted 'backwards' by mistake).
4. The Thule lock kit itself doesn't protect anything that actually attaches the cross bars to the roof rack, the four screws into the rails are the only thing that hold it to the vehicle. It might be hard to take the cross bars off themselves without access to the internals to loosen bolts, but just mentioning it, as you'll see I have the lock kit in my pictures. But that is primarily to secure the cross bar attachments to the rail (which otherwise could easily be slid off).
Installation Pics
The fit kit attached to the rail without the installation cover
Side view after install
Front view after install
View from inside the car
Quick Review
Having come off of an older CX-5 with factory cross bars, I would just say these definitely seem stiffer (as they should); after a year+ of cinching a kayak down to the roof of the CX-5, the factory bars were starting to show some sag. That being said, these *seem* nosier, even with their aerodynamic design. They sit higher as well, which could be conceived as a pro or con depending on your view. Initially the fit kit seems like a bit of an expensive item for a few pieces ($100), but figure with the number of fit kits they have out there, it's probably expected that the engineering and manufacturing into each kit, I wouldn't expect it to be cheap. And like noted above, this definitely is not a cheap cross bar solution, but then again from looking around, it appears they usually are not for quality aftermarket cross bars. I did purchase the conversion kit for a set of Thule Hull-a-port Pro J-hooks I have for my kayak, and the kit was pretty straightforward, and I like the way the hooks slide into the channel on the AeroBlade cross bars.