How do I remove the roof rack cross bars?
1 Answer
The rear end caps on my 2012 Highlander have 4 tabs on the underside of the cap, 2 on each side. Slide a 1-3" putty knife between the cap and the rubber casket seat on the outside middle area of the right rear cap. Press down firmly on the top of the cap, about 1/3 of the way forward of the heel of the cap (where one of the outside tabs is located) with the palm of your left hand and gently pry outward on the cap with a clockwise motion of the putty knife to release the outside rear tab. Move the palm of your left hand to about 1/3 back from the toe of the cap and press down and rotate the putty knife counterclockwise to release the second tab on the underside of the cap. There are no tabs on the heel of the cap. The front of the cap just has a straight blade type tab that slides down into a slot in the end of the metal side rail. Once the 2 outside tabs are released, you can then manipulate the cap to release the 2 inside tabs by pressing on the cap and rotating the heel of the cap with your hand.