Yakima  Q Towers - Set of 4

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Features a Masters' degree in versatility, a PhD in fit, yet is so easy to install, a baby could do it!

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Features

  • Custom fit for vehicles with or without rain gutters
  • Ball-and-socket mechanism allows the rack to self-adjust to any roof/door geometry
  • Quick-cam makes installation a snap
  • Strong, stainless steel clips fit tight doors
  • Requires round bars, sold separately
  • Lockable with SKS cores, sold separately
  • Requires Q Clips, sold separately

Imported.

Will this fit your setup? Check the Yakima Rack Fit Guide
View all Yakima Car Rack Towers

Technical Specs

Best Use

Travel

Reviews
30 reviews with an average rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars

Ratings Snapshot

Product Rating

18 out of 27 (67%) reviewers recommend this product

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vivid88
Milwaukee, WI
Rated 2.0 out of 5 stars

Not Happy, REI is awesome though

13 years ago

Hello Review Readers, I give the Q towers 2 stars for the reasons described. This doesn't mean that you won't like it. You may give it 5 stars, unless you have the same issues/concerns I did. Note: My comments pertain at times to the whole roof rack system (i.e. I may reference parts not included with the Q towers) but are still part of the overall Yakima rack system (if you buy the clips, bars, locks, kayak rack ~ these are sold separately), so just be aware of this. I figure the comments are relevant since you are probably buying the whole system. Note: I've only had these for 4 months or so. So far I have not kept them on my car, and instead I installed them whenever they were needed (4 or 5 times so far). I use the rack system + Hullraiser aero to transport a kayak. Note: I drive a 2009 Toyota Matrix with the factory roof rack installed (Yakima rack goes over factory roof rack). Q Towers - Lock Cores Did Not Fit: I installed the product per instructions. It took a while but it wasn't too bad. I had a fit issue with the lock cores (lock cores sold separately). I couldn't lock the locks on two of the towers! NOT GOOD YAKIMA! Visually, the hole in the tower handle did not line up with the core. I went to my local REI and the great people at REI (along with their great return policy) helped me out. I ended up getting/buying two other Q towers that worked, and I returned the two that were bad. The REI people suggested that YAKIMA had a bad lot go out, not sure if that is true. Anyways - All is well now, although it was a frustrating experience. Q Towers - Little metal clip things that hold Lock Cores or core blanks in. The tiny little metal clips that hold the locks in are fragile. 1 broke for me within a month, but it still held the lock. Lucky for me, I purchased them at a store with a great return policy. See picture 58" Round Bar End Caps (sold separately): 1 of the plastic bar end caps cracked within 24 hours (before the rack even went on my car). 2 more were cracked within the month. I wish I could blame the outside elements, but the bars were stored in my apartment and were not kept on my car. Luckily, returned the bad ones to REI for new ones. Lets see how long these last ... See picture 58" Round Bar (sold seperatly): Round Bars vs Square Bars. I read other reviews complaining about this, but I thought they were overreacting. I did not realize what a pain this is until experiencing it myself. It is very frustrating that these bars are round. I purchased a separate kayak attachment (Hellraiser aero), and when I load the kayak chances are it needs to move forward or back a foot or so. When I (or we, as someone is usually helping) move the kayak, the kayak can catch on the Hullraiser aero pads, causing them to rotate with the kayak and knock into the top of my car. Then - I need to go rotate them back. The GOOD: It seems VERY secure on my car. I don't think my kayak is going anywhere. Good fit with the Toyota Matrix 2009. I've read that fit varies by car. Since that is the most important part, I give Yakima 10 stars. However, I remove a star for each part that broke, and I remove 5 stars for making me drive back to REI (ok, I admit I was going there anyways) to reassemble Q towers in their parking lot. I'd like to return all my Yakima stuff and buy a Thule Rack (I have ZERO experience with Thule though). Since I have a working rack system at the moment, my return of Yakima products would mostly be out of spite and concern of the future quality of their stuff. However, Thule did not have a product that officially worked with my car. Yakima gets 1 more star back for that. Negative 10 stars to Toyota for selling me a factory roof rack that is not officially compatible with any good brand name kayak racks (ok, I should have check that, now I'm complaining too much)

No, I do not recommend this product
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PhotoBiker
Nashville
Rated 1.0 out of 5 stars

Quality Control out of Control

15 years ago

I bought 4 towers to install on my 2007 Corolla, along with the correct clips. Only two of towers fit well enough to be locked. The other two were misaligned by about 1/4 inch and the lock could not engage. I exchanged the bad towers and had the same problem again. Convinced it was my fault (although I checked all measurements and instructions several times), I took the rack to REI for professional installation. They ALSO had to replace two bad towers to make it fit. So, it took 10 towers to find 4 usable ones.[...]Yakima's online help was fairly quick, but I would have tried a Thule system if I had know the headache the Q Towers would cause.

No, I do not recommend this product
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jojoq
Bridgeport CT
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars

love them

13 years ago

I bought these to carry my kayak on a Toyota Yaris with Thule Hull-a-ports. At first I was skeptical not because of the quality of the mounts which are solid but because I wasn't sure of the Q-clip system really being robust enough (even though the clip system seems to be an industry standard). This rack system is solid. When I first bought it I did not get the fairing because I wanted to remove the rack after using it since I was not confident that it could stand up to being on the car 24/7 without loosening up. Even though, with a little practice, this system can be installed in about 15 minutes I now leave it on day in and day out. The fairing is a worth while investment to reduce wind noise and improve economy.

Yes , I recommend this product
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dawgdon
Everett, WA
Rated 3.0 out of 5 stars

Towers and clips are great, but...

12 years ago

The sytem is great, best available...but I shouldn't have to buy a whole new system every time I get a new car. The idea behind "component system" is you should only need to buy those parts that are different for each vehicle (clips) but manufacturer has been changing towers as often as I do cars. Old towers do not work on new cars...I now have 3 sets (4 each)of towers as well as 3 different length of crossbars.

Yes , I recommend this product
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penname
eastbay
Rated 4.0 out of 5 stars

Longtime owners

10 years ago

After years of great service and satisfaction, I was a bit disappointed to discover that I had to replace my pre-2004 Q-towers when I purchased a new car. I'd hoped to just get clips for my new vehicle and continue to use the system on my new vehicle. Apparently that doesn't work for many newer vehicles. I've always found the Yakima system to work well and be flexible enough for a variety of purposes and I have an investment in attachments, so I didn't want to toss it all. If you have an older system check carefully to see if you need to upgrade towers. If so, check the Yakima support website for their upgrade program (old rack, new car). If you need to upgrade, turn in the old towers, buy the new towers and they will give you the clips...........not cheap, but it saved me over $80. The staff at my local REI wasn't initially aware of the program, but they quickly confirmed with Yakima and were great about making it happen.

Yes , I recommend this product
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Sir
Rated 1.0 out of 5 stars

Nope, No Bueno

9 years ago

I couldn't get these to fit properly on my 4-door 2016 VW GTI. Each time I tightened one end, the other would slip and the vinyl pads on the Q clips would peel. Very frustrating. My car has locating holes/slots right where the Q clips are supposed to clamp - I wonder why the Q clips don't take advantage of these? The bladed Q clips were just flat pieces of metal and doesn't inspire any confidence on the security of these towers. I think these towers are being phased out in favor of the Baseline towers; might explain the heavy discount.

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Ultegratim
Chicago Area
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars

Rock Solid!!

15 years ago

I've been suffering from Rack Envy nearly 10 years now. I've tried everything but nothing seemed to help. Finally REI offered me the cure...the Yakima 20% off Sale! So we took the plunge this weekend. The tensioning system on these towers is quite precise and the"feet" from the Q-Clips grab on and hold tight. My new black Honda Civic looks 37% cooler with these bad boys riding on top. We drove in 3 states this weekend--high winds, cross winds, cold and warm temps. Through it all the rack stayed rock solid. 4 road bikes on 4 Forklift carriers (mounted in alternating directions) rode well. In the high winds (35-40mph) gas mileage suffered 20%, but the rest of the time, it's only a slight dip. With the fairing, wind noise is very slight. Don't forget to consider overhead clearance, but we did not find a situation we had to avoid, even most drive-thrus now have higher clearance these days.

Yes , I recommend this product
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tjw
Arizona
Rated 3.0 out of 5 stars

Sticker?!

12 years ago

These aren't as nearly as easy to install as the Thule towers but seem stable. The thing that really shocked me about the installation process was that the only thing between your car's paint job and the rack is a thin sticker...a sticker. The Thule towers have these rubberized clips that inspire a lot more confidence that your car isn't going to be scarred by the rack. I like Yakima products but I thought that was a pretty weak design.

No, I do not recommend this product
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love the outdoors
Pasadena, CA
Rated 4.0 out of 5 stars

Great Rack System, But Be Careful

16 years ago

I had the Yakima Roof Rack System on several cars for many years, and it's been great. I've only needed to buy different clips when I got a new car. I had two Steelhead bike racks, a fairing, and two wheel forks. Everything locked to the car with the Yakima lock cores. I left everything on my car (except the bike) because it looked sporty. Also, because it's a pain to take off and then re-install for every trip because of the measurements for placement. Some thief took the whole setup from the top of my car by prying it off with a screw driver or something similar. The locks will not prevent a determined thief from taking this rather large investment. My car was in the body shop for a week getting fixed. What a pain!

Yes , I recommend this product
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OldFatDog
Savannah/Atlanta
Rated 3.0 out of 5 stars

Yakima Q-Towers to Volvo V40

13 years ago

When the Q-towers are positioned according to the directions the feet straddle the longitudinal roof seam. For this vehicle it would have been better designed to be solidly on either side of the seam. I am not inclined to leave them on the car for this reason and for the horrendous amount of road noise this system generates. My square barred Thule system (for a different vehicle) did not make near the amount of noise this Yakima system does. I was in a rush to buy so for anybody else I would recommend shop the systems and read the reviews first!

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