E53 X5 OEM BMW Ski Racks Don't Lock?!?

[Ben Carufel]

A graphic designer I work with just bought an E53 X5 for her and her husband, and since they ski/snowboard/bike quite often they got the OEM BMW ski racks for it.

Now here's the weird thing she pointed out to me:

Even when the ski attachments are locked down to hold the skis on the rack, you can simply grab the ski holders and pull them off the ends of the roof rack.

The roof rack has a plastic end cap, but that just pops right off when the ski holder presses against it and...voila. You're the proud new owner of an (expensive) set of skis...

Anyhow, has anyone else noticed this? Is there a fix for it? She's a bit worried that her favorite skis are going to come up missing if they leave the car for a few minutes while driving up to the mountains...