This may sound crazy but are you sure the bar is for your car? I've had my Hot-cakes bars on my 01 for 3 years and never had this problem. I had the first generation front bar that was incorrectly designed by Hotchkis as they admitted. So when they finally sent me the revised front bar under warranty they sent me an 01 Celica bar. Obviously they are plenty capable of errors. In any case you should call them at 877-466-7655 or go to their web site
www.hotchkistuning.com They are surprisingly helpful.