spanner555

That's good to know. Thanks for the update dr pepper. Good price too.

Lol... Nice piece of workmanship.

A new bumper... this seems excessive. We'll have to wait and see.

You could well be right, but pfjones supplies this towbar for the mk4; https://www.pfjones.co.uk/skoda-octavia-hatchback-2020-onwards-westfalia-detachable-towbar.html Which is the same model as that listed for the mk3. I think nosnehm from an earlier post got in touch with pfjones and they confirmed same.

Good info omadon. Having looked at that then, and their forum; https://forum.vcdspro.de/index.php?/wiki/misc/allgemeine-informationen/content/sfd-schutz-der-fahrzeugdiagnose-r32/ My understanding is it maybe possible for an independent specialist to do towbar coding using vcds. However vag are introducing more and more stringent security features on their vehicles as time goes by.

forgot to attach brochure pdf SKODA OCTAVIA Brochure 21DEC20.pdf

According to the UK brochure, page 27, the only octavia that does not show a towing capacity is the VRS iv model. Maybe I'm missing something, but surely if it has a towing capacity, it can have a towbar. Interestingly, several models have a **, which means "it is not possible to retrospectively fit a tow bar if the car is not fitted with tow bar preparation at Factory"

What model of octavia do you have. I thought all octavias would have a 750kg towing capacity minimum. If it's a hybrid/electric i guess there may be other limitations that prevent any type of towing. Of course you don't actually want to tow anything as such. It's a tricky one.

Interesting. Further browsing on briskoda has revealed that vcds can no longer make changes on the mk4, for now at least, so that makes sense that the fitter now has to get this pass code. Might be overreacting, but this is a deal breaker for me. I'd be pushing my budget to the limit to upgrade as it is. Having to add what will probably be €1000+ (Irish prices) option for a factory fitted towbar will push it beyond that budget. Thanks for the update. Would love to know what the outcome is.

Any update Nosnehm on whether your local fitter could code your towbar. I'm in a very similar situation to yourself. I've got a mk3 to which i fitted a pfjones towbar with dedicated electrics. Was able to code the electrics with vcds. Did all the work myself. I'm hoping to upgrade to the mk4. My plan is to remove the towbar from the mk3 and fit to the new car.