just wondered what you get for your money as no-one seems to know. SUK didnt have a clue. Dealer not sure as not seen it. towbar specialist told me it would be a waste of money. so if anyone has actually got one have a look and tell me if there is anythign visible.

I am wondering if it does fancy things like cancelling reverse sensors and showing warning lights on dash or cancelling car foglights (i know these features are often found on factory fit bars but not sure what the "towbar prep" actually gives you)

just wondered what you get for your money as no-one seems to know. SUK didnt have a clue. Dealer not sure as not seen it. towbar specialist told me it would be a waste of money. so if anyone has actually got one have a look and tell me if there is anythign visible.

I am wondering if it does fancy things like cancelling reverse sensors and showing warning lights on dash or cancelling car foglights (i know these features are often found on factory fit bars but not sure what the "towbar prep" actually gives you)

Now you see if you'd gone for the Diesel you'd be able to tow more...

sorry - that doesnt answer my question ?

dont need to tow more as my caravan is well within the capabilities of the petrol (tow limit 1500kg my van is about 1350 fully loaded)

I went for the original Skoda detachable towbar: slides on/off nicely. The parking sensors have to be programmed manually - my garage put in a notice when I got the car, but I never bothered and get used to the beeping. No idea what the lights do - I tend to stay in the car when I have the lights on...

Hope this helps a bit

I went for the original Skoda detachable towbar: slides on/off nicely. The parking sensors have to be programmed manually - my garage put in a notice when I got the car, but I never bothered and get used to the beeping. No idea what the lights do - I tend to stay in the car when I have the lights on...

Hope this helps a bit

thanks. did your dealer fit the bar ? if so can i ask what it ended up costing please.

i reckon the westfalia aftermarket one ends up about £500.

More information can be gleened from the accessories website

?koda Accessories

More information can be gleened from the accessories website

?koda Accessories

thanks. unfortunately the info i was after is nowhere to be found. No one can tell me what the "towbar prep" wiring is. oh well - too late now as my car is built next week. i will just go with the aftermarket bar made by westfalia - it will probably be the same one anyway as they tend to make the OEM bars for the VW group !

genuine towbar wiring is just like the octavia wiriring loom, goes from the socket to an ecu on the n/s/r of the car and then winds its way on the o/s to the fuse box under the dash. the real crux of the job is coding!!!!!!!!!!

my towbar dealer says he prefers to use the vehicle specific wiring kit supplied by the towbar manufacturer as the factory fitted wiring is often confusing and they tend to not use it. seemed silly to pay for it then not use it !! as long as it works and doesnt affect the car i dont care how they do it !

As someone with a Superb on order, and a caravan, I spent a lot of time looking into this in November and agree that Skoda UK are not certain of the answer. My understanding from various sources by telephone was that the prep kit is essential for a later dealer fit of the standard Skoda item to ensure the correct power supply cable to the van (should come direct from the battery) and the correct operation of the parking sensors and possibly road light failure warning systems. The car should be fitted with a different parking sensor controller which will ensure that the standard tow ball isn't detected as an obstacle, and also will not activate the rear sensors while caravan is connected. Though you might get away with an aftermarket tow bar/electrical assembly without trouble, very modern car wiring systems are not very tolerant of simple ad-ons in the 'old' style. Though I have a Witter system on my current car, which has worked well (except for poor ground clearance), I have gone for the Skoda one on the Superb as the safest and neatest bet. I won't know for sure till the car gets delivered - that has been delayed by Skoda incompetance and is another story.

As someone with a Superb on order, and a caravan, I spent a lot of time looking into this in November and agree that Skoda UK are not certain of the answer. My understanding from various sources by telephone was that the prep kit is essential for a later dealer fit of the standard Skoda item to ensure the correct power supply cable to the van (should come direct from the battery) and the correct operation of the parking sensors and possibly road light failure warning systems. The car should be fitted with a different parking sensor controller which will ensure that the standard tow ball isn't detected as an obstacle, and also will not activate the rear sensors while caravan is connected. Though you might get away with an aftermarket tow bar/electrical assembly without trouble, very modern car wiring systems are not very tolerant of simple ad-ons in the 'old' style. Though I have a Witter system on my current car, which has worked well (except for poor ground clearance), I have gone for the Skoda one on the Superb as the safest and neatest bet. I won't know for sure till the car gets delivered - that has been delayed by Skoda incompetance and is another story.

thanks. seems like you were able to get as much sense out of skoda as i did !! what really confused the issue is that if you look in the brochure under dealer fit accessories you can buy "towbar wiring for cars with wiring prep" and "tow bar wiring for cars without prep" - they are two seperate items and have a cost difference of about £10....god only knows what that is all about

i am not convinced that the skoda factory wiring will turn the parking sensors off as one other poster on here says this "I went for the original Skoda detachable towbar: slides on/off nicely. The parking sensors have to be programmed manually" . However i have just realised that it may be possible this person has not tried with anything hook up and was referring to his experience when the dealer delivered and demonstrated his car ? (sorry if i am wrong on this - just a thought)

It too late for me to worry now as my car was build 48hrs ago and is in transit to the UK. Whilst we enjoy our caravan we do not use it a massive ammount - maily just 3 weeks a year for the main family hols. we dont tend to do lots of weekends as its too difficult - we have two young kids, both work and store the van away from our property making quick getaways awkward .so i guess we can live with any little foibles of an aftermaket bar.

it not too much effort to manually turn the reversing sensors off. and i am not clear on whether the lights failure warning will happen anyway with the dealer fit towbar. i think you are still required, by law, to have the indicator beeper thingy anyway arent you ?

one important thing i must remember though - DONT TRY AND USE PARK ASSIST WHEN THE CARAVAN IS ATTACHED :eek::eek::eek:

CHEERS

thanks. seems like you were able to get as much sense out of skoda as i did !! what really confused the issue is that if you look in the brochure under dealer fit accessories you can buy "towbar wiring for cars with wiring prep" and "tow bar wiring for cars without prep" - they are two seperate items and have a cost difference of about £10....god only knows what that is all about

i am not convinced that the skoda factory wiring will turn the parking sensors off as one other poster on here says this "I went for the original Skoda detachable towbar: slides on/off nicely. The parking sensors have to be programmed manually" . However i have just realised that it may be possible this person has not tried with anything hook up and was referring to his experience when the dealer delivered and demonstrated his car ? (sorry if i am wrong on this - just a thought)

It too late for me to worry now as my car was build 48hrs ago and is in transit to the UK. Whilst we enjoy our caravan we do not use it a massive ammount - maily just 3 weeks a year for the main family hols. we dont tend to do lots of weekends as its too difficult - we have two young kids, both work and store the van away from our property making quick getaways awkward .so i guess we can live with any little foibles of an aftermaket bar.

it not too much effort to manually turn the reversing sensors off. and i am not clear on whether the lights failure warning will happen anyway with the dealer fit towbar. i think you are still required, by law, to have the indicator beeper thingy anyway arent you ?

one important thing i must remember though - DONT TRY AND USE PARK ASSIST WHEN THE CARAVAN IS ATTACHED :eek::eek::eek:

CHEERS

Both tow bar prep (in factory) and tow bar electrics (dealer fit) are needed - they do different things. So I was assured by my dealers. All my investigations have shown that the Skoda tow system is likely to be the best in terms of neatest - especially when removed when not towing - somewhat hidden electrical plug though requiring you to kneel to plug in, compared to some after market providers such as Witter. As evidenced from a number of posts, the full Skoda product is likely to ensure the caravan is recognised as connected by the ESP unit , to assist with safety; will ensure the parking sensors work as intended without false alarms or when caravan connected and it would be interesting if there is a safety interlock to ensure park assist didn't work when van was connected. When the Caravan Club tested the Superb with Bailey vans, the final report could have been much more detailed and commented on these aspects, and also the link with the AL-KO stability control which is fitted to these vans. The combination of car ESP and AL-KO stability control should potentially provide the safest system in the world.

I tackled Witter stand manning staff about a Superb II system at the NEC show and they seemed to no nothing, including little idea of when their bar development was to be completed. That was another reason I went for the Skoda standard product.

There are people in Skoda UK who can help and for instance when I asked (e-mailed) for clarification on the precise clearance and load carrying capacity of the standard ball, to ensure it worked with my new van and AL-KO hook up, I got a precise answer pretty quickly.

I use my van quite a lot, including short stays in local counties, and I'm a Chartered Engineer, so I when I pay all the hard won money to get a towing system, I want it to work properly, and be properly integrated into the systems of the car. That's how things should be in the 21st century. We should not continue the UK syndrome of accepting lash ups and poor products - and yes, that's what the Superb's 'folding' rear seats are - a very poorly engineered design. Even the Octavia's are better with flat floor space.

Both tow bar prep (in factory) and tow bar electrics (dealer fit) are needed - they do different things. So I was assured by my dealers. All my investigations have shown that the Skoda tow system is likely to be the best in terms of neatest - especially when removed when not towing - somewhat hidden electrical plug though requiring you to kneel to plug in, compared to some after market providers such as Witter. As evidenced from a number of posts, the full Skoda product is likely to ensure the caravan is recognised as connected by the ESP unit , to assist with safety; will ensure the parking sensors work as intended without false alarms or when caravan connected and it would be interesting if there is a safety interlock to ensure park assist didn't work when van was connected. When the Caravan Club tested the Superb with Bailey vans, the final report could have been much more detailed and commented on these aspects, and also the link with the AL-KO stability control which is fitted to these vans. The combination of car ESP and AL-KO stability control should potentially provide the safest system in the world.

I tackled Witter stand manning staff about a Superb II system at the NEC show and they seemed to no nothing, including little idea of when their bar development was to be completed. That was another reason I went for the Skoda standard product.

There are people in Skoda UK who can help and for instance when I asked (e-mailed) for clarification on the precise clearance and load carrying capacity of the standard ball, to ensure it worked with my new van and AL-KO hook up, I got a precise answer pretty quickly.

I use my van quite a lot, including short stays in local counties, and I'm a Chartered Engineer, so I when I pay all the hard won money to get a towing system, I want it to work properly, and be properly integrated into the systems of the car. That's how things should be in the 21st century. We should not continue the UK syndrome of accepting lash ups and poor products - and yes, that's what the Superb's 'folding' rear seats are - a very poorly engineered design. Even the Octavia's are better with flat floor space.

thanks. i shall await info from you when you finally get the system. I could get no info from skoda UK an dthe person i spoke to didnt even seem to understand what a towbar was !!

I was looking at a wesfalia bar on a a new Audi A5 and it looked very good. the electric socket was on a swinging arm that went up under the bumper when the bar was removed. i think i will go for a 13 pin socket so that there is only one socket as i am told this is a neater solution. I will then use a 13 pin to 2x7pin converter lead.

At the moment we are all working on hearsay - we have one user who tells us the parking sensors need to be turned off manually but this seesm odd with a factory fit wiring system.

oh well - as i said - too late for me now so aftermarket is the only option. unless i use my other car for towing - its fitted with the box standard flange ball bar and twin electrics and works fine !!

Both tow bar prep (in factory) and tow bar electrics (dealer fit) are needed - they do different things. So I was assured by my dealers. All my investigations have shown that the Skoda tow system is likely to be the best in terms of neatest - especially when removed when not towing - somewhat hidden electrical plug though requiring you to kneel to plug in, compared to some after market providers such as Witter. As evidenced from a number of posts, the full Skoda product is likely to ensure the caravan is recognised as connected by the ESP unit , to assist with safety; will ensure the parking sensors work as intended without false alarms or when caravan connected and it would be interesting if there is a safety interlock to ensure park assist didn't work when van was connected. When the Caravan Club tested the Superb with Bailey vans, the final report could have been much more detailed and commented on these aspects, and also the link with the AL-KO stability control which is fitted to these vans. The combination of car ESP and AL-KO stability control should potentially provide the safest system in the world.

I tackled Witter stand manning staff about a Superb II system at the NEC show and they seemed to no nothing, including little idea of when their bar development was to be completed. That was another reason I went for the Skoda standard product.

There are people in Skoda UK who can help and for instance when I asked (e-mailed) for clarification on the precise clearance and load carrying capacity of the standard ball, to ensure it worked with my new van and AL-KO hook up, I got a precise answer pretty quickly.

I use my van quite a lot, including short stays in local counties, and I'm a Chartered Engineer, so I when I pay all the hard won money to get a towing system, I want it to work properly, and be properly integrated into the systems of the car. That's how things should be in the 21st century. We should not continue the UK syndrome of accepting lash ups and poor products - and yes, that's what the Superb's 'folding' rear seats are - a very poorly engineered design. Even the Octavia's are better with flat floor space.

Sorry but I'm still confused over this, can you help clarify the situation please.

I've ordered the factory wiring prep. I assumed that at the end of the factory wiring there would be a plug that I could just plug something into as shown on the accessories site:

?koda Accessories

It seems from what you say that 'in addition', I will still need the 'accessory' described in the latest brochure i.e.

Electrics for tow bar

(for cars with tow bar preparation) EEA800002EL

£127.66 £19.15 £146.81

as well as the 13pin to 7pin adaptor.

Is that correct?

i think the point is that we are all confused. Skoda UK dont have a clue and my dealer was unable to find out accurate info.

I think what you are saying is correct - that is my understanding. The reason i chose not to go for factory wiring is that the dealer woudl not fit the bar themselves they would farm it out ot a local specialist. I worked out the total cost would be getting on for £800. an aftermarket bar should come in under £300 and woudl be fitted by a local specialist - ie if i have any issues i can go back to them.

what i catn understand is if you but "electrics for cars without towbar prep" its only £10 more. presumably the labour cost to install is much higher as withthe part you list a lot of the work os done with the towbar prep from the factory.

why cant skoda be bothered to make it straightforward !

thanks. did your dealer fit the bar ? if so can i ask what it ended up costing please.

i reckon the westfalia aftermarket one ends up about £500.

Got the towbar bundled in when ordering the car. I'd be hesitatnt to go for a non-Skoda towbar: I had an aftermaket version fitted onto my old Skoda: I could crew off the towbar, but still had an ugly bit sticking out the bottom. With the new Superb nothing is visible: the socket folds away and the opening for the towbar is flush with the bumper. Nothing sticking out.

Highly recommend this option for people towing!

i am not convinced that the skoda factory wiring will turn the parking sensors off as one other poster on here says this "I went for the original Skoda detachable towbar: slides on/off nicely. The parking sensors have to be programmed manually" . However i have just realised that it may be possible this person has not tried with anything hook up and was referring to his experience when the dealer delivered and demonstrated his car ? (sorry if i am wrong on this - just a thought)

You understand correct - I haven't towed anything yet. When the towbar only is connected, the rear sensors detect it and start giving off. The "fix" I got at the dealership will get rid of this problem.

You understand correct - I haven't towed anything yet. When the towbar only is connected, the rear sensors detect it and start giving off. The "fix" I got at the dealership will get rid of this problem.

what is the fix - just go into car settings and turn vol down to minimum.

regards the socket being visible - i totally agree and will look into this in detail. the westfalia example i saw on an audi was not visible at all - the socket swung out of the way on a sping assisted bracket

what is the fix - just go into car settings and turn vol down to minimum.

the dealership put a post-it note with code into the towbar manual. I haven't tried it yet:O

The alternative I tried is that I can program my parking sensors detection range via the columbus set-up interface. The default seems to be going to a constant beep at 30cm. I've reduced mine to 10cm (without towbar in place).

Havn't tried if I can actually turn down the volume of the beeping- will give that a try as well.

i would be gratefull if you would share the code with me sometime. i think i am likely to end up with and aftermarket bar so having the code would be good.

also - just a thought. will you be towing a caravan and do you normally have the fridge runnning from the car ? i have read in some other forums about all sorts of issues with the fridge wire and battery charging wire not being connected on manufacturer towbar installations (something to do with differnet wiring conventions and standards in mainland europe). might be wise to check this before your first outing. it can be fixed but needs an extra wire putitng in.

Reading the 50 page towbar installation manual and the notes the dealership left in it, there is no need for a code to tell the parking sensor you are towing. The Superb II fitted with a parking aid will automatically recognise if a trailer (with lights) is connected and then disable the rear parking sensors. The programming of this is done "...using the diagnostic tool..."

What does not work is if you only have the hitch in place and no electrical load on the socket- the sensor then keeps on beeping. You can change this via the MFD set-up menue.

Got the towbar bundled in when ordering the car. I'd be hesitatnt to go for a non-Skoda towbar: I had an aftermaket version fitted onto my old Skoda: I could crew off the towbar, but still had an ugly bit sticking out the bottom. With the new Superb nothing is visible: the socket folds away and the opening for the towbar is flush with the bumper. Nothing sticking out.

Highly recommend this option for people towing!

Franklyn: What do you mean by 'the opening for the towbar is flush with the bumper'.

All the photographs in brochures showing the Skoda towbar show the demountable towbar going 'underneath' the rearend visible part of the bumper. Where is the 'opening' you mention?

Are you suggesting they cut a hole in the bumper? - is it on the 'vertical' exposed face or 'underneath' where it isn't normally seen? Or am I misunderstanding something.

Nope! You need 'tow bar prep' wiring at factory, then dealer will fit 'tow bar electrics' item - or perhaps an aftermarket supplier can fit theirs. You can not just get your own plugs etc to attach to the 'tow bar prep' wiring. That's also why the standard Skoda item is quite expensive - tow bar prep; tow bar electrics, tow bar; and fitting for last two is extra. From all the posts it seems that some dealers need better training or access to clear Skoda advice, if that exists.

Caravan man

My understanding now is that the difference in the 'two' different 'tow bar electrics' accessories is likely to be in the amount of 'fitting time' required for each - which is not stated. In this instance I'm convinced it's a SUK problem and not just down to the dealers. My dealer has ordered the accessory pack to go with the factory wiring prep and we just need to wait till it arrives to see what it includes. I don't for instance know if it will include the 13 to 7 pin connection or if that will need bought in addition.

one important thing i must remember though - DONT TRY AND USE PARK ASSIST WHEN THE CARAVAN IS ATTACHED :eek::eek::eek:

CHEERS

Thats a YouTube video I'd love to see