Hello,

I've recently been given a 2003 L&K Estate which has a large tow bar on the back. If I come out of my driveway at anything other than snail's pace the bar will hit the concrete and shake the car!

How easy is it to remove? I've felt around and it's as if it's part of the chassis itself - am I missing something, should it just be bolted on somewhere?

Thanks!

Hi there remove the rear bumper and all will become clear,not that big a job.

Hello,

I've recently been given a 2003 L&K Estate which has a large tow bar on the back. If I come out of my driveway at anything other than snail's pace the bar will hit the concrete and shake the car!

How easy is it to remove? I've felt around and it's as if it's part of the chassis itself - am I missing something, should it just be bolted on somewhere?

Thanks!

Not sure about the estate but on the saloon the rear crash protection bar under the bumper is removed to fit the towbar (towbar acts as the crash protection bar).

The towbar is easy to remove (remove the bumper. Unbolt the electrics from the towbar & then unbolt the towbar) but you need the original crash bar to refit. Having no crash bar would be dangerous in a crash (obviously!) but would probably also invalidate your insurance.

You may be able to loosen the towbar & move it upwards slightly.

I have an original crash bar from my Octy estate if you find you can't unbolt the towball mount..... just along the coast in Weymouth....

I have an original crash bar from my Octy estate if you find you can't unbolt the towball mount..... just along the coast in Weymouth....

Thanks for that, I may well need to take you up on that!

I now have to work out how to take the bumper off, I can see the screws in the wheel arches, then what do I need to do?

Thanks for all your replies.

Pull off the plastic trim on the approach to both wheel arches and you will see a few bolts, and there are a number of torx screws under the bumper. Some people suggest using a credit card to leaver a screwdriver against to unclip the trim. I just gave mine a tug

I think you just need to undo the rear screws in the wheelarch to detach the liner from the bumper.

I only have pictures once I had taken my bumper off - http://www.matthewames.co.uk/briskoda/index.php?loc=./20051009_towbar

The original crash bar which I removed: http://www.matthewames.co.uk/briskoda/index.php?loc=./20100321_rear_bumper