I too ordered the factory towbar prep, only to now be informed by my dealer that they don't fit towbars themselves but instead outsource it to a local fitter; who unfortunately is not an NTTA accredited centre and prefers to use Witter bars as opposed to Westfalia.

Having read this thread I'm now getting seriously cold feet as to going through with the fitting anywhere other than at a Skoda main dealer - of which only 2 of the 7 in central Scotland do this kind of work in-house, and probably at mega-inflated prices...

The 4x4/Scout Westfalia detachable bar has a different part number to that shown for the estate/hatch/vRS - anybody know why the difference?

I'd also read elsewhere that the Scout can be fitted with the OEM bar without the bumper being cut - anyone experienced this?

Given that the preparation wiring is already in place and that certain models can get the bar fitted without cuttting into plastic, I'm reluctant to have my new toy (when it eventually arrives) needlessly hacked to bits if it can be avoided.

What to do...:think:

Given that the preparation wiring is already in place and that certain models can get the bar fitted without cuttting into plastic, I'm reluctant to have my new toy (when it eventually arrives) needlessly hacked to bits if it can be avoided.

What to do...:think:

I fear that you may find that the factory prep does not include all the wiring.....if you want the full 13 pin euro socket. For towing a caravan with on board battery charging and fridge the fitter will need to run two more heavy duty cables back to the fuse box/battery. This will require a large amount of trim to be removed.

This is a real deficiency by Skoda. Other marques ( my previous Vauxhall Zafira 5 years ago ) are fully wired to the rear of the vehicle with a socket to accept a vehicle specific plug and wiring loom to the 13 pin socket.

I don't have a 'van, but need the towbar for a Thule Euroclassic G5 909 bike carrier, for 4 bikes; on hols the roofbars are occupied by the roof box - travelling 'light' isn't always an option!

I only need the 13 pin socket to marry to the bike carrier, so towing a 'van ain't an issue. (I've only got the 1.6 TDI CR therefore I doubt it's got enough guts for towing anywhere near the weight of a 'van in any case).

I too ordered the factory towbar prep, only to now be informed by my dealer that they don't fit towbars themselves but instead outsource it to a local fitter; who unfortunately is not an NTTA accredited centre and prefers to use Witter bars as opposed to Westfalia.

Having read this thread I'm now getting seriously cold feet as to going through with the fitting anywhere other than at a Skoda main dealer - of which only 2 of the 7 in central Scotland do this kind of work in-house, and probably at mega-inflated prices...

The 4x4/Scout Westfalia detachable bar has a different part number to that shown for the estate/hatch/vRS - anybody know why the difference?

I'd also read elsewhere that the Scout can be fitted with the OEM bar without the bumper being cut - anyone experienced this?

Given that the preparation wiring is already in place and that certain models can get the bar fitted without cuttting into plastic, I'm reluctant to have my new toy (when it eventually arrives) needlessly hacked to bits if it can be avoided.

What to do...:think:

Smoke and mirrors...I didn't know what I was getting (neither did the dealer so there was no way I wanted them fitting it), so I elected to fit it myself. See my earlier post (no.17), but I managed it with about as much DIYability as being able to wire a plug.

No idea on the difference between the two parts(4x4 and 4x2), but the revised Westfalia part no. is because the latest version also has a second set of holes to enable fitting to a Superb. Towequipe have a discount code for 5% off, but the Skoda electric pack is down to whatever you can negotiate with the parts dept.

Can confirm that no cutting is required for fitting to Scout.

You can do it... use the force. Just be careful removing the plugs that retain the bumper under the rear lights - tape all the edges so that when the stubborn plugs eventually come out, you don't scratch anything with the pliers or whatever you use.

If you get stuck, come down to Thornhill one Sunday. It'll cost you Sunday lunch x2 though.....

I have an Octavia 4 x 4 estate , tow bar and electrics supplied and fitted by dealer. I have towed our old caravan for 18months and no problems at all with the electrics . I have a new Baileys Olympus with extra high level brake lights , all the electrics work , BUT the bulb failure light comes on when I apply the foot brake , Any help please

Sounds as if these are additional brake lights, then there is going to be a considerable current draw. Perhaps the ECU is seeing this as a potential short circuit, therefore a failure.

If this is the case, my DIY solution would be to investigate the replacement of the filament brake lamps with LEDs.

Those clever chaps with the VAGcom thingys may be able to check and if necessary adjust the threshold current that trips the warning?

I have had a conversation with Baileys and they suggest replacing the high level brake lights with LED lights therefore reducing the load . The problem will still be there if I wished to tow another caravan with high level brake lights , and am going to have a word with the dealers , again . Many thanks for your answer .Update , local dealer is coming down with his car (same electrics)and connecting up to new caravan , I do hope his is not giving same results as mine , then I know my car is at fault .

Edited 27 January, 201115 yr by Dickf

There seems to be some confusion with dealers and this tow bar preparation. I had it fitted to my Vrs estate at the factory and when I picked the car up told it was all there.

Now I've phoned a couple of dealers about fitting and have had some wild pricing........£800 from 1 dealer. Second dealer was confused about the towbar preparation(both spares person and sales guy) their pricing....£300 for fixed bar or £500+ for detachable bar. Then went on to say they don't fit the bars but get someone in to do them.

I'm now in a dilemma about what to do and where to go to get one fitted. Any suggestions for this in the Nottingham area.

Don't bother with Skoda dealers for a towbar. Just get your car as is and take to a local towbar specialist.

In my experience dealers know £uck@ll all about towing systems.

My bailey is fine by the way.

Edited 28 January, 201115 yr by Web Ferret

I have an Octavia 4 x 4 estate , tow bar and electrics supplied and fitted by dealer. I have towed our old caravan for 18months and no problems at all with the electrics . I have a new Baileys Olympus with extra high level brake lights , all the electrics work , BUT the bulb failure light comes on when I apply the foot brake , Any help please

Sounds a strange one as i too have a bailey olympus but had the towbar prep done away from Skoda at a specialist. I dont get any warning lights but i do get beeps from the rear of the car when i indicate. i presume its normal as there arent any problems with the indicators or anything.

The beeps are an audible warning to let you know your indicators are working. If you don't get the beeps when towing and indicating you know you have a problem.

Just got my new Octy 1.6 Tdi Elegance. (Sorry to see the Fabia go but 100k miles saw her looking a little worse for wear).

The loss of ccs and heavier body doesn't seem to impact as much as might be thought reading some reviews.

However, having shelled out £135 for factory towbar preparation, I was surprised to be told by my towbar fitter (independant firm which I have used for years) that he could not see anything different to the wiring as compared to other Octavias which he had worked on which didn't have the extra.

Does anyone know what the factory towbar preparation consists of?

Hi,

On my Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDi htachback; Towbar preparation done by manufacturer seems to consist of running three 12V wires from fuse box, 3 fuses (2 x 15A and 1 x 20A), CAN-data wire pair, rear brake light wire, etc to a red square connector tapped up in foam, tucked up on the rear near side boot (behind the grey liner). It does not include wiring for split charging for a fridge, so extra wiring will have to be added to the battery; a separate kit for about £40 is available. If you don't need the fridge, the towbar prep wiring covers everything else (lights and battery charging).

However, as others have stated on this forum, Skoda dealer staff seem totally ignorant on what is included in towbar prep or how to advise customers how to use it. Most independant towbar fitters will ignore the towbar prep as Skoda does not seem to release information to the trade.

I purchased a Right Connections vehicle specific kit, but nobody asked if I had towbar prep. The kit assumes you don't. The kit is fairly easy to fit, but after running the wires back to the fuse box, I saw too late that the wiring was already there. After speaking to the kit supplier, I cut off most of the wiring to the front of the car and connected it to the towbar prep plug wiring; works fine now. I assume, if you purchase Skoda's own towbar electrics kit it will simply plug into the towbar prep socket.

I wasted a lot of time and money because of Skoda's lack of customer information.

Update to dealer fitted towbar electrics. I contacted Skoda UK Tech Dept. , really helpful NOT ! They told me to go back to local dealer , and they had the car in all day (Skoda 4 x 4 estate ) complete with the caravan and couldn't fault the car electrics even though they still got the bulb failure light coming on when the brakes applied.They told me they were in contact with the Tech Dept ( I wished them luck ).Tech Dept came back and told them , although the correct Skoda part wiring loom was fitted , this one didn't support 4 brake lights, and there was an upgrade at £239 . 79 !!!!!!! Wish the Tech Dept had been more forthcoming when I telephoned them and it would have saved alot of time . Needless to say I have fitted 2 LED lights in top brake lights ,cost £9, END OF PROBLEM

On 29/01/2011 at 12:33, silver1011 said:

The beeps are an audible warning to let you know your indicators are working. If you don't get the beeps when towing and indicating you know you have a problem.

This is only true if you don't have the Skoda system fitted.  There are no beeps at all with that. With the Skoda system if any of the three indicator bulbs fail (two on the car one on the trailer / van) then it flashes faster and displays a warning (at least on my Skoda).

Holy thread revival Batman!