The towbar from Skoda pt no EEA419001 (fixed swan neck removeable with two bolts) Also the wiring loom and plug for single electrics pt No ZGB6Y0055203A DO FIT and look good no bumper cuting visble only underneath. Also electrics fold up and away when not in use. You can unbolt the swan neck and all you have is two bits of metal hanging down under the bumper sill. cost of towbar not much more than a towshure type one and lots tidier cost of loom not cheap but so simple, plug in and connect to the socket with screw terminals... cost Bar

Is it suitable for all Fabia models including the vRS?

Read the post title...

Suitable for all hatchback Fabias. The sedan and estate have a different pt no for their towbars. R

Is it suitable for all Fabia models including the vRS?

Please folks, think carefully about towing with the Fab Vrs. It is almost certainly a great car to tow with in an ability sense (in many other EU countries it IS cleared to tow) but Skoda UK have not actually had it type approved for towing here. Therefore you will find no max towing weight stated in the handbook and Skoda UK state that they do NOT support towing with this car. Big decision as without this type approval some issues, such as insurance, could be very problematic.

Having a towbar that fits is the easy bit. I use mine for a bike rack and not towing since I realised the potential legal implications.

Having a towbar that fits is the easy bit. I use mine for a bike rack and not towing since I realised the potential legal implications

Since you're concerned about legality - as I certainly would be too - please note that it's the fitting of the towbar that's illegal not that it's used for towing.

From the Witter website:

Q. I only tow a small trailer on rare occasions, surely I don't need a type approved towbar?

A.

YES. The towbar must be certified even if not used for towing! Otherwise it does not comply with the Road Traffic Act.

So that looks like you'll have to take it off and use roof bars instead...

and the warranty will be void, whether you tow or just mount a bike rack.

Read the post title...

I did - but read following posts hence my question...

Was the info on the manufacturers site related to the bar approval ? The tow bar as supplied by Skoda is certified. So fitting the bar is not illegal , towing with it may be. Qestion.. If this country is in the EU surely Skoda should make there car comply with pan european laws and not make them up to suit themselfs. ie having towbar as a listed option in Ireland but not in UK . Is it down to having to pay for some type of testing, which they have done for other types of Fabia, but not the vRS... Anybody know or care about these answers ????????? PS my local dealer has taken photos of said fitment to get Skoda parts dept to admit that the std bar etc fits.. R

Let us know how this progresses if you can - I haven't had a towbar for a while now, but if I do decide I need one it would be nice to know it's legal, won't void warranty and is approved.

Fact you can fit one should help, and the local dealer supporting this is better still. After all, it may lead to getting it officially approved

Let us know how this progresses if you can - I haven't had a towbar for a while now' date=' but if I do decide I need one it would be nice to know it's legal, won't void warranty and is approved.

Fact you can fit one should help, and the local dealer supporting this is better still. After all, it may lead to getting it officially approved [/quote']

Some answers.

Fitting of the tow bar is not unlawfull although towing using a vehicle not type approved for towing will be. The witter website answer is ambiguous in this regard and a little misleading. The issue of insurance validity when towing is probably of even more concern though.

Skoda do not appove the Fabia for towing - however they have not prohibited the fitting of a tow bar, I am confident that there will be no warranty issues as a result of fitting one as a platform for a bike rack.

"Pan Eurpean" laws as such apply only to certain elements of traffic law. Each individual EU country can, and does, make local Road Traffic provisions. This can include construction and use regulations.

There really is no argument regarding VRS towing legality. It is not legal to tow with one. A bitter pill to swallow but true.

Very odd - it should be able to tow a small trailer, not expecting to pull a caravan or anything (I would want something a bit more heavy for that).

Torque wise the vRS should be pretty easy to live with, annoying about the lack of approval :(

Is there any change in the situation now i.e. have Skoda approved the vRS for towing or will they ever ? I am on the verge of ordering a vRS but need to tow a dirt bike and trailer , If I cant do this legally I will after have a rethink on choice of car :eek: I know some lads have fitted towbars to vRS's But as i read on here it could invalidate insurance etc etc

I don't think it is type approved. You should contact Skoda directly for confirmation if it is important to you which it sounds like it is.

I don't think it is type approved. You should contact Skoda directly for confirmation if it is important to you which it sounds like it is.

Just rang Skoda uk customer services and they say its not possible to fit a Towbar to a vRS Now i know lads on this site have done it (I have seen the photos ) but is it legal ? and will it invalidate my insurance ?

Again you will need to take that up with your insurance company.

Just rang Lightcliffe Skoda in Halifax and they say its not recommended to fit a tow bar to a vRS , something about the size of the towbar needed to fit around the large rear bumper and having to cut an hole in the bumper :eek: also this could affect resale value as well IMO

Looks like I will have to have a rethink on next choice of car now

i have seen lots of vrs's with tow bars lately

Just rang Skoda uk customer services and they say its not possible to fit a Towbar to a vRS Now i know lads on this site have done it (I have seen the photos ) but is it legal ? and will it invalidate my insurance ?

It is definitely not type-approved - though why not is a mystery - possibly something to do with clearances to the new bumper? But the normal fixings are apparently all there underneath - hence people on this forum have fitted them.

You could try asking your insurer as to whether they'd still cover you if you fitted a Skoda type approved towbar to the vRS - pointing out the vRS doesn't have type approval. If they say "yes" at least if anything goes wrong they shouldn't void your cover, but technically you'd still be illegal... But bear in mind I'm not a solicitor

I wouldn't fit one myself but then I have no need to tow anything

It is definitely not type-approved - though why not is a mystery - possibly something to do with clearances to the new bumper? But the normal fixings are apparently all there underneath - hence people on this forum have fitted them.

You could try asking your insurer as to whether they'd still cover you if you fitted a Skoda type approved towbar to the vRS - pointing out the vRS doesn't have type approval. If they say "yes" at least if anything goes wrong they shouldn't void your cover' date=' but technically you'd still be illegal... But bear in mind I'm [u']not[/u] a solicitor

I wouldn't fit one myself but then I have no need to tow anything

Dont think I am going to bother buying the car , having a tow bar is very important to me and I need to be 100% I am fully legal , just not worth the risk . just got to decide what to buy now ? the vRS sounded just the right car for us :(

I just queried Skoda Finland on the tow bar issue. They stated that RS Furby doesn't have a factory apporved tow bar according to factory COC papers. Furthermore it lacks EU wide type approval and approved towing weights with and w/o brakes is a round 0.

They also found it weird that some importers in EU countries are supplying a tow bar when it's lacking both factory approval and EU wide type approval.

So guess that's the end of it. No towing for us :(

- Juha

And just to add upto this, I also contacted Skoda Sweden and the Skoda factory also and both gave me the cold shoulder. Swedes agreed that it's a pain not having a tow bar and that they've complained to factory about it without any success. Skoda factory then gave me the explanation you guys got earlier about Furby being a sports car and as such not being suitable for towing... what a load of crap.

But I'm not giving up just yet.. as my car is a 05 spec showroom car, if it turns out it's been registered in Finland before 1.1.2005 then I can legally install a non-type approved tow bar. But that's a long shot and I'm quite sure they registered it january 3rd which is the firt business day of 2005... :( Well, will see when I get the registration papers.

- Juha

In the UK all cars registered August 1998 "S Plate" onwards have to have a type approved towbar to EU Directive 94/20, if the towbar is not approved for the car it's illegal.

The 1.9TDi Fabia's are heavy and make good tow cars but only the PD100 has approval from Skoda and even that has a low 1000kg limit.

Also becareful fitting detachable swan neck single fixing bars if your trailer has a friction stabaliser in the hitch.

The Octy tows my caravan and the Felicia tows my small box trailer for garden rubbish etc. Not got a towbar on the Fabia yet.

And remember if you have passed your test in 1997 or later or have been banned since 1997 there are severe restrictions on what you can tow.

Cheers

Lee

A bit of more clarification to this.. the 94/20/EY directive is different from type approval. the directive is a certain kind of general ruleset for the tow bar to match where a type approval is more specific per vehicle standard. In Finland the 94/20 is also required for earlier cars, but the per vehicle type approval since 1.1.2005.

Fex the regular Fabia TDi tow bar is certainly 94/20 cleared, so if the car is registered in 2004 one could install the regular Fabia tow bar to Fabia RS perfectly legally in Finland. I don't know what the law is like in GB but I'd certainly check out the possible "loop hole".

- Juha

If you have a look at the Fabia Vrs Towbar thread below I posted some pics of a bar which I fitted to our Vrs. Unfortunatley didnt think to take pics of the actual fitting.

The bar was supplied by the dealer with the car and I decided to fit it myself as he explained that the bumper had to be cut. Having had previous experience of

bodge jobs with towbars I did it myself.

As the bar was supplied by the dealer I assumed there was not a legal problem or any warranty issues.

I too only use it for fitting a bike rack and very occasionally a small trailer.

Definitely wouldnt dream of towing anything bigger though.