Fixed Towbar and Reversing Sensors

[Gillian]

Hi All

Does anyone have a skoda fixed towbar and reversing sensors?

At last I picked up my Yeti on Saturday and have arranged for a towbar to be fitted. A Skoda fixed towbar with swan neck for Alko-towhitch. Now someone at the the dealers tells me I need a switch to turn off the reversing sensors as the fixed towbar will confuse them. He says that I can never use the sensors with a fixed bar.I was told initially that it was just to stop the sensors going off when reversing the caravan-so what is the actual reason for the switch? Frankly I am so hacked off with the conflicting information and that Skoda dealers don't seem to know what the hell they are talking about. Firstly I was told that they didnt do a fixed towbar then told they do. They tell me an aftermarket one fitted by themselves will invalidate my warranty. They know they have to alter the computer to recognise the caravan but I now see on the forum here that it has to be adjusted for stability control as well as other things. They havent mentioned this one to me.

One pretty happy but confused Betty the Yeti owner

[rockhopper]

Some members do have a fixed towbar.

I can see why the sensors would need turning off as they may 'sense' the towbar and think you are close to soothing and go off, when you are nowhere near an object. But they may not. I had a fixed bar on my old 530d with rear sensors and that didn't set them off, but I knew that when it went to a solid sound I was either touching something or had already punched a hole through somebodies radiator .

I think the stability control is automatically selected when you tick the I have a towbar in VCDS. Can't comment on Skoda's terrible system for setting up.

My sensors turn off when a trailer/caravan/bicycle carrier is attached to the electrics.

I doubt that a correctly fitted aftermarket one will affect warranty, as many owner have and I think that might just be illegal, and them trying to get the work. Some owners have fitted them themselves.

Yes the towbar saga continues.

[IainM1970]

I will be having a fixed towbar fitted to mine when it arrives ... from the looks of things the sensors on the Yeti sit higher than the towbar will so should be fine.

The issue of the caravan setting off the sensors is something else ... speaking to my caravan dealer at the weekend he says his Landrover changes the gear and suspension settings when hitched up but doesn't turn the sensors off so he ends up with squealing sensors and squealing kids! I haven't addressed this with my Skoda dealer yet but will do ... to be honest I tend to use the caravan mover more than I reverse these days but that isn't the point, it will need to be right!

[Frenchtone]

Some members do have a fixed towbar.

I can see why the sensors would need turning off as they may 'sense' the towbar and think you are close to soothing and go off, when you are nowhere near an object. But they may not. I had a fixed bar on my old 530d with rear sensors and that didn't set them off, but I knew that when it went to a solid sound I was either touching something or had already punched a hole through somebodies radiator .

I think the stability control is automatically selected when you tick the I have a towbar in VCDS. Can't comment on Skoda's terrible system for setting up.

My sensors turn off when a trailer/caravan/bicycle carrier is attached to the electrics.

I doubt that a correctly fitted aftermarket one will affect warranty, as many owner have and I think that might just be illegal, and them trying to get the work. Some owners have fitted them themselves.

Yes the towbar saga continues.

Yep, fitted an aftermarket hitch, actually a Westfalia fixed swan neck type with simple relay controlled 7 pole electrics and I think not vcds programmable - when in reverse liught ie no lump on the back the reverse sensor does not react to the towbar, however when reversing a lump the sensor beeps, and as I do not need to reverse very often the sound is a little intrusive but with a little brain training it is easy to ignore/turn off the sound to the ear sensors

[geordiebroon]

Even before my car had the dealer download the reversing sensors did not detect the detachable swan neck even when the towball was in position ready for use.So a fixed Westfalia will be okay except when towing as already noted

.

[Methanol]

Hi Gillian,

I had a fixed towbar fitted for £315 by Newport City Supplies-excellent job & does not affect sensors.I did not have any reprogramming done.My dealer never mentioned invalidating the warranty when I discussed it with him.No problem reversing my caravan,as you can manually turn off the sensors on the screen each time you reverse.Yeti pulls van very well & I am really pleased with it.I also subscribe to Tyron Assist in case of punctures.

[Gizmo]

I have successfully coded two Yeti's and attempted a third, this one however appears to of had an after market towbar fitted without the towbar prep? As when the ignition is turned on (or possibly reverse gear is engaged - I forget which) we could hear some relays clicking in the rear of the car and the car would not take the VCDS coding.

This is something that future owners may need to consider carefully when placing their order, if they want the full functionality that is possible on the Yeti (correct display on the radio, sensors disabled when the trailer/caravan electrics are plugged in etc) then they need to spec the car with towbar prep.

[Millstone]

Hi All

Does anyone have a skoda fixed towbar and reversing sensors?

At last I picked up my Yeti on Saturday and have arranged for a towbar to be fitted. A Skoda fixed towbar with swan neck for Alko-towhitch. Now someone at the the dealers tells me I need a switch to turn off the reversing sensors as the fixed towbar will confuse them. He says that I can never use the sensors with a fixed bar.I was told initially that it was just to stop the sensors going off when reversing the caravan-so what is the actual reason for the switch? Frankly I am so hacked off with the conflicting information and that Skoda dealers don't seem to know what the hell they are talking about. Firstly I was told that they didnt do a fixed towbar then told they do. They tell me an aftermarket one fitted by themselves will invalidate my warranty. They know they have to alter the computer to recognise the caravan but I now see on the forum here that it has to be adjusted for stability control as well as other things. They havent mentioned this one to me.

One pretty happy but confused Betty the Yeti owner

I'm not surprised you are 'hacked off'- you dealer is talking a load of bull**it !

Fact: A single fixed swan neck tow-bar will NOT be seen by the reversing sensors - just compair the height of either of them.

Fact: If they try to 'put a switch in' they will bug*er up the electronics - have they not yet worked out that the Yeti is run by a fairly sophisticated computer? Ask them if they know what a 'can-bus' is?

Fact: an aftermarket tow bar will NOT effect your warranty' After all they are trying to sell you Genuine Skoda Accessories !!!and Skoda offer all the parts needed to do the job.

Fact: You will be far better going to an independent tow-bar fitting company who know what they are doing, after a quick search I came across these people www.bankfarm-trailers.co.uk who are at Newport (not a million miles from Bristol) who should be able to fit the tow-bar, WIRE IT PROPERLY (!!) and also RE-CODE the Yeti to give you not only trailer stability, but also reversing sensors that recognise when you have a trailer attached, check the bulbs on the trailer and let you know when one has failed, and display a trailer on the Bolero screen when you select reverse. You will also save a ruck of money on the cost compaired to what the dealer will want to charge. To give you an idea I had mine done by a company who came to my home and did it, Swan Neck Westfalia fixed bar, 13 pin electrics included full caravan charging and fridge etc, reprogrammed all for £355 including VAT (June this year) - unfortunatly I live in Cheshire, so my supplier wouldn't come that far. But the firm I have mentioned above are a distributor for the same product (wiring kit) that I had fitted, and they are listed as being able to re-code as well.

DON'T be fobbed off, or ripped off by the dealer!!!

P.S. you might also try these people http://www.britanniabristol.co.uk/ who appear to have the correct kit as well.

[freedie]

£355 including VAT? Now we're talking! :yes:

[idrubie]

I have successfully coded two Yeti's and attempted a third, this one however appears to of had an after market towbar fitted without the towbar prep? As when the ignition is turned on (or possibly reverse gear is engaged - I forget which) we could hear some relays clicking in the rear of the car and the car would not take the VCDS coding.

The dodgy one was mine! The relays click when ignition is turned on. It was a used car when I bought it, the last owner has told me the towbar was a dealer fit one. The car is currently in the garage having some warranty work done, they are also investigating the towbar. It was hard work to get the dealer interested in the towbar, had to involve SUK. As with a lot of companies Skoda are being badly let down by some of their dealers in my opinion.

Ian

[marcusthehat]

Since in my experience (once only, but only have had one towbar fitted!)the dealers "subcontract" the electrics, which generally means a more or less "bodged" cheapie job, using a bypass relay etc.

Basically as little as they can get away with.

Shame on the Skoda dealers (generally)as they do NOT pass on the cost saving nor do they inform the customer as to their options or the implications of a cut price installation.

For some basic only occassional trailer towing customers = Ok

For others with fancy caravans & expections to match....not so good.

Cheers

M

[Sara. S]

I had a detachable Westfalia swan neck towbar fitted at a Skoda dealer yesterday. They fitted it themselves and it took all day! Not that I was worried as I had a very nice Octavia 1.6D courtesy car. Our Yeti had the towbar prep too. Total cost £662 13pin full electrics for our caravan. Sounds expensive but I called around several towbar fitting specialists in the area prior to booking in with Skoda and they were all around the same price or more and they didn't have the facility to re-code if necessary. One Skoda dealer closer to home wanted to charge £1200+VAT !!!!

We will be hitching up the caravan this evening to check that everything works as it should.

[900000]

We will be hitching up the caravan this evening to check that everything works as it should.

Good luck Sara! I hope they coded it correctly in your case. Make sure the sensor switch off when you select reverse, the pictogram of a trailer is added to your car on the radio and that the car's fog light does not come on which you switch them on and have the trailer attached.

[900000]

We will be hitching up the caravan this evening to check that everything works as it should.

Good luck Sara! I hope they coded it correctly in your case. Make sure the sensor switch off when you select reverse, the pictogram of a trailer is added to your car on the radio and that the car's fog light does not come on which you switch them on and have the trailer attached.

[countryboy]

Hi Sara, good luck, though I'm sure all will be fine.

Gillian, I have a Westfalia fixed swan neck towbar fitted to my Octavia and have no problems at all with the reversing sensors. They do not see the towbar as it is narrow enough and closely enough fitted to the car to be out of their range, even though the towbar comes out far enough to allow for unhindered use of an ALKO ball hitch. You will absolutely NOT need a switch to turn off the sensors and to do so would be detremental as your car will know something is different and keep logging fault codes to say so which will then be found when the dealer connects up to it during a service.

Trailer stability control is an extension of the ESP system if your car has it. It will be automatically turned on when you hitch a caravan/trailer to your car and plug the lights in. It will not need any other intervention on your part and will work unobtrusively behind the scenes.

Having a towbar fitted by a reputable independant will not affect your warranty as towbars to be fitted to cars built after 1998 have to be "type approved", that means they have undergone government approved tests to ensure that they meet safety standards and will not be detremental to your car.

If I were you I would have the towbar fitted at a dealer who can do the coding on the car at the same time as the towbar and electrics are fitted. In order for the extra features to work you must have a vehicle specific wiring kit fitted, this means that the wiring for the 7 pin socket on your towbar comes from the cars central computer and is controlled from there. It means that the car will know when a trailer is attached and plugged in and will change the settings on the car to suit.

The reversing sensors will be turned off.

The fog light will be stopped from working and the fog light on the caravan/trailer will be turned on instead if you turn the switch on.

If you have a pictogram on the radio for the reversing sensors then this will show a trailer being attached.

If you have an indicator bulb on the trailer break then a warning will come on the dashboard.

The trailer stability program will be turned on.

http://www.towbarexpress.co.uk/dedicated_wiring.html

Hopefully this link will work fine and show you the piece of equipment used to code the car to allow all the features to work.

Hope this helps and you have an enjoyable time with your Yeti.

Ian

[countryboy]

£355 including VAT? Now we're talking! :yes:

That's about what it cost me last year, Westfalia swan neck with twin 7 pin sockets and vehicle specific wiring kit fitted and fully coded in about 1 1/2 hours at Phil Taylor Towbars at Horndean in Hampshire. A good crew, they got to it "mob handed" while one crew was fitting the towbar another crew was sorting the electrics and coding. Very good service I thought.

Ian

[freedie]

Thanks countryboy!

... and thanks for a great read too regarding T-ESP.

[Gillian]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for all the replies. I have at last spoke to someone at the dealers who appears to know what he's talking about. No switch for the reserving sensors, a fixed double swan neck being fitted week friday and the electrics reprogrammed. He did say that a few Octavia's have had a problem with the sensors and towbars but not has a yeti issue so far. So £700 later hopefully all will be well.

Betty the Yeti is behaving herself and sadly now so am I. Not used to have a taller car with higher point of gravity and cant chuck her full throttle round bends like my FR Ibiza. Decided its going to be the 170 4x4 next time to aid some serious rubber burn and overtaking. Need something with a bit more poke.Otherwise I'm quite liking but not loving the car. The engine is much smoother but oh do I miss the 6th gear. Hopefully the towing ability will improve my feelings about her. One thing I do like is that we are a rare breed at the mo

Cheers

Gillian

[freedie]

The SE+ does come in a 170 bhp (=195 really) version...

[Gizmo]

The SE+ does come in a 170 bhp (=195 really) version...

Don't count on it..... my 170CR showed 173bhp on the rollers

[countryboy]

Don't count on it..... my 170CR showed 173bhp on the rollers

Hey Gizmo, was that 173 at the wheels or a corrected power at the flywheel figure?

Ian

[Gizmo]

Flywheel figures:

[rockhopper]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for all the replies. I have at last spoke to someone at the dealers who appears to know what he's talking about. No switch for the reserving sensors, a fixed double swan neck being fitted week friday and the electrics reprogrammed. He did say that a few Octavia's have had a problem with the sensors and towbars but not has a yeti issue so far. So £700 later hopefully all will be well.

Betty the Yeti is behaving herself and sadly now so am I. Not used to have a taller car with higher point of gravity and cant chuck her full throttle round bends like my FR Ibiza. Decided its going to be the 170 4x4 next time to aid some serious rubber burn and overtaking. Need something with a bit more poke.Otherwise I'm quite liking but not loving the car. The engine is much smoother but oh do I miss the 6th gear. Hopefully the towing ability will improve my feelings about her. One thing I do like is that we are a rare breed at the mo

Cheers

Gillian

I sense a Shark Performance remap coming on.........

[Dexta Man]

Hi everyone

Been looking at getting a towbar for my Yeti and seeing all the discussion I thought I would add my peyyworth!

This company seems to have got it all sorted, I read their installation guide (PDF file) and it looked very comprehensive and covered the re-programming as well.

Yeti towbars

Hope is of help to anybody.

Was told in Oct mine was to be delivered in Feb, got a call Monday gone to say it's here!! Now got to sort out the finance!!

Cheers

Jerry

[RickT]

I am having a fixed type tow bar and 7 pin 12n socket with vehicle dedicated electrics.

Quoted £325 fitted and includes programing.

This means when you connect up the rear fog lamp and reversing sensors disable and it displays a trailer mimick instead of the radar when you select reverse gear.

It also changes the ESP settings.

The Skoda dealer I got my Yeti from recommended this towbar center to me because they use the same towbar center as an approved outlet.