Hello Everyone

My parents have recently taken delivery of their brand new 2011 Superb 140 DSG 4x4 Estate.

They wish to fit a towbar mainly to allow them to fit a towbar-mounted bike rack.

They have had conflicting advice from Skoda and local towbar fitters as to electrical issues regarding reversing sensors and park assist (fitted) and also as to type/cost etc.

I called Towequipe, whom I've used many times, to check on specific fittings and they said all the Superb II towbars they have will NOT fit the 4x4.

THe question is - which towbar can I fit that will allow a bike rack to be bolted on and give us 7-pin electrics that can override/bypass the reversing sensors and park assist?

Roof mounting is not an option because my mum uses a very heavy electric bike and she doesn't wish for the panoramic glass roof to be occluded by muddy bikes either.

I'm a bit confused by the whole situation.

i know i havnt a superb but my parents local fitter had no problem fitting a towbar with a flange fitting to my 4x4 scout 7 pin electrics and the reverse sensors work correctly £ 250

I called Towequipe, whom I've used many times, to check on specific fittings and they said all the Superb II towbars they have will NOT fit the 4x4.

THe question is - which towbar can I fit that will allow a bike rack to be bolted on and give us 7-pin electrics that can override/bypass the reversing sensors and park assist?

Roof mounting is not an option because my mum uses a very heavy electric bike and she doesn't wish for the panoramic glass roof to be occluded by muddy bikes either.

I'm a bit confused by the whole situation.

What do you mean by 'very heavy'. Don't forget you'll have a max weight of 80kg on a towbar and that includes the actual cycle carrier itself. Try Witter or Westfalia direct as I can't see any reason why a 4x4 should be a problem and Skoda themselves don't publish any exceptions that I can see.

I shouldn't worry about the parking sensors. How much reversing were you planning to do? The sensors can be turned off when reversing and park assist needs selecting first to be operative. I'll be having a towbar fitted in a couple of months when I get my new Superb...I won't be doing any reversing with the van attached so not bothered about having the all singing, mega expensive Skoda kit.

What do you mean by 'very heavy'. Don't forget you'll have a max weight of 80kg on a towbar and that includes the actual cycle carrier itself. Try Witter or Westfalia direct as I can't see any reason why a 4x4 should be a problem and Skoda themselves don't publish any exceptions that I can see.

I shouldn't worry about the parking sensors. How much reversing were you planning to do? The sensors can be turned off when reversing and park assist needs selecting first to be operative. I'll be having a towbar fitted in a couple of months when I get my new Superb...I won't be doing any reversing with the van attached so not bothered about having the all singing, mega expensive Skoda kit.

Cheers - I'll phone Westfalia and Witter and see what they have to say just to double check. THe models from both Companies on the Towequip site did say "except 4x4".

I guess my folks have been fed a stream of info and then passed it on to me like Chinese whispers.

The electric bike is substantially heavier than a regular bike but the two bikes and rack should still be comfortably under 80kg.

Can you manually turn off reversing sensors or is it achieved by the canbus relay/bypass/interface/whatever?

Can you manually turn off reversing sensors or is it achieved by the canbus relay/bypass/interface/whatever?

You can press the button while they are sounding to silence them. They will re-sound next time you shift to neutral so you press the button again. I'm not sure if the button is installed if you don't have the front sensors.

Edited 18 January, 201214 yr by wokwon

I have a 2011 170 4x4 estate with Skoda removable towbar fitted. It's my understanding that the towball supplied by Skoda is a westfalia but with the Skoda price hike.

Edited 18 January, 201214 yr by darren tt

Ok - thanks people.

The car has front/rear sensors so should have the switch.

I'll probably go for the Witter detachable flange one.

Hi

I don't know where you and/or your parents live, but I have found my local towing/caravan specialist very helpful and knowledgeable on all towbar issues. They have also fitted several towbars to Skodas as there is a Skoda specialist local to them. They are GT Towing at Welham Green, on the A1000 just south of Hatfield in Hertfordshire. Their phone number is 01707 262526. It would be worth giving them a call.

Cheers

Paul R T

Hi, I have a Superb estate 170 dsg with a westfalia detachable bar. You will find a witter ow bar more exspensive than a westfalia. Westfalia bars are what Skoda fit as standard. They are installed with 13 pin electrics. I have a Maxxraxx bike carrier on my bar, which I ca tow and have bikes on the rack at the same time. With the issue on your parking sensors if you carry bikes on the back you have to by law fit a tail light board. So if thats fitted your parking sensors will not work. You need to have some updates done to your cars software. I have had witter towbars for years on other cars but I think that the quality on westfalia is much better. I would not bother getting Skoda to do it as they charge a premium, and most of the time they just get a bar fitter in to do it. An inderpendent fitter will be much cheaper for exactly same westfalia bar. My bar cost me £450 installed with the software.

Westfalia bars are what Skoda fit as standard.

That is NOT correct. The original tow bars come from the Czech company Prof Svar. If you look at pictures of the original detachable tow bars and compare them to the Westfalia ones, you see a very big difference: The original Prof Svar two bars can be detached by operating a lever, while the Westfalia versions have a round knob.

You don't get that bar in UK. You can't even order it fitted from the factory, only tow bar prep. Which is just the wiring from the dash to the boot. All dealers told me its a westfalia bar which they fit.

I chose towbar as an option when I bought my Superb in August 2010. Mine is a Thule branded towbar.

I had issues with the deactivation of the rear parking sensors due to incorrect fitting by the original dealer. Skoda stepped in and covered the cost of replacing the electrics. Although I am sure I was just unlucky.

Westfalia detachable tow bar with 7 pin foldaway electrics.

Phil.