I have had a detachable tow bar fitted by skoda but it does not include a protective cover for the appature when the bar is removed. It shows it in the owners manual but skoda say it is not available in UK. Any ideas how to protect the tow bar appature from muck from the road when bar not attached?

As with any hole your may want to free and easy access to in the future , Grease It !!!

I have a detachable towbar, and there is a rectangular piece of plastic, about 3" by 2" with a circular section that pushes into the towbar aperture....

 

I'd go take a photo, but the car is off visiting until sunday.... but will do then if needed

The plastic plug is what I was expecting, was your tow bar a skoda product? if so was the plug included ?. Skoda customer services are telling me that this part is not avaiable in UK.

I have been thinking about getting one, but am appalled by the prices I have been quoted!

The plastic plug is what I was expecting, was your tow bar a skoda product? if so was the plug included ?. Skoda customer services are telling me that this part is not avaiable in UK.

If you are interested, I can check the part number of the plug later today. I have the factory tow bar and I'm not in the UK so it was included.

Newbie

Yes please that would be realy helpful

How much are you been quoted? I've got a 15 VRS Estate.

I have a Scout with a factory fitted towbar and the part no for the rectangular piece of plastic fitted in towbar aperture is 3T0 803594 , it is referred to as a bung

As with any hole your may want to free and easy access to in the future , Grease It !!!

 

Yep, Lubrication is needed

Cheapest quote from a dealer is just over £500! One quoted £650!!

 

Because I bought the car at 11 months old it had not had the additional wiring kit which means not only do I have to pay well over £100 for a bit of wiring, they have to take half the car apart to run it all back to the fuse box which means taking lots of internal trim off and then refitting. Stupid design & penny pinching! It has to be done via a dealer because most independent groups are not sure about the electrics - both reversing sensors need to be turned off and the car also needs to automatically switch off the eco mode. Not doing these could invalidate warranty.

 

Apparently there is no option for fixed towbar, only the removable one which is more expensive. I only have a lightweight 6x4 trailer with old 7pin connector which I tow with my 2CV. I did get one quote from independent for around £300 but this without electric modifications - warranty again!

 

I had been thinking about adding a small underseat subwoofer, but looking on the forum, this appears to be also a problem as it could conflict with the battery management system.

 

Looks like my trusty 2CV may have to remain the only towcar! Poor design Skoda!

The electrics are fairly easy, all the info needed is in the VCDS section.

 

You can get a towbar company to fit including the electrics, then get a local friendly VCDS owner to do the coding which sorts out the parking sensors, drive mode, ABS and lane assist.

I have a Scout with a factory fitted towbar and the part no for the rectangular piece of plastic fitted in towbar aperture is 3T0 803594 , it is referred to as a bung

 

Is it there from new, or did you get it later? I never looked under my bumper until after I had the (removable) towbar fitted. The hole needs something to stop clag getting at the fitting. Thanks in advance.

I have been thinking about getting one, but am appalled by the prices I have been quoted!

I was appalled by Skoda's prices too so got an aftermarket Thule detachable towbar fitted during the week by a towbar company here in Dublin, cost me €370 instead of €650 that Skoda wanted!

Stupid design & penny pinching! It has to be done via a dealer because most independent groups are not sure about the electrics - both reversing sensors need to be turned off and the car also needs to automatically switch off the eco mode. Not doing these could invalidate warranty.

 

Apparently there is no option for fixed towbar, only the removable one which is more expensive. I only have a lightweight 6x4 trailer with old 7pin connector which I tow with my 2CV. I did get one quote from independent for around £300 but this without electric modifications - warranty again!

 

Yep, I've got a 6 X 4 trailer as well but, I've had 800Kg of paving slabs in mine Oh, and I've towed a 22' car trailer with a Mk1 Astra on it bottom line is, if its under dealer fitted warranty you can push the boundaries, if not your always gonna wonder and I'd prefer to concerntrate on towing NOT wondering.

 

Towing any weight small or large is gonna be bloody dangerous with Eco Mode engaged, all that weight pushing you with no running gear engaged, not for me thanks and I consider myself a bit of risk taker from time to time when required but, I like my risks calculated.

I'm quite happy to manually disengage Eco mode as tbh I'm not likely to do a great deal of towing. Perhaps best solution is to go independent assuming they can disable parking sensors.

As I said before, sorting the electrics is easy for someone with VCDS, there must be someone local to you who could do it for you?

 

If your fitter isn't sure what needs doing then don't let them near it!

I'm quite happy to manually disengage Eco mode as tbh I'm not likely to do a great deal of towing. Perhaps best solution is to go independent assuming they can disable parking sensors.

That's OK for you, but how do you make the people who buy the car after you aware of the bodged installation.

That's OK for you, but how do you make the people who buy the car after you aware of the bodged installation.

Miz, this is only an issue on a private sale, from previous experience I know Skoda dealers throw away the swan neck if its not an approved towbar, my Mk2 had it done, the fitter looked very sheepish when telling me he had to remove the previous one before installing the new one !!!

What I'm most impressed with is that the towbar doesn't stick out too far and even without the electrics connected I don't hit anything with the towbar still fitted when reversing.

Miz, this is only an issue on a private sale, from previous experience I know Skoda dealers throw away the swan neck if its not an approved towbar, my Mk2 had it done, the fitter looked very sheepish when telling me he had to remove the previous one before installing the new one !!!

I appreciate that, but I would not be happy selling something that was only safe if you remembered to select the correct options, when those options should be selected automatically (That makes sense to me).

I appreciate that, but I would not be happy selling something that was only safe if you remembered to select the correct options, when those options should be selected automatically (That makes sense to me).

 

 Good point! I was planning on keeping the car for at least 10 years like the last one, so there is perhaps a lower expectation of electrical perfection at that age. There again my last car was a Citroen which aren't desperately famous for high quality electrics!

Or when I sell the car I could keep the detachable part. I must look into the VCDS stuff but wouldn't getting a non dealer to do it invalidate the warranty?

Or when I sell the car I could keep the detachable part. I must look into the VCDS stuff but wouldn't getting a non dealer to do it invalidate the warranty?

No, no effect on warranty.

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Or when I sell the car I could keep the detachable part. ...

Why? Just curious.