Mk3 VRS Estate Towbar Option

[vRSuper1]

Hi guys, apologies if this has already been asked. I'm currently still speccing a new MK3 VRS Estate and I'm looking at a factory fitted Towbar option at £550. Please could you help with the following:

1. Does the o.e. Towbar 'fold' away when not needed? If so, is it just the towball or is it the whole assembly including electrical hook-up?

2. Is the Towbar option worth the £550 given that I could have an aftermarket one fitted possibly for a lot less and get that done at a later date when more appropriate-I'm only looking to fit a Thule bike carrier with light board.

3. Based on the answer to question 1, can any aftermarket tow bar fitters supply and fit an equivalent foldaway Towbar with electrics and be almost identical form fit and function to the o.e. one?

As always, your help is appreciated!

[splat]

Dosen't fold. Detaches and fits inside the spare wheel. 13pin socket (but only the basic pins connected) with 7 pin adaptor. Seems to work well. Price worth it if you don't want a cowboy messing with your new car!

[vRSuper1]

Cheers for that splat!

[Williami33]

I have a factory fitted towbar on my Scout , all 13 pins in the socket are connected and was supplied with 7 pin adaptor in case it required. All coding etc carried out at the factory ,

Well worth it in my opinion !

[SCH]

I’ve had three solutions to date:

My first car was a cancelled order so I got the dealer to fit a towbar.  Unfortunately they fitted the cheapest option (non-removable, non-OEM wiring) although this did work fine, certainly for a bike rack.  It does mean the car doesn’t adapt to having a trailer and the parking sensors beep (when towing in reverse) but unless you tow often I didn’t consider this an issue.

Later I had the OEM wiring loom fitted (between towbar and BCM behind glovebox) – the car had an electrical fault and this was the best way to rule out the aftermarket towbar electrics as being the cause.  This required the headlining to be disturbed but the end result was a slight improvement over the first solution, however I think the loom alone was ~£110 (nearer £200 if bought from Skoda) and then there was the additional fitting/recoding costs.

I’m now on my second car and had the factory fit option – a much neater solution.  If you are fortunate enough to be ordering new then this is worth including if you want a removable, fully wired/coded solution that is covered by the same warranty as the car.

[themanwithnoaim]

Forget the parking sensors which can be annoying, the O3 has an inbuilt set of driving characteristics which operate when anything is plugged in, I don't know exactly what it does but, I know having towed lots of stuff, it works and works well.  I know you only want it for a bike carrier but, the next owner may want tow a boat or a car trailer, the OEM setup i well worth the money just for peace of mind.

[M12MKD]

Ordered it on mine even though it will only be used for touring purposes (i.e. bike rack or storage box). had the towbar fitted via the dealer as aftermarket and to be honest it wasn't much difference than factory fitted except as above it's covered under warranty and is most likely going to be neater.

[vRSuper1]

Thanks guys for your input. I've pretty much decided I'll go for the factory fit option as it sounds the best way to go and compared to the £480 I was quoted by a dedicated reputable Towbar fitting centre, £550 is fine for the o.e. Towbar.

[splat]

OK, not sure if all the pins are connected, it's the adaptor that only has a subset of pins!

[Williami33]

OK, not sure if all the pins are connected, it's the adaptor that only has a subset of pins!

All the pins are definatley connected on my factory fitted Tow Bar !!

[flybynite]

AFAIK when you order the factory tow bar it comes with a 13-pin socket with all pins wired except for the split charging which is a separate loom.

 

Having had a badly fitted scotchlok burn out on a specialist-fit bar and duff dealer coding for the stability system nearly put me in the ditch I tend to either get factory-fit bars or do it myself. 

[Williami33]

All the pins are definatley connected on my factory fitted Tow Bar !!

The split charging loom was present as well on my factory fitted tow bar , no problems with the fridge or battery charging when towing my caravan,