Fitting third party tow bar

[Rjaygee]

Hi all I’m looking to have a towbar fitted to my Karoq edition tsi 1.5 dsg for a bike carrier. For various reasons this is my only option for the bike carrier due to weight and size of bikes. I do not have any pre prep on the car to fit the tow bar. Has anyone had a third party tow bar fitted and are there any possible problems in doing this? It would be fitted by a tow bar specialist company.

[SurreyJohn]

28 minutes ago, Rjaygee said:

Hi all I’m looking to have a towbar fitted to my Karoq edition tsi 1.5 dsg for a bike carrier. For various reasons this is my only option for the bike carrier due to weight and size of bikes. I do not have any pre prep on the car to fit the tow bar. Has anyone had a third party tow bar fitted and are there any possible problems in doing this? It would be fitted by a tow bar specialist company.

 

In an ideal world would have got towbar added at the factory.

 

A specialist should do a good job, at least on the physical part.  

Any problems are likely to be with wiring and non compliant software.  The Edition has fancy electronics and there are potential problems if something like the reversing camera/sensors detect close item but are not configured to understand it.  As I understand it when a trailer lighting board is plugged in software changes all sorts of things eg ESP behaviour etc

 

Of course any such problems will not be covered by Skoda warranty

 

Almost certainly will need to have it noted as a modification on your insurance.

 

[VAGCF]

Skoda dealers often arrange fitment of tow bars on brand new cars so have it done through them and your warranty should be fine.

[skoda1982]

I had towbar prep so all wiring there so i can fit at a later date

[saudidiscoman]

Hi, my vehicle, a 1.5 Tsi Edition, reg on 23 Jan 18, was the mule for Witter and so has the original Witter bar fitted. Simple fit and very neat. It is detachable and the only bit that shows is the overrun cable loop with the bar detached. Fit is simple and took 2 hours for first fit. Car had been 3D scanned on previous visit to Witter for dimensions. Electrics was oh so different. Base unit was for an A3; half of car dismantled to fit it. The ECU is under the LH kick panel behind the bonnet pull. It took 7 hours (first time fit with experimentation) and definitely needs coding especially on high spec models as so many things change with towbar electrics- definitely not for the amateur.

Edited 22 September, 2018 by saudidiscoman
spelling

[33q]

I must admit I balked at the cost of the factory towbar at £850 just to use for tip runs for my small trailer but I do agree there is a lot more to do than simply bolting some cleverly bent angle iron on the back.

 

My Yeti towbar was fitted by a mobile firm ...same one as the dealer uses and I had no problems in 6 years

 

Given your situation I'd choose a reputable fitter. Underneath the Karoq is on the MQB platform as most of the new VAG cars are so there is plenty of experience out there.

[Bowdie]

We had the factory fit tow bar and it's brilliant. Nice that when it's in position, you can see it in the reversing camera so dead easy for hooking up trailer, but I guess you'd see any tow bar. Just had a detachable Westfalia fitted on an Octy Scout (with no Factory tow bar prep) and it cost nearly as much as the factory fit on the Karoq. So in the end, the £850 doesn't seem that bad  

[eribaMotters]

On 24/08/2018 at 09:43, VAGCF said:

Skoda dealers often arrange fitment of tow bars on brand new cars so have it done through them and your warranty should be fine.

Partly, but the warranty will only be 2yrs as a dealer fit and not 3yrs as a factory fit/original equipment.

 

Colin

[Rjaygee]

Thank you everyone for your comments regarding having the tow bar fitted. I now realise my short sightedness in not getting it done when ordering the car doh! However didn’t then know I would be getting an electric bike with full suspension which is rather heavy even when the battery and front wheel are removed.  But looks like I’m going to have to suffer loading into the boot for the time being. All your comments have helped in making that decision so once again thank you all.

[Ootohere]

Re  Full Sus Electric bikes.

I put one inside the car and the other on the bike rack with the front wheel off and the battery removed. Helps a bit weight wise.

[VAGCF]

On ‎22‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 09:13, saudidiscoman said:

Hi, my vehicle, a 1.5 Tsi Edition, reg on 23 Jan 18, was the mule for Witter and so has the original Witter bar fitted. Simple fit and very neat. It is detachable and the only bit that shows is the overrun cable loop with the bar detached. Fit is simple and took 2 hours for first fit. Car had been 3D scanned on previous visit to Witter for dimensions. Electrics was oh so different. Base unit was for an A3; half of car dismantled to fit it. The ECU is under the LH kick panel behind the bonnet pull. It took 7 hours (first time fit with experimentation) and definitely needs coding especially on high spec models as so many things change with towbar electrics- definitely not for the amateur.

That's why I'm determined to have a factory fit next time. I bought the Yeti from dealer stock and had the tow bar fitted afterwards. Even though the fitting company did a good job there was the odd mark where they had removed the plastics for routing the cables to the front of the car. Long gone are the days when you just fitted the tow bar and spliced into the nearest cable!

[saudidiscoman]

Hi, Incidentally, I fitted my own electrics to my Yeti L&K with no issuse using a bypass relay and also to previous VRS and Superb, so this was a real change for me. Electrics in Karoq have moved rapidly into 21 century and everything needs coding.