Towbar prep. What is done when built ?

[CWARD]

The wiring instructions are below. They cover both trailer prep and not. 

 

https://www.pfjones.co.uk/pfjoneswiringkits/29500602PF_Skoda_Karoq.pdf

 

Tow bar frame instructions 

 

https://www.pfjones.co.uk/westfalia_fitting/317167-317168.pdf

[Chris11jj]

Cheers CWARD, When I was speaking with PF Jones guy about the 7 or 13 pin, this depends on whether it's for towing a basic trailer or a caravan (Caravan needing more supply to the electrics- heaters/ fridges etc I guess) For my use 7 pin is fine, but are you saying that I must have the 13 pin version to fit to the Karoq's system?

[CWARD]

You can either have 7 or 13 pin. 13 pin is more common standard now i.e. if you buy a tow bar bike rack it most likely come as 13 pin. You can buy a 13 to 7 pin adapter for a few pound and then you’ve got the best of both worlds

[Chris11jj]

Understood, and thanks for the wiring & fitting manuals, I'm tempted to fit myself but conscious that having it done professionally gives me a safety net lol

 Plus unbolting things on my brand new cars is scarier than completely stripping down the old car LOL

 

[Chris11jj]

CWARD, Ok so I rang back PF Jones, spoke to another guy who when I said how much for the 13 pin connection type, said that takes it to £736!!! I then did a lot of phoning round to approved reputable tow bar providers (mostly Witter & Westfalia approved)places in this vicinity, and a couple of national come to you websites too. 

The best price I've found for a Westfalia detachable tow bar and fitting - including coding with 13 pin type connector with me having Tow bar prep already was Barnsley Tow Bar Centre, they have quoted, with VAT £620.18 for my car (I believe that is with the dedicated wiring loom so no plastic crimps)

I'm going to mull it over the weekend and book it in on Monday probably

 

Thanks to all for very useful advice

 

The photos of the grill were a big help, yes mine are approx 4" grill openings - but no idea how the heck you got to take photo of fan label! I have a cheap endoscope and couldn't get to a point where I could read that label

 

[CWARD]

That seems a lot from PF Jones with £300 just for fitting. If the place Barnsley is doing the dedicated electrics which will be Westfalia too then it’s a no brainier. 

[Chris11jj]

Yep, that's my thoughts, well I'll ring Monday and confirm, have a great weekend

[skoda1982]

1 hour ago, Chris11jj said:

Yep, that's my thoughts, well I'll ring Monday and confirm, have a great weekend

 

Did you tell your dealer and pf jones that you have tow bar prep

 

[Chris11jj]

Just booked in to have fitted this Friday  

I took your advice CWARD, they have confirmed this is with a dedicated 13 pin wiring and Coding, went for the detachable Westfalia. I'll post my opinion on completion,

(P.S. all places I went for quotes were informed that the Preparation was done when built)

Edited 12 August, 2019 by Chris11jj

[Azonic]

Hi - first time poster but I have been reading a lot about tow bars and fitting on this forum.

 

My new Kodiaq arrived in August. I paid for towbar preparation assuming it would make the installation of an aftermarket towbar easier and cheaper. I'm now looking to get one a removable one fitted but I'm still confused about which way to go...

 

I called PF Jones (as a few people have recommended on here) and the guy told me that getting towbar prep was a total waste of money and it didn't make any difference to installing a new towbar. This seems to conflict with comments I have read on here, especially from CWARD who seems to be especially knowledgeable on the topic.

 

I'd like to make use of what I have paid for to a) make myself feel like I didn't shell out £300ish for useless towbar prep and b) to ensure I utilise the full functionality that the prep should provide. Therefore, basically I don’t want to use a fitter who will bypass the prep work and just install something the way they always do – from my conversation with PF Jones, it feels like this is what they would do.

 

Should I:

a) Use the Westfalia fitting service and pay £760 https://shop.westfalia-automotive.com/towbars/skoda/kodiaq/suv/55/ns-may-affect-boot-opening-sensor-in-bumper-9614

b) Call around a few local fitters like Chris11jj did and ensure I’m getting dedicated 13 pin electrics (incidentally Chris11jj – did your installation work out well?)

c) try PF Jones again…

 

Any advice much appreciated!

[CWARD]

Hi @Azonic and welcome to the forum.

 

You seem to be getting some bad advice from P F Jones, which is unusual for them. If you have dedicated wiring already you need Westfalia Part # 305 407 300 113 for the 13 pin or 305 407 300 107 for the 7 pin version (305 408 300 107/113 is the full wiring kit to the fuse box and battery). The PDF below is for the wiring instructions and if you follow the section for 305 407 300 107/113 you will see that you're only completing the wiring from the boot to the tow bar itself. You can confirm that you have the dedicated wiring installed by removing the left hand boot panel and you will see a module box (part 23 in the instructions) stuck to the side of the car body most likely with Westfalia printed on it, there will be a 3 empty sockets ready to accept your wiring kit. It is plug and play so should work straight away once plugged in.

 

https://www.pfjones.co.uk/westfalia_fitting/305408300113.pdf

 

If you're fitting the towbar and the electrics yourself then it is straight forward. Just take your time and ideally do it in indoors or on a warmer day as the plastics clips around the bumper won't break as easily as they can in the cold. Even taking your time with a few tea breaks you would have the job completed in half a day. Ideally when taking the bumper on and off have a helper available as they flex a lot and avoids damaging it.

[JohnD5314]

Some models of the Karoq and, I think, Kodiaq, need modifications to the cooling system when towing - these are un uprated fan and larger vents in the front grill. These are included in tow bar prep - ring Skoda Customer services with your VIN to confirm what your car has been fitted with. These can run into around £1k id after fitted (on my Karoq it was around £500, I think I have heard higher figures on the Kodiaq). 

 

Customer Services will also confirm to you what tow bar prep means - it is a common misconception that it is just wiring upgrades. It includes the cooling mods, so your money is well spent imho.

 

Third party tow bar installers don't like to mention this as I expect they cannot fit them and it could lose them custom.

Cooling Mod Details.pdf

Edited 14 January, 2020 by JohnD5314

[Azonic]

Thanks @CWARD and @JohnD5314 for your advice!

 

Whilst I would normally love to install it myself, a full-time job & commute, two small children, a frazzled wife and no driveway make it very difficult. I will either see if my local independent garage is up for trying it or see if PF Jones or a local approved installer will do it for a decent price.

 

One other question that I don't seem to have got to the bottom of, is whether I would need coding if I have the factory towbar prep or if it is just "plug and play" as you say?

 

[CWARD]

If you've had the tow bar prep then the module should already be coded. If not to will still work but you won't get the extra features such as turning off the rear PDC when a trailer is connected, stability control and alarm extension, the lights etc will still work. Rather than go to dealer or tow bar fitters for it switching on. Arrange instead with one of the many guys on here with VCDS to have it switched on any other features for the car unlocked  

[NJRJ]

I rang PF Jones several times and had different answers from each call! Then I read their feedback online!!! I went to Chester Towbars and Trailers and paid £32 more for the same Westfalia, and it is fitted with dedicated electrics (I watched), correctly coded, oh and their feedback is soo much better. (On a Superb 150TDI with no prep).

[kenfowler3966]

Old thread I know but apparently my 190ps edition has towbar prep fitted as an extra.

Don't expect to definitely fit a towbar but just may buy a caravan in the future so happy it was already fitted.

However does my car have any other changes apart from extra wiring, eg updated cooling fan as discussed above? Does the system need recoding if a tow bar is added or was this programmed at build?

Edited 12 September, 2020 by kenfowler3966

[JohnD5314]

My towbar prep includes cooling upgrades but it is the 150 bhp 2.0 l diesel. I only got the definitive statement of what had been done by ringing the Skoda Customer Services with the VIN and they checked their system for me.

 

Unfortunately I had to do this as the dealer had no idea what had been done - they insisted it was wiring only. Cue a £500 refund from dealer for unnecessary work of supply/fitting of fan and grill!!

 

[DSL]

John, does that mean a 2.0 diesel DSG is relatively straight forward to have towing prep done after delivery?

[Yearofthegoat]

On 31/01/2019 at 21:20, silver1011 said:

Same here, Admiral added it as a modification, but told me it was a no-cost modification.

Recently fitted a tow bar to my Superb and it was the same with LV - no admin cost to add the modification and no increase in the premium.

[clivecoo]

After starting this topic two years ago I have just fitted a genuine Skoda tow bar myself to my Karoq that I had build with tow bar preparation. 
Although expensive I decided to buy the Skoda electric release kit because of how neat it is and unless you look underneath there is no clue that a tow bar is fitted. 
The kit cost me £621 inc vat ! from the Skoda dealer I bought the car from. (They wanted £1000 to supply and fit !)
At the time I purchased it I asked if the kit supplied was all I needed and was told everything was in the kit. 
Anyway started on page one of the fitting instructions which were in the box. 
The removal of the rear bumper looked a bit daunting but lots of screws and clips and following the instructions and it was off. 
You have to remove and bin  the large rear impact bar that runs across the back of the car which the tow bar replaces. 
The cut out in the plastic bumper is marked on the inside so easy to cut out. I used a multi tool. 
Electric module and operating switch from the kit fits on right hand wheel arch and plugs into the existing preparation spec harness. 
Got  to the last page of the instructions and it says tow bar has to be coded before it will work. 
I was not happy with the dealer and Said I should have been told this. 
To add insult to injury they said they wanted £144 to do this. They were adamant they had to charge even after I reminded them both me and my wife has bought new cars from them in the last two years
After a bit of  “discussion”  I reluctantly agreed on £60 inc vat. Carried out at the same time as 2nd oil change that I had pre paid for at time of car purchase  ( bet coding was a 10 minute job). 
Towbar  works fine now,  just a shame I won’t be  giving them any more trade. Local independent garage next time for me. 
In hindsight I should have had the towbar factory fitted on build so hope this story helps others. 

 

[Gigi_BC]

@clivecoo,

Can you put some pictures on how the towbar is looking (set and hidden)?

I'm looking on fitting something for my Karoq, but what the local dealers said is that they can fit one that is not electric.

[clivecoo]

Sorry a bit late but here’s a couple of pictures. 

 

[clivecoo]

When retracted nothing can be seen. 

[ColinH]

I need the latest information regarding after market tow bars. 
I have spoken about this a couple of days ago to a sales manager at a local dealership. 
He informed me if I fit a tow bar without the car having tow bar prep at the factory I will invalidate the warranty. A tow bar prep option includes larger diameter fuel and coolant pipes, modifications to the radiator and wiring loom enhancements. 
The Kodiaq is ex stock and coming from another dealership. I don’t know whether or not to cancel and order a vehicle with the tow bar preparation included.  Advice please. 

[kenfowler3966]

I am not certain but recall something about this as my car came with towbar prep fitted. (Bought from showroom, and one of fitted extras, but I will not ever use this myself)

It depends on the engine fitted as to what changes are needed. In my 190ps tdi it was only some wiring additions to allow future towbar addition.

For other variants it needs a different radiator possibly and/ or additional cooling fans as part of towbar prep, plus as above changes to various other parts.

So it seems that some engines will need expensive modifications to allow towing whilst maintaining a warranty.

I must admit that for many years I towed and just had towbars fitted by a specialist. In hindsight if I had had a warranty issue this might have prevented my claim if those vehicles should have had modifications to allow fitting?