Hi, I am thinking of trading my Yeti in for a Karoq. As built new seems to be 9 months wait , I am thinking of buying anything available now, (new or used) has anyone

any experience of fitting a tow bar? Talking with dealers , it seems 50/50  , yes , you can fit, no, it will affect any warranty. 

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

I'm in a similar position at the moment, and have gained the following info from caravan magazines. The situation seems to be that the car must at least have towbar preparation specified at build to allow towbar fitment later. This then shows up on the VIN plate at the base of the B pillar which has 4 lines of numbers. If the second line is 0 this means that the car has not been homologated for towing and a towbar can't(?) or shouldn't be fitted to that particular vehicle. I'm not sure how aware each salesman might be about this?

I'm about to get a towbar fitted to my new Karoq. The car is brand new but a stock vehicle so I didn't have the option of specifying towbar preparation. I confirmed with the dealer that this will not affect the manufacturers warranty, in fact they've negotiated a discount for me at a local fitting centre. Regarding towbar preparation, my understanding is that this consist of installing an additional wiring loom from the front fuse box to the boot space and a slightly different coding to a standard car. As long as you specify "vehicle specific wiring" to the fitting company they should supply the additional loom as part of the package. They should also re-code the electronics so check in advance they are competent to do this. The story of the 0 rating on some cars VIN plates on the B pillar seems to be a hit and miss issue and not related to towbar prep. My car doesn't have towbar prep but states 3500 kg in the second line of the VIN plate. Worth a check as a competent towbar fitter should check the VIN plate and will refuse to fit if this line is empty or contains a 0.

Unfortunately, G32turbo, this isn't the whole story. Tow bar prep also includes an uprated fan and larger grill apertures, as well as the wiring mods. If you do not have tow bar prep these additional upgrades need to be made.

 

I have a 67 plate 2.0 diesel and was advised by the dealer when I bought it new that the tow bar prep was just the wiring upgrade, and that I needed the additional cooling mods. They assured me that the cooling mods were not part of the upgrade, and charged me £500 for a new fan/grill. However on checking with Skoda customer services, who looked at the exact build spec for my car, I discovered I had the cooling mods as they were part of the tow bar prep. They confirmed this to me in an email, which I presented to the service manager. His face was a picture and he hastily refunded me £500.

 

Easy way to check the correct grill is that the one with tow bar prep has vertical slots about 2 - 3 inches high. On non tow bar prep cars they are about half this. 

2 hours ago, JohnD5314 said:

Unfortunately, G32turbo, this isn't the whole story. Tow bar prep also includes an uprated fan and larger grill apertures, as well as the wiring mods. If you do not have tow bar prep these additional upgrades need to be made.

 

I have a 67 plate 2.0 diesel and was advised by the dealer when I bought it new that the tow bar prep was just the wiring upgrade, and that I needed the additional cooling mods. They assured me that the cooling mods were not part of the upgrade, and charged me £500 for a new fan/grill. However on checking with Skoda customer services, who looked at the exact build spec for my car, I discovered I had the cooling mods as they were part of the tow bar prep. They confirmed this to me in an email, which I presented to the service manager. His face was a picture and he hastily refunded me £500.

 

Easy way to check the correct grill is that the one with tow bar prep has vertical slots about 2 - 3 inches high. On non tow bar prep cars they are about half this. 

 

If you are towing a Sherman tank up a mountain road in 45°c+ temperatures and are someone with no understanding of engines and zero mechanical sympathy, maybe, just maybe.

 

The manufacturers want to cover their ar5e under all possible circumstances whilst at the same time raking in the money.

Hi

 

I had an aftermarket bar fitted to my 70 plate edition 1.5 model, removable swan neck =  I don't tow but carry a number of heavy bikes on a rack with zero issues.

On 14/12/2023 at 21:10, J.R. said:

 

If you are towing a Sherman tank up a mountain road in 45°c+ temperatures and are someone with no understanding of engines and zero mechanical sympathy, maybe, just maybe.

 

The manufacturers want to cover their ar5e under all possible circumstances whilst at the same time raking in the money.

 

Your choice if you have a warranty you want to protect.

I had a Skoda towbar and electrics fitted by the selling dealer to my nearly new 2022 Karoq when I bought it about a year ago.

 

I was all ready to get an aftermarket fit but the dealer-fitted price was very competitive and came with the added value of the electrically operated drop down hitch. Not to mention the very neat arrangement for the 13 pin socket and also the trailer turning angle indicator (the lattet a bit of a gimmick).

 

Mine is a 2.0 petrol engined 4x4 so uprated cooling didn't come into it. Towed a heavy traditional boat and trailer home for 200+ miles keeping a close eye on the temp gauge. Rock steady all the way whether fast/slow and hilly/flat. DSG and cruise a delight when towing.

 

One of the few dealer fitted genuine accessories which is good value for money IMO.

 

2 hours ago, JohnD5314 said:

 

Your choice if you have a warranty you want to protect.

 

It is indeed and I don't!

If you're looking to buy new from stock, you can select towbar as a filter option from the available cars on the Skoda website - although there's only one showing at the moment, and it's quite an odd spec - 1.5TSi SE L manual with towbar, leather and winter pack plus.

 

Not sure how complete the Skoda site is in terms of available cars - when we got our Tiguan the dealer was able to look up cars that had been built and found us one in the exact spec and colour we wanted. It arrived at the dealer in 8 days, although they did warn us it could be 4-6 weeks.

Edited 21 December, 20232 yr by Rory

I had an interesting conversation with someone in Skoda UK support today. I'd asked a question using [email protected] regarding cooling upgrades for retro fitting a towbar. The first reply I got via email was very long winded about the current availability of Skoda towbars for retro fitting but didn't answer the question. I replied, attaching the parts table supplied by @JohnD5314 that related to MY 2018 cars. I asked if there was an update to that table for MY 2023 cars as the 2018 table didn't list the 2.0 TDi 85KW engine that was introduced in 2021.  I was impressed to get a phone call from customer services clarifying what info I needed and asking for my reg number so they could give the correct info. I was put on hold and eventually the advisor came back to say it's not possible to retro fit a towbar on my Karoq. When I explained I already had the towbar and electrics fitted he went on to say it wasn't possible and I must be mistaken.  If I'm mistaken then I'm not sure how I managed to tow my caravan to Scotland twice this summer. The saga continues.

It looks like the mystery is solved as to why I can get no information on cooling upgrades for a MY2023 2.0Tdi 85KW. This is a new reply from Skoda UK technical support.

 

To clarify our previous conversation, I want to express that the towbar is not listed as an approved accessory for your 2.0 TDi 85 kW DSG Karoq here at Škoda. Because of this, we unfortunately don’t have specific information on any necessary modifications, such as changes to the cooling fan or front grille.
I can appreciate how confusing this situation must be, especially since you've already had the towbar installed. I strongly encourage you to reach out to your installer for the most accurate guidance on any adjustments that may be required for your setup. They should have the expertise to assist you further.
If you have any more questions or if there’s anything else I can do to assist you, please feel free to reach out. I truly want to ensure you have a positive experience with your vehicle.

 

As I've had no temperature issues towing a 1300 kg caravan on four 4 hour journeys (Scotland and back twice) I'm not going any further with looking at any cooling mods.

@G32turbo     That reply is more likely to have been AI generated so from a Bot. 

There at that 'Skoda' the Technical Department seems about as much use as those providing Skoda Customer Services in the UK. 

To muddy the waters all MY24 VAG cars have the software locked down so not even the dealer can program an aftermarket towbar.

 

Fortunately Skoda UK decided to spec all MY24 Karoq's with towbar prep so it's now standard.

 

Edited 22 December, 20241 yr by logiclee

Do you mean program the Can gateway controller to accept an aftermarket towing module on the Installation List?

On 22/12/2024 at 12:24, J.R. said:

Do you mean program the Can gateway controller to accept an aftermarket towing module on the Installation List?

 

Yep.

 

MY24 are locked down across VAG. VCDS no longer works and not even dealers have access apparently.

 

One guy on the caravan forums is trying to reject a MY24 Q5 as no one can program an aftermarket towbar. 

 

These are the regulations that are causing the issues with software updates and coding. From the Skoda website.

 

Vehicles with UNECE  PR Code NI1,NI7,NI8 and NI9 cannot be coded at the current status.

 

What is UNECE?

The acronym UNECE is often heard in connection with car cybersecurity. It refers to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. This body has a significant influence on international standards in transport security, and in recent years the UNECE has issued two regulations relating to automotive cybersecurity that all manufacturers have to comply with. The CSMS (Cyber Security Management System) regulation requires manufacturers to ensure that cars are protected from cyber attacks and software hacking. The SUMS (Software Update Management System) regulation focuses on software updates and makes it mandatory to ensure and document cars’ compliance with the homologation regulations even after software updates. 

 

UN regulation R155 requires certification of a secure cybersecurity system (CS). It is a mandatory requirement for new vehicle type approvals in all countries adopting the UNECE guidelines. Currently all EU countries, Japan and Korea . R155 is very broad reach, because it incorporates every aspect of the vehicle and its components for the life of the vehicles. So all OEM suppliers are bound by it as well.

UN regulation R156 requires certification of a secure software update system (SU), including (not least) OTA updates. Also mandatory

Edited 23 December, 20241 yr by logiclee

Another nail in the coffin for new vehicles.

17 hours ago, logiclee said:

 

Yep.

 

MY24 are locked down across VAG. VCDS no longer works and not even dealers have access apparently.

 

One guy on the caravan forums is trying to reject a MY24 Q5 as no one can program an aftermarket towbar. 

 

These are the regulations that are causing the issues with software updates and coding. From the Skoda website.

 

Vehicles with UNECE  PR Code NI1,NI7,NI8 and NI9 cannot be coded at the current status.

 

What is UNECE?

The acronym UNECE is often heard in connection with car cybersecurity. It refers to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. This body has a significant influence on international standards in transport security, and in recent years the UNECE has issued two regulations relating to automotive cybersecurity that all manufacturers have to comply with. The CSMS (Cyber Security Management System) regulation requires manufacturers to ensure that cars are protected from cyber attacks and software hacking. The SUMS (Software Update Management System) regulation focuses on software updates and makes it mandatory to ensure and document cars’ compliance with the homologation regulations even after software updates. 

 

UN regulation R155 requires certification of a secure cybersecurity system (CS). It is a mandatory requirement for new vehicle type approvals in all countries adopting the UNECE guidelines. Currently all EU countries, Japan and Korea . R155 is very broad reach, because it incorporates every aspect of the vehicle and its components for the life of the vehicles. So all OEM suppliers are bound by it as well.

UN regulation R156 requires certification of a secure software update system (SU), including (not least) OTA updates. Also mandatory

I'm thinking that the caravan mags don't know this, since Practical Caravan have tested a Cupra Ateca, Skoda Superb and VW Tiguan as towcars in the past 6 months. 🤔

Even MY23 is partially locked down. I had a Skoda electric swivelling towbar fitted, Skoda HQ had to be contacted for an additional code as the code supplied with the towbar didn’t work. Also I wanted to retro fit TSR, my car has all the right components, the retrofit company had all the coding data, but were unable to access the relevant section of the CANBUS using their tools. Skoda/VAG won’t even supply the unlock code to allow it to be done.  I understand the need to protect the software from malicious hackers, I understand the need to protect their intellectual property (the software coding), but you’d think they would have a mechanism where owners can purchase the canbus coding to implement an additional feature. Even if the price was the same as when the feature is specified for a new car order.

I didn't know that John Deere had bought VAG!

If you fit an aftermarket towbar, or any other, you must tell your insurance company. The car must be as it left the factory. Any extras must be approved by the insurers. Recent case in Daily Mail. Insurance claim rejected, as he had not informed the insurers.

2 hours ago, Vak said:

Recent case in Daily Mail. Insurance claim rejected, as he had not informed the insurers.

 

Must be true then 😃

 

I bet there were no verifiable details.

8 hours ago, HowardBury said:

I'm thinking that the caravan mags don't know this, since Practical Caravan have tested a Cupra Ateca, Skoda Superb and VW Tiguan as towcars in the past 6 months. 🤔

 

If they have factory towbar or factory towbar prep then there isn't an issue. Test cars are usually supplied by the manufacturer anyway so no issue.

 

This issue isn't restricted to VAG as well.