Tow Bar for the Tiguan

[Janus77]

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[iDiesel]

Awesome job!
I'll call my dealer tomorrow

[Janus77]

Thanks to veew for the heads up.


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[jpvw01]

It's interesting how regional marketing departments of European car manufactures can arbitrarily increase (double) a cars specifications to meet local requirements. It's the same for the Touareg where in Europe the towball weight is 140kg vs 280kg here in Aus.

The R-Line in the carsales towing test earlier in this thread seems to be handling the ~100kg towball weight ok but I saw a non R-Line Tiguan towing a similar caravan recently and there was significant sag in the rear end.

[Jackson22]

I had a Hayman Reese towbar fitted for $1100. Looks neat enough and no cutting required (R-Line). Only downside is that that the electrics are not OEM so the rear parking sensors have to be manually muted on the touchscreen when reversing with the trailer hitch installed, and the auto tailgate opening is not disabled so it would be possible to accidentally open it with attachments (bike rack etc) hanging off the tow bar.

HI. follow up question please. I am thinking of doing the same.. Tiguan Adventure and Hayman Reese towbar to go mostly with Thule bike rack. Do the rear parking sensors have to be turned off at all time, or just when the towball is in? Ie. so if the tow bar is on but the hitch and ball isn't it's ok? usually i've just left the ball etc in and it might be a PITA to have to take it out.. first world problem, I know.. and I am not a tow bar expert, so don't know the terminology.. . Not so fussed to turn off sensors on the infrequent occasion I put the bike rack on, but would be a pain to have to do it all the time, just because I want to leave the square bit in with the ball on..

[IsDon]

HI. follow up question please. I am thinking of doing the same.. Tiguan Adventure and Hayman Reese towbar to go mostly with Thule bike rack. Do the rear parking sensors have to be turned off at all time, or just when the towball is in? Ie. so if the tow bar is on but the hitch and ball isn't it's ok? usually i've just left the ball etc in and it might be a PITA to have to take it out.. first world problem, I know.. and I am not a tow bar expert, so don't know the terminology.. . Not so fussed to turn off sensors on the infrequent occasion I put the bike rack on, but would be a pain to have to do it all the time, just because I want to leave the square bit in with the ball on..

The sensors are turned off once you plug lights into the plug. That is how the car knows a trailer (bike rack) is attached. If nothing is plugged into the socket, with or without a ball fitted, the sensors will remain active.

This holds for all of the other modules that are coded to detect a trailer. Camera, boot, abs, engine, gearbox, stability control, suspension etc etc etc.

Once coded you should be also able to manually tell the car whether to behave like it has a trailer, or not.

This is based on coding I’ve done on Audis, but I’m pretty certain it would be the same on all VAG vehicles. We don’t have a tow bar in our Tig.


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[Jackson22]

The sensors are turned off once you plug lights into the plug. That is how the car knows a trailer (bike rack) is attached. If nothing is plugged into the socket, with or without a ball fitted, the sensors will remain active.

This holds for all of the other modules that are coded to detect a trailer. Camera, boot, abs, engine, gearbox, stability control, suspension etc etc etc.

Once coded you should be also able to manually tell the car whether to behave like it has a trailer, or not.

This is based on coding I’ve done on Audis, but I’m pretty certain it would be the same on all VAG vehicles. We don’t have a tow bar in our Tig.


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that great info, thanks very much. so in order to keep the sensors working, I may just have to remove the hitch when not towing.. looks neater anyway, or perhaps tell the car to pretend there is a trailer even when not plugged in.. sounds like the non VW will do fine and save me more than $800.

[IsDon]

that great info, thanks very much. so in order to keep the sensors working, I may just have to remove the hitch when not towing.. looks neater anyway, or perhaps tell the car to pretend there is a trailer even when not plugged in.. sounds like the non VW will do fine and save me more than $800.

You can leave the hitch and/or tow ball on the vehicle and it won’t stop the sensors from working. The trigger for turning the sensors off is when the electrical plug for the trailer (bike rack) lights is plugged in.

When you say “non vw” I assume you mean tow bar. Absolutely. I would never put a standard bar on from a dealer. They’ll charge twice the price and it will be no better. In some cases worse.

In my case Audi wanted $4000 to fit a genuine Audi bar on my A6 Allroad. Turns out it wasn’t a genuine bar at all. It was a NZ made Best Bars which was, like a Hayman Reece, basically a horizontally mounted box section receiver which required a very visible cutout of the bumper.

After a bit of research I found that the real original OEM bar is in fact a Westfalia. German made. If you bought an Audi in Europe, and asked for a factory bar, this is what you would get. These things are a beautiful piece of engineering and have a vertical receiver. Instead of a towball you have a gooseneck which connects under the bumper. There is a cutout but you can’t see it unless you lie under the car. It cost me $1000 delivered from PF Jones in the UK and included the bar, gooseneck, adapter plug (20 pin round to 7 pin round) and electronics module.

Fitted it myself over a weekend. Then I realised I would have to code the car. $500 for a RossTech VCDS cable and a bit more research and the job was done.

Not sure about the Tig, but on the Audi you can select towing mode on and off through the MMI. I’m sure there would be similar settings on the Tig once you coded the car. It will automatically select once you plug in the lights, but you can switch it off if you wish.

Coincidentally I just bought a 4 bike rack for my car and it fits perfectly on the Westfalia gooseneck. Came with lights etc like the Thule ones for under $200 off eBay.

[Rescue23]

HI. follow up question please. I am thinking of doing the same.. Tiguan Adventure and Hayman Reese towbar to go mostly with Thule bike rack. Do the rear parking sensors have to be turned off at all time, or just when the towball is in? Ie. so if the tow bar is on but the hitch and ball isn't it's ok? usually i've just left the ball etc in and it might be a PITA to have to take it out.. first world problem, I know.. and I am not a tow bar expert, so don't know the terminology.. . Not so fussed to turn off sensors on the infrequent occasion I put the bike rack on, but would be a pain to have to do it all the time, just because I want to leave the square bit in with the ball on..

I leave the ball permanently attached to the ballmount (the square metal "tube"), so it's a simple matter to fit or remove the ballmount (with ball attached) if I want to tow. Only takes a minute or so to slide it on, put the pin through and tighten the nut. Much easier than removing/fitting the towball every time. I only use it for a Thule bike rack anyway. If you have the non OEM tow bar (Hayman Reece etc) it's very unlikely that it will come with OEM wiring, so when you plug in the electrics the car will NOT know there is a tow bar attached. The parking sensors will then sound continuously when you select reverse gear, as presumably they are detecting the towball. You can cancel the sensors on the infotainment screen or put up with the noise until you cease reversing when it will stop by itself. If you choose to leave the ballmount and ball attached permanently your reverse parking sensors are basically useless as you will have to cancel the noise every time you reverse, regardless of whether you have the bike rack attached

[IsDon]

Tow Bar for the Tiguan

I leave the ball permanently attached to the ballmount (the square metal "tube"), so it's a simple matter to fit or remove the ballmount (with ball attached) if I want to tow. Only takes a minute or so to slide it on, put the pin through and tighten the nut. Much easier than removing/fitting the towball every time. I only use it for a Thule bike rack anyway. If you have the non OEM tow bar (Hayman Reece etc) it's very unlikely that it will come with OEM wiring, so when you plug in the electrics the car will NOT know there is a tow bar attached. The parking sensors will then sound continuously when you select reverse gear, as presumably they are detecting the towball. You can cancel the sensors on the infotainment screen or put up with the noise until you cease reversing when it will stop by itself. If you choose to leave the ballmount and ball attached permanently your reverse parking sensors are basically useless as you will have to cancel the noise every time you reverse, regardless of whether you have the bike rack attached

There are four sensors on the rear bumper. Not one of them is anywhere near the centre of the bumper. As such it’s highly unlikely for the sensors to detect a tow ball. The reason the sensors are switched off is so they don’t detect a trailer when you’re reversing.

On my car I can put the tow ball gooseneck on the car, and then reverse the car onto the trailer using the camera, it actually gives you a little trend vector so you can see where the tow ball will travel as you turn the wheel. Makes it simple to place the ball under the trailer hitch. No beeping from the attached tow ball at all. It does detect the trailer approaching though.

Most aftermarket tow bars have a module that will interface the CANBUS these days. If not, I wouldn’t fit one. Westfalia, the real OEM bar certainly DO come with the OEM electronics module. I know. I’ve fitted it myself.

[Rescue23]

There are four sensors on the rear bumper. Not one of them is anywhere near the centre of the bumper. As such it’s highly unlikely for the sensors to detect a tow ball. The reason the sensors are switched off is so they don’t detect a trailer when you’re reversing.

On my car I can put the tow ball gooseneck on the car, and then reverse the car onto the trailer using the camera, it actually gives you a little trend vector so you can see where the tow ball will travel as you turn the wheel. Makes it simple to place the ball under the trailer hitch. No beeping from the attached tow ball at all. It does detect the trailer approaching though.

Most aftermarket tow bars have a module that will interface the CANBUS these days. If not, I wouldn’t fit one. Westfalia, the real OEM bar certainly DO come with the OEM electronics module. I know. I’ve fitted it myself.

I assure you the sensors do indeed detect the towball - the situation is exactly as I have described above. I have just gone out and slid the towball mount into the slot with towball attached. Nothing on the towball and no electrics plugged in. As soon as reverse gear is selected the sensor tone sounds continuously, with a red obstacle line displayed immediately at the back of the car. It can be muted via the display. I then slid the towball mount into the slot WITHOUT the towball attached and selected reverse gear - nothing - no tone and no indication of an obstacle immediately behind the car. I have no idea what wiring comes with "most aftermarket tow bars". I can only speak of my experience with the Hayman Reese. The OEM bar from the dealer was another $700 and as I only intend to use it with a bike rack it doesn't seem worth the extra money just to automatically cancel the sensors instead of doing it manually.

[IsDon]

I assure you the sensors do indeed detect the towball - the situation is exactly as I have described above. I have just gone out and slid the towball mount into the slot with towball attached. Nothing on the towball and no electrics plugged in. As soon as reverse gear is selected the sensor tone sounds continuously, with a red obstacle line displayed immediately at the back of the car. It can be muted via the display. I then slid the towball mount into the slot WITHOUT the towball attached and selected reverse gear - nothing - no tone and no indication of an obstacle immediately behind the car. I have no idea what wiring comes with "most aftermarket tow bars". I can only speak of my experience with the Hayman Reese. The OEM bar from the dealer was another $700 and as I only intend to use it with a bike rack it doesn't seem worth the extra money just to automatically cancel the sensors instead of doing it manually.

Since when did this become a p1ssing contest?

Ok. Well that’s poor design. I’d say it’s because you have a non OEM bar that may sit out further than the OEM bar. It makes no sense that the sensor would howl away constantly while your trying to back the car onto the trailer. Knowing how particular za Germans are about these things, they’d be mortified by that outcome.

It may also detect the bar fitted by VW. Which, as I said before, is not really an OEM bar. The car was designed for the European OEM bar, not the poor cuz from NZ.

As I also said before, the towing module detecting a trailer does a lot more than just turning off the sensors. In my car, which is a 2013 model it effects about a dozen different functions of which the rear sensors are but one. I suggest the Tig would have even more given its 5 years newer design. If all you fit is a bike rack then no problem. But if you do borrow a trailer from Bunnings one day you might have an issue.

[dmn]

Since when did this become a p1ssing contest?

Ok. Well that’s poor design. I’d say it’s because you have a non OEM bar that may sit out further than the OEM bar. It makes no sense that the sensor would howl away constantly while your trying to back the car onto the trailer. Knowing how particular za Germans are about these things, they’d be mortified by that outcome.

It may also detect the bar fitted by VW. Which, as I said before, is not really an OEM bar. The car was designed for the European OEM bar, not the poor cuz from NZ.

As I also said before, the towing module detecting a trailer does a lot more than just turning off the sensors. In my car, which is a 2013 model it effects about a dozen different functions of which the rear sensors are but one. I suggest the Tig would have even more given its 5 years newer design. If all you fit is a bike rack then no problem. But if you do borrow a trailer from Bunnings one day you might have an issue.

I'm with IsDon, sounds like poor design to me. Tiguan R-line here...I spent 12 months trying to decide whether to grab the OEM or the Genuine Australian VW towbar which is made by Best Bars, ended up going with the Gen VW bar so was sourced via a colleague at trade price which was around $1150 and ended up fitting it myself which took around 4 hours. There are two components, the towbar kit and the electrical installation kit, both with full instructions. The electrical installation also includes the module and all you have to do is plug in 2 connectors behind the LHS rear trim, connect one 2-pin block under the dash and all done...it's actually quite easy + nothing like the tow bar installation on the Mark 1 tigs. The only issue you will have, with the electrical installation kit there are 3 codes that need to be individually programmed into the vehicle and even though I have the VCDS cable (not the latest version) my chances of being successful would be fairly remote as there are so many areas that need to be programmed to make my Tig 'trailer aware' so I just rang up the dealer that I purchased the car from, took it down and they did it for me, wait for this...for free!

As an FYI, I leave the tongue/ball on and have no issues when reversing. Hope that helps someone

[iDiesel]

As an FYI, I leave the tongue/ball on and have no issues when reversing. Hope that helps someone

+1

I have genuine VW tow bar and leave the ball and tongue in place permanently and reverse sensors don’t beep or “see” the ball & tongue

[IsDon]

Tow Bar for the Tiguan

I'm with IsDon, sounds like poor design to me. Tiguan R-line here...I spent 12 months trying to decide whether to grab the OEM or the Genuine Australian VW towbar which is made by Best Bars, ended up going with the Gen VW bar so was sourced via a colleague at trade price which was around $1150 and ended up fitting it myself which took around 4 hours. There are two components, the towbar kit and the electrical installation kit, both with full instructions. The electrical installation also includes the module and all you have to do is plug in 2 connectors behind the LHS rear trim, connect one 2-pin block under the dash and all done...it's actually quite easy + nothing like the tow bar installation on the Mark 1 tigs. The only issue you will have, with the electrical installation kit there are 3 codes that need to be individually programmed into the vehicle and even though I have the VCDS cable (not the latest version) my chances of being successful would be fairly remote as there are so many areas that need to be programmed to make my Tig 'trailer aware' so I just rang up the dealer that I purchased the car from, took it down and they did it for me, wait for this...for free!

As an FYI, I leave the tongue/ball on and have no issues when reversing. Hope that helps someone

Thanks dmn.

If you have an older VCDS cable you might find you wouldn’t be able to program the Tig. I found my older cable wouldn’t even recognise some of the modules. I traded my old cable in for a new VCDS HEX/NET which now works with everything. As well as my comparatively antiquated A6. The Tig is my wife’s. I’m only allowed to tinker with it occasionally.

I was thinking a little more in this towball sensor issue. I would not be at all surprised if the sensors not detecting the tow ball is actually a function of programming. It’s entirely possible that once the car is correctly coded it still sees (actually more correctly hears as its an ultrasonic sensor) the towball but is programmed to ignore that particular signature. That would explain why an uncoded Hayman Reece is visible but a VW ball isn’t.

I’m continually amazed how particular the Germans are about some of these things. The more I discover the more I have to dip my lid to their ingenuity. In my car, once a trailer is plugged in, the little overall picture of the car in the settings page on the MMI even has a little trailer attached. That just one example. How it logs and then deletes fault codes it considers spurious is another work of genius. That’s why the sensors picking up the tow ball didn’t make sense. The Germans would never accept such a design flaw.