Aftermarket Towbar for R-Line Tiguan

[Dingah]

I have towed vans, trailers for years with several VW products Diesel Golf, Gti and high performance Gti and now Audi SQ5 and RLine Tig.
The diesel and the performance Golf each had different tow bars - one factory fit and one after market.
There was absolutely no discernible difference in performance and no issues were ever encountered using or not using ECS/ESP functions.
If you need the ESP benefits, as marginal as they are most likely to be, you are likely towing at or beyond the edge of the envelope.

Dingah

[PerthMTB]

Ultimately, my preferred setup (if it was possible) would be a HR bar like the ones installed by the gentlemen above, but with the factory wiring and coding to provide the ESP benefit you (and the user manual) describe.

Hi arcadelt, thanks for your reply. That's looking like my favourite option at the moment as well. I want the flexibility of the standard square hitch receiver of the HR, but the safety features of the VW wiring. But if what you say below is true then I might as well just go the whole HR solution for the sake of cost and simplicity.

The two Westfalia authorised dealers in Canberra told me they do not use the factory wiring and I was explicitly advised by the dealer in Canberra (Lennock Volkswagen) that the features mentioned in the manual are not available in Australia.

Wish I could find a definitive answer to that - anyone?

[PerthMTB]

I have towed vans, trailers for years with several VW products Diesel Golf, Gti and high performance Gti and now Audi SQ5 and RLine Tig.
The diesel and the performance Golf each had different tow bars - one factory fit and one after market.
There was absolutely no discernible difference in performance and no issues were ever encountered using or not using ECS/ESP functions.
If you need the ESP benefits, as marginal as they are most likely to be, you are likely towing at or beyond the edge of the envelope.

Dingah

Yes I see your point Dingah. And afterall there's thousands of Toyotas (and other makes) out there towing every day that seem to do it safely enough without the fancy VW towing features. But, if there's an added safety feature already available in the car, and it'll only cost a couple of hundred extra to use it, I'd say why not? The big question for me is whether paying the extra for the VW solution does actually get me anything extra - as per this quote from arcadelt's post above...

The two Westfalia authorised dealers in Canberra told me they do not use the factory wiring and I was explicitly advised by the dealer in Canberra (Lennock Volkswagen) that the features mentioned in the manual are not available in Australia.

[Dingah]

Lennock are certainly not the Holy Grail of engineering advice on VW products.
I just do not believe that the extra cost and potential drama if not coded correctly is worth the investment of dollars and heart beats.
Your choice though.

Dingah

[TowbarDiscounts]

Towbar Discounts (Canberra) have just fitted an aftermarket Heavy Duty bar to a brand new 2015 R Line Tiguan (still in pre delivery). Here is some photo's just so you can see what they are like.

[PerthMTB]

Hey TowbarDiscounts, that's a neat looking installation. Is it a Hayman Reese? And how much did it cost?

[Dingah]

Under $1000 supplied and fitted.

Dingah

[Rline Fan]

Hey TowbarDiscounts, that's a neat looking installation. Is it a Hayman Reese? And how much did it cost?

Hey PerthMTB, I just had the same towbar fitted to my 155 by Canberra Towbar Fitters. I took the advice from the guys on this forum that had posted about them. I called around town and they were the best price and great service the guy that came out really knew the in's and outs. So thanks to Dingah and others on here that put me on to them. Agree with Dingah it was under $1000. I also took at as a bigs thumbs up that Canberra Towbar Fitters did not come on here and advocate but their customers did. That gave me alot of confidence and it was worth it. They will do a good job if you go with them. First time I have posted but I love the R line and was really impressed with Canberra Towbar Fitters.

[TIGR]

Yeah, as i mentioned previously - Canberra Towbar Fitters were great to deal with, and took the time to do a really neat install.

I did find that the parking sensors sound continuously when reversing with the hitch in place, anyone got a resolution for this? (i tried a few forum suggestions from elsewhere using VCDS to no avail)

[Paccas]

If anyone in Sydney needs a tow bar on their R-line, I had one done by John at TowBars2U Sydney yesterday. Very neat job, very happy with the outcome.

[StevieGTI7]

If anyone in Sydney needs a tow bar on their R-line, I had one done by John at TowBars2U Sydney yesterday. Very neat job, very happy with the outcome.

Can I ask what the fitted cost was for this? The Canberra tow bar option looks good but prefer to have something in Sydney. Any issue with false activation on the rear sensors?

[Paccas]

Hi, It cost $1000. No issues with false activation, couldn't be happier.

[muddman]

I had many arguements with vw over this, I got the genuine wiring harness fitted free by vw so I didn't need to worry about all the after market ones working properly. now just looking for a Sydney installer to install the bar only. might give towbars 2 u a call.
cheers

[Naresh]

Just seen this post. How was the lower section of the R Line bumper removed? I thought the whole bumper had to be removed to gain access underneath?

[arcadelt]

Just seen this post. How was the lower section of the R Line bumper removed? I thought the whole bumper had to be removed to gain access underneath?

Based on the recommendations here, I had Canberra Towbar Fitters install a towbar on my TDI Tiguan. They split the rear bumper where the top and bottom sections are joined by a series of tabs, and looking back at TIGR photos it looks like the R Line bumper is the same. Once all the necessary bolts and screws were removed, the process involved a screwdriver and a bit of WD40 to lever the tabs out of their mounts.