Towing Eyelet Attachment Points

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Originally Posted by MGV

You could always reverse into places where you may get stuck therefore enabling recovery from the front eyelet?
Sorry, couldn't help it... :D

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It would definitely make off-roading more challenging! ;o)

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Originally Posted by Umai Naa!!

Of course. I'm an idiot.

They're now fitted with a faux towbar that is not relevent to our market (Given it's weak appearance, it looks like a display version). This is part of the Towing Preparation package that all Australian-spec Tiguans are optioned with, which also means they're pre-wired (well 80% of it) for the towbar electrics.

If you don't require a towbar, you could always steer the dealership down the more cost-effective path of fitting the reinforcement bar they'd come with, if not optioned with Towing Preparation. It's got the threaded hole in it.

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Very interesting...I wonder if they'll (VW) acknowledge the fact that most of the wiring is already in place and discount the cost of installing an Australian-spec Towbar...have read on this forum previously that the wiring cost is a large proportion of the install and what makes it so prohibitively expensive, so maybe...

I did ask about VW pulling the 'faux towbar' that's in there out, and replacing with the reinforcement bar with the threaded hole, but the Service Manager was of the opinion that it's not an available part. Waiting to hear back from them in the next few days and will post what happens. Thanks :facepalm:

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Originally Posted by roscoe1974

...have read on this forum previously that the wiring cost is a large proportion of the install and what makes it so prohibitively expensive, so maybe...

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Hi Roscoe,

Not just VW.

The OEM towbar for a Freelander 2 costs the equivalent $1300 from a dealer. Half of that is the electrical installation due to the interfacing with the CAN bus in order to disable the reverse parking sensors, activate the active sway control program, testing all the lights on the trailer, etc. Then you have to do a VAG to tell the ECU you now have this installation.

Of course, there is probably only a $3.50 chip inside the little box, but seeing as you can't copy/hack this yourself, you are a captive buyer.

In the end I bought a universal towbar electrical kit for around $100 and installed it myself with numerous calls to a friend of mine - who had his installation done by a dealer - to tell me where the wiring runs, enters the vehicle, connects up, etc. So needless to say, it took a full week before first switch on.

This kit also came with a protection box, protecting the existing wiring of the car in case of an error - short - at the trailer end. It even has a fuse in the power line. No CAN-bus interface though.

But you definitely need the vehicle's wiring diagram - and know how to read it - which in the case of the LR2 was downloadable free from the internet.

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Originally Posted by roscoe1974

Very interesting...I wonder if they'll (VW) acknowledge the fact that most of the wiring is already in place and discount the cost of installing an Australian-spec Towbar...have read on this forum previously that the wiring cost is a large proportion of the install and what makes it so prohibitively expensive, so maybe...

I did ask about VW pulling the 'faux towbar' that's in there out, and replacing with the reinforcement bar with the threaded hole, but the Service Manager was of the opinion that it's not an available part. Waiting to hear back from them in the next few days and will post what happens. Thanks :facepalm:

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Parts department would argue otherwise, regarding the reo.

As for the wiring, you'd still need to purchase the full wiring kit, to get the bits you need out of it to get the job done, as some of the wiring isn't avalable separately (FWIW, the module itself, retails for over $500). Labour-wise, there's still the LHR quater panel trim to remove (along with several other trims in the rear), as well as some (very fiddly) wiring to be done under the dash.