Fitting a towbar

fretted

fretted

fretted

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4 Jan 2010
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I've recently bought a 2011 ford mondeo, which appeared to have a towbar fitting according to the picture of sale but not listed on the spec. When I went to view the car there was no towbar even though the dealer agreed that there was likely one previously as a towbar fitting was visible from under the rear bumper.

I went to Halfords to find out what I needed for a fully working towbar and the man said that there were no electric wiring and that I needed to go back to Ford to have new electrics and the springs recalibrated for towing as my current setup looked to him to be too soft. Is this right? I would have thought if I went to Ford to get all these done it would cost about 500+ quid, which seems a lot for adding a towbar to a car which must have some sort of towbar previously fitted.
 
Sounds like BS to me. Your new towbar will come with an electric harness, which will plug (or tap into) into your Mondeo's wiring loom. Also your Mondeo will be rated for towing as standard, ignore the comments regarding 'recalibrating' the springs.
 
Not sure about the spring thing. Your car will have an accepted noseweight (probably between 75 and 90Kgs). providing you don't go over that I see no reason why the springs need "recalibrating" (whatever in the world he means by that! :confused:)
 
Utter carp about the spring re calibration, even the going back to ford for wiring is suspect.

When i was 17 my best friend fitted towbars ( at indespension), only ever needed to wire them and bolt them in.
He never ever mentioned springs needed adjusting in 3 years of working there.

Now if the car has been used for heavy loads regularly and the springs have worn over time, then they are due replacing anyway.
 
I fit towbars mostly to transporters but newer vehicles are an utter nightmare with the electrics now. You need CAN bus elec wiring kits which are expensive and a potch to fit then you need to code the vehicle control modules to tell it that it's had a tow bar fitted! Can be expensive. If it's had the towbar fitted previously hopefully the elecs will still be there
 
MrKnifey said:
If it's had the towbar fitted previously hopefully the elecs will still be there
Click to expand...

Good point.

If the towball has been removed but the actual bar is still in place behind the bumper as it sounds, they may have just snipped off the electric socket(s) and tucked the cable(s) out of sight.
 
Had a towbar fitted to my 2009 mondeo Estate last summer and the guys came out,back bumper off, replaced the brace behind it and tied the electrics in with the rear light cluster. No faffing , sounds like the Halfords bloke didn't have a clue.
 
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