Towbar fitting

[Paul 85]

Delivery of my Corolla TS 2.0l Excel predicted for late March was delayed because I had ordered a tow bar to be factory fitted and, evidently, Burnaston were waiting for a new version of the fitting to arrive. I could not wait for long since I was heading to France for the summer and so, the salesman arranged for the dealer to get hold of a tow bar and fit it for me so that the car could be delivered on time.

I am now in France, and yesterday hitched up my trailer with a load of garden waste. Lo and behold, the reverse parking sensors have not been disabled for towing so I am unable to reverse - the system 'thinks' I am about to hit a wall and brakes violently with a loud warning. My local recycling centre is almost always crowded so not being able to reverse is a real pain.

Now, I have searched this forum for 'tow-bar' but no reference was found. Does anyone know anything that might help? Is it, for example, a coding issue or a cabling issue? My nearest Toyota agency is about 25 km from where I live. So not very convenient.

Further to this problem, the kick sensor for opening the tailgate no longer works; I imagine it is obscured by the tow hitch - more nuisance than disaster. Otherwise, I am delighted with the car after 20-odd years of VAG products.

[Bernard Foy]

It may be an inconvenience to go back to the dealership, but I think it’s what you should do in this case.

[FROSTYBALLS]

So is it a Toyota tow bar or a third party towbar?

[Parts-King]

From memory you lose the kick function when you have a tow bar fitted on that model 

[D.L.]

The kick function can be retained 1 hour ago, Parts-King said:

From memory you lose the kick function when you have a tow bar fitted on that model 

The kick function can be kept - the installer needs to cut a strut from the frame holding the wire loop sensor. The official Toyota installation instruction explain this, but if the installer is not aware, they will leave the sensor off as the frame gets in the way of the hitch. 

[W1P30UT]

I am interested in this thread, because my Corolla was delayed at Burnaston, because of tow bar issues. Like you the dealer is to fit the towbar, so I should be collecting next week. 

For what it's worth I have a Lexus RX450h which has a towbar. In settings, I have to disabled ICS, intelligent collision sonar. The car is unable to detect the towbar / trailer is fitted and an anti-collision system kicks in. That was factory fitted towbar.

Hope the above helps.

[panmat]

I had this problem too, alas there is a setting to disable some safety feature, which allows you to reverse, if I recall it’s about 3 presses on the steering wheel buttons.

Unfortunately can’t remember exactly what as to be disabled been a while since I’ve towed.

[panmat]

There you go

[panmat]

3 hours ago, Parts-King said:

From memory you lose the kick function when you have a tow bar fitted on that model 

No you don’t if fitted correctly!

[Paul 85]

Many thanks for all your replies. It certainly looks as though the problems can be solved fairly easily. I have written to the  UK dealer but will probably contact the local Toyota agent here in France.

Paul

 

[Parts-King]

On 4/20/2024 at 3:37 PM, panmat said:

No you don’t if fitted correctly!

There are certainly some models where the kick sensor function does not work, it would be determined by VIN  number. I had this very issue where an engine plant worker needed this function, but on their specific model, they could not have it 

[D.L.]

When I ordered mine last year it was not possible to add the tow bar to the factory order for an Excel TS, which I eventually worked out was because the Excel comes with the kick sensor which is basically an antenna mounted to a frame behind the bumper that gets in the way of the hitch. The dealer said they could order the tow bar separately and do a dealer fit, but I would lose the kick function. However, I located a copy of the Toyota installation manual for the tow bar which explained how to hack out part of the kick sensor frame to allow it to be kept.

My guess is it’s always been this way, but perhaps not widely known. The installation instructions do say you might lose some sensitivity, presumably, because there is a massive lump of metal absorbing the signal from the antenna, but it works well for me once I got the knack.