Tow Bar - Does It Interfere With Parking Sensors

[kubanpete]

Hi

I have recently bought a Rav 4 X-tr 08 plate, and am having trouble finding a bike carrier for it. A tow bar would be the best option as i have upto 4 bikes but no one can tell me if the fixed bar will cause a problem with the parking sensors ( factory fitted). I know the switch inside can turn them off when towing but can any one advise as the detatchable tow bar is expensive and limits the type of carrier you can use....can anyone out there help please

Zac

[Bezzer]

I've got a detachable tow bar, doesn't cause a problem with the sensors when I leave the bar on, I just turn them off when the caravan is attached. There's no centre sensor so any towbar fitted would be too close to the motor and not picked up by the sensors anyway.

[Parts-King]

The Toyota tow bar IS compatable with the genuine parking sensors, however if you had a towbar mounted bike rack, you would need to check if it interfered with the radar/sensors. You could then use the optional cutoff switch that you can buy with reverse sensors

Kingo

[bothwell_buyer]

Simps - just tie the bikes to the front!!

[kubanpete]

Hi

Thanks for the quick reply's, yes the sensors are the factory fitted ones so i assume there genuine. Just had a quote from local toyota dealer of £623.00 to supply and fit a tow bar !!! they should be wearing masks.

I have had another quote of £153 supplied and fitted but its not a toyota bar, and they had never fitted one to a rav 4 (new shape) before and were not sure if the sensors would work under normal conditions ie not towing anything.

ps i dont think they would look right on the front of the car !!! :D lol

Cheers for the replys

[Parts-King]

Just had a quote from local toyota dealer of £623.00 to supply and fit a tow bar !!! they should be wearing masks.

I know where you are coming from but there are some important considerations to tow bars

The Toyota tow bar is made to fit the towing points on the car, the wiring kits are plug and play, so you just plug them into the existing lighting

"Non Genuine" tow bars are made for ease of fittment, regardless of where they mount on the car. this could mean you have to drill the floor or body of the car to make it fit, you will also find the wiring is chopped and scotch locked back together, a disaster waiting to happen in the future

The parts element alone (INC VAT) is £450 @ retail, the book time for fitting bar, electrics and double electric kit is 5.4 hours, and believe me, they take that long to fit the genuine bar. A fred in the shed towbar will be thrown on in under an hour. You do get what you pay for

Kingo

[local hero]

Just had a quote from local toyota dealer of £623.00 to supply and fit a tow bar !!! they should be wearing masks.

I know where you are coming from but there are some important considerations to tow bars

The Toyota tow bar is made to fit the towing points on the car, the wiring kits are plug and play, so you just plug them into the existing lighting

"Non Genuine" tow bars are made for ease of fittment, regardless of where they mount on the car. this could mean you have to drill the floor or body of the car to make it fit, you will also find the wiring is chopped and scotch locked back together, a disaster waiting to happen in the future

The parts element alone (INC VAT) is £450 @ retail, the book time for fitting bar, electrics and double electric kit is 5.4 hours, and believe me, they take that long to fit the genuine bar. A fred in the shed towbar will be thrown on in under an hour. You do get what you pay for

Kingo

sorry to drag this slightly off topic but if you think MrT is a rip-off.. Iam just contemplating, HAVING to buy a new london type black cab take a look at cost and options list here http://www.mannandoverton.com/pages/TX4_lo..._price_list.pdf and believe me they are not Toyota quality

[bothwell_buyer]

ps i dont think they would look right on the front of the car !!! :D lol

Cheers for the replys

Maybe not, but it would be different and might help the aerodynamics at the back.....

[Bezzer]

I know where you are coming from but there are some important considerations to tow bars

The Toyota tow bar is made to fit the towing points on the car, the wiring kits are plug and play, so you just plug them into the existing lighting

"Non Genuine" tow bars are made for ease of fittment, regardless of where they mount on the car. this could mean you have to drill the floor or body of the car to make it fit, you will also find the wiring is chopped and scotch locked back together, a disaster waiting to happen in the future

The parts element alone (INC VAT) is £450 @ retail, the book time for fitting bar, electrics and double electric kit is 5.4 hours, and believe me, they take that long to fit the genuine bar. A fred in the shed towbar will be thrown on in under an hour. You do get what you pay for

Kingo

Sorry but that's rubbish, nowadays every aftermarket towbar has to be approved for each vehicle fitment and conform to the current directives which includes using the manufacturs towing fixing points. The Toyota price is just a rip off, mine was fitted by a top professional installer for under half the price, bar fitted and electrics done in just over 2 hours, no butchery, no scotchlocks.

5.4 hours is a joke considering it's plug and play but I do know why it takes that long, when a garage owner mate asked the head mechanic at a local dealer for a price for the bits he gave the £400+ price but didn't know how long it actually took to fit as they had NEVER fitted one, not surprised at £680.

[bothwell_buyer]

Not wanting to get involved in a slanging war, but taking up what Bezzer says; I had a towbar fitted to my 1963 Landrover Series model. Due to its increased height from the the springs being altered, apart from its age, there was only 1 towbar available to fit and it wasn't Landrover. Towbars need to conform to quality standards and be approved for use with each vehicle - whether you fit them yourself or get them fitted matters not - they still need to comply. The Landrovers bar, despite its rarity cost less than £300 fully fitted and with the indicators warnings etc.

I fitted my minibus with a towbar 4 years ago, and again it was an after market approved bar which matched up with the vehicles mounting points exactly with no drilling. The wiring I did was with connectors and I haven't had a problem with them. This job was even cheaper....and has served well having been used to tow car transporter trailers the length of the UK and pull the 2 ton caravan up from the far south.

My RAV4 towbar was fitted when I bought the car new - never been any problem in the 14 years altho I wish I could say the same for the rear step; front bullbar; and side steps that also came with the style pack. All are either rotted away or in the case of the step, about to be removed.

[anchorman]

LR towbar is unusual because it goes at the front.

How they have the nerve to expect any accessory to be approved is just bewildering when they can't gat the rest of it right!!!

[bothwell_buyer]

LR towbar is unusual because it goes at the front.

How they have the nerve to expect any accessory to be approved is just bewildering when they can't gat the rest of it right!!!

Naw - its the only bit that works cos its made by someone else!