Audi Factory Fit Swivel Towbar

[terry.hatton]

Hi All

I am looking at fitting a genuine Audi swivel towbar to my A6. I can get a used unit on ebay for around £250 - £300 it would seem. However, I will also need a control module, the pull handle for the hook release and I suspect some wiring. I called my local dealer this morning and the parts department were very helpful. They gave me a list of the parts that I would need but told me that the actual towbar itself was on hold due to a recall and I therefore could not order one at the moment. He said that it did not tell him what the issue was though.

Has anyone who has a factory fit swivel towbar heard about this recall? What is it for, What is the problem? If there is an issue with the design then I would rather go down the usual route of just getting a witter unit and dedicated wiring kit from PF Jones as I have with all my previous cars.

Towing either the caravan or expensive glider trailer with a risk of it coming off is not an option!

Parts they said I need was

Towbar at £991
Grip at £3.25
Lever? £32.79
Trailer Module at £227

Total cost £1,500 inc vat plus some bolts at a few quid and recoding of course.

Anyone else already completed this job and has any advise of what to do or parts needed? I like the fact it swivels away but is it really worth the expense?

Thanks for any advice in advance. Also, if you have the towbar factory fitted and was not aware of the recall, suggest you contact your local dealer.

[Saablover]

Hi All


Anyone else already completed this job and has any advise of what to do or parts needed? I like the fact it swivels away but is it really worth the expense?

I would say it is not worth the expense. I had a removable Westfalia tow bar fitted for about £550 (5 years ago) including programming. It slots in and out easily and, when not in use, I keep it in the side compartment in the boot where it fits very nicely with the cable and other tools. It really is no hassle at all. The plug disappears up under the bumper and is invisible when not in use.

[KevTrem]

I fitted my own westfalia to my last C7 Avant and my current C7 Allroad, each takes about half a day with wiring and costs approx £350 with genuine electrics. I think you'd be mad to fit a used swivel item unless your getting it free along with modules.
BTW in use the westfalia towbar takes approx 10seconds to fit and about 25seconds to remove. I stow mine away in left cubby hole. Also when removed there is no sign of towbar being fitted as electrics swing up too, which are 13pin.

[terry.hatton]

Thanks guys. I think your right. I found out that the cost for the new swivel towbar from Audi at £826.02 + vat includes the module. Still a lot of money when PF Jones can supply the westfalia with dedicated electrics for £390. It does day that the Westfalia needs a bumper cut. Is this correct for the 2015 facelift A6? The witter one listed says no bumber cut needed but is an extra £54. I have always been happy with the Witter detachable and have the towball in the boot.

A used swivel one is around £280 but I would have to buy the module and the lever for the boot which would cost another £300. For an extra £300 I could just buy a brand new one from Germany direct from Audi. Therefore simple answer I think is choice of £1027 plus Audi fee to recode as I don't have VDCS or up to £444 plus coding for a PF Jones supplied.

Shame that the original Audi fit is so expensive.

Thanks for your help anyway.

[KevTrem]

Is your A6 an Avant or the saloon? I ask as all avants come precut and not had chance to look at saloons as not owned one. The wiring is fun if your car is not trailer prep'd, so if your not confident about taking the fuse holders apart in the rear right cubby hole then I advise you get someone to fit it for you. You are going to need programming, once module is plugged in then on VCDS or OBDEleven its under module 69 for the trailer. That will stop your warning lights coming on but there is some other modules that need programming too for the likes of the parking sensors.
Im sure someone local to you will have VCDS and will program the car for £20 or so, its what I did until I got OBDEleven and programmed it fully.
Have a search on the Ross Tech forum for what needs programming.
PS both my towbars have come from PF Jones, customer service is spot on.

[terry.hatton]

Thanks KevTrem. My A6 is a 2015 3.0tdi 272 Quattro Avant. It is trailer prepped so that should be all good. I'm capable of doing all the electrics etc as have done that plenty of times on previous cars including a 2008 A4 Avant I used to own. My last car was a Mondeo which I fitted the towbar and electrics and recoded myself as the software is free on line and the OBD11 modified adaptor is quite cheap to buy. I had a look at the VCDS on Ross Tech and I am sure that it is easy once you have worked it out but probably wouldn't get that so happily pay some beer tokens for someone who does have it locally to me in Wiltshire. True re PF Jones. They are excellent. Probably have bought 7 towbars from them so far! Just liked the idea of the swivel one but not so much the cost. I'm a gadget freak!

Thanks mate. i appreciate it. :-)

[KevTrem]

My 2015 Allroad was meant to be towbar prep'd but being first of the facelifts (manufactured november2014) it wasn't so had to wire it myself.
It may be worth you getting the OBDEleven tool, I have one, it cost me £67 for the pro version, you can enable stuff on the car, program it using apps or long coding and also reset your service indicator, change rear pads yourself etc. I've done allsorts with mine from needle sweep, fully programmed the car for towbar, adjusted start/stop, close the boot on the fob and a few other things I cant remember right now.

[terry.hatton]

I’ve had a look at that site. It says it only works on android. I don’t have any android platforms.

My A6 is July 2015 so hopefully the wiring prep is there.

[Derv_Guzzler]

Hi terry.hatton

Have you got any details of the recall? Where would I be able to assess whether this applies to my VIN?

[terry.hatton]

My local Audi dealer told me there was a recall on the towbar as I was enquiring about purchasing one and the part was on hold for order. The parts guy had no actual details of the recall which is why in my original post I was asking if any current owner with factory fit swivel towbar had already heard about the recall and what was the issue.

If you have a factory fit swivel towbar, maybe you can contact your dealer and ask the question? I’d like to know what the issue is.