Towbar for A6

[SpinneyA6]

Hi,

I'm looking at fitting a detachable towbar to a 2007 A6 saloon 3.0 TDI S Line. I phoned the local Audi who quoted me an impressive £1260!

I phoned a local independent fitters who can fit a detachable Thule towbar for £339.25. However, inorder to make sure he orders the right one he needs to know if the car has air suspension, I'm assuming it hasn't??? I don't pick up the car until tomorrow and when I spoke to the Audi dealership they weren't particularly helpful as their computer system was down.

Can anyone advice? Also, what towbars do Audi usually fit?

Many thanks.

[a8 tech]

Only allroad supports air suspension and allroad are avant only,normal dealer price is around £800 fitted for 13 pin din without charging circuit


fridge circuits are not installed from the factory or in the normal 13 pin din from Audi so additional wiring required and this available from Westfalia


and westfalia are the supplier for Audi tow bar kits

[SpinneyA6]

Thanks for the response.

I spoke to the local independent fitter and they can fit the Westfalia detachable towbar for £399. Less than a 1/3 of the price quoted by the Audi dealership.

From what I've seen on the internet, when the swan neck is removed the fittings are virtually hidden which is what I'm after.

[a8 tech]

if you need a charge circuit make sure they fit it as its additional

[first_timer]

I have a 2009 A6 Avant and towbar fitting turned into a bit of a saga. First the towbar part. Audi OE is a Westfalia detachable. This is a very substantial (heavy!) piece of kit. Gives an impression of quality but has two problems: first, there is no eye to attach a breakaway cable, second my caravan has an Alko stabiliser and the clearance between the stabiliser head and the rear bumper is less than the thickness of a finger. Oh and there's a third thing: it is higher off the ground than I would like, meaning that my caravan tows slightly nose up, when it should be slightly nose down. For these reasons, the Ford/Brink detachable on my 2002 Mondeo was much better.

Then the electrics. Turned out that this was subcontracted by the Audi dealer, and the contractor did not fit an Audi-approved wiring kit, but cheaper generic components instead. Why is this important? The car should recognise when a trailer is attached and enable numerous systems/changes: the A6 dash has a separate built-in warning light for the trailer indicators, the vehicle rear fogs should be inactivated, the rear park sensors should be inactivated (or they howl continuously when reverse is engaged, and most important, the TSP (trailer stability program) should be activated. None of this was working when my A6 was delivered because the fitted universal towing relay was not capable of interacting with the A6 systems! I asked for the towing electrics to be completely removed and replaced with the correct Audi kit. Now everything works as it should.

So, what are the conclusions? First your Audi dealer may not actually fit towbars and, if the work is outsourced, you have no control over it. Therefore, I think it is better to go to a trusted independent. I think a member of NTTA would be my choice in future - their website has a list of members nationwide. Second, ask them which towbar they recommend, bearing in mind factors such as least intrusive fit, where the bumper will be cut and how this can be concealed, adequate clearance between towball and bumper, whether an breakaway cable eye is included etc. Third, only ever go for a vehicle-specific wiring kit!

Good luck!

[a8 tech]

There should be no bumper cut for 4f A6 a modified lower defuser is fitted with a blanking plate for when the detachable swan neck is not in use.Sales departments try to save cost on labour by contracting out but not at my dealer due to poor installation from third parties in the past.Don't forget the charge circuit for fridge etc is not a standard fit from factory and additional wiring kit is required

[first_timer]

Hi

That's true - there is a replacement lower bumper spoiler, with removeable cover, for A6 with towing facility. However, I've been trying to get one since January. It has been on back-order but finally arrived last week. But my local Audi dealer found it did not appear to fit my car! They have taken photos and sent them to Audi, meanwhile they refitted my original bumper spoiler, which has had a 'temporary' large hole cut out of it since the car was delivered.

This modified spoiler is designed to accommodate the Audi OE Westfalia detachable towbar, which is the one I have. In my opinion, for the reasons stated in the previous post, the Westfalia falls short of expectations. However, the downside of going for another make could be that it does not fit the window of the modified bumper spoiler (if you could even obtain one). Personally, I wouldn't want to order a Witter or whatever and then find an unsightly bumper cut is needed. It's a case of being between a rock and a hard place.

[first_timer]

Just to add that it's good to hear that not all Audi workshops outsource towbars! Unfortunately, mine did not make this clear until it was too late and the job was bungled. So I guess you would have to look them in the eye and ask the question.

And that's a very good point that if you want a 12V/30A supply for the fridge whilst towing, you have to ask for it and an extra kit is required. I have heard of several VAG owners being caught out by this.

[SpinneyA6]

I'll only be towing a trailer so I just need the single electrics.

How noticable is the cut in the rear bumber when the Westfalia is fitted? Is it worth getting the replacement lower bumper spoiler, with removeable cover and if so, what do they cost?

Thanks

[first_timer]

If you're up close to the back of the car, it's not very noticeable, because the Westfalia detachable fits vertically and the cut-out is underneath the bumper. However, if you stand back a few yards, it does not look good in my opinion. If you wish, I'll try (!) to post a photo.

But here's the latest installment. My Audi dealer rang today to say they had received another A6 Avant bumper spoiler with towing cut-out which was considerably wider than the one delivered last week, and looks like it would probably fit my car. Now the bad news. The blanking plate was shown on the parts computer diagram as having a separate part number. They ordered one of these but it turned out to be a honeycomb diffuser about 4 feet long. They then tried to convince me that no blanking plate exists, which I didn't accept. I asked them what happens if you order a factory-fitted towbar - does the factory send the car out with a big hole in the bumper? They said they would try to find out...

By the way the price for the bumper spoiler with cut-out but no blanking plate is approx £30.

Steve