I tow my 1997 Conway Cardinal Gross wait 900kg with my Fiat Punto 2001 1.9 JTD 5 door, Kerb weight 1040kg. It tows it fine bags of torque, can easily hold 60 on inclines on the motorway if I drop it down to 4th as the gear ratios are high the engine is still only running at 2500 rpm. My garage who has just serviced my car has just said it is not type approved for towing what does he mean?
Many vehicle maufacturers may produce a specific model with various different engines and some are not categorised as designed for towing. Ford produce different engines fitted in the Ford Focus but I think it's the ECO model that states in the brochure with an asterisk (*) that this model is unsuitable for towing. Maybe this is what the garage is referring to but as you claim that you condider that the car is capable in your view it may not be in the eyes of the manufacturer. The problem is that if you have an accident with the trailer in tow, your car insurance could possibly refuse to pay out and class the policy as void. The best thing to do is to enquire with your insurance company first and see what their comments are then take it from there. Secondly you could contact Fiat customer services and get a second opinion from them.
Just had s look on witter and pct towbar sites and they provide towbars for the punto can't see that they would if the car was not approved for towing, but as mentioned above check with fiat
Quote: Originally posted by camping100 on 09/7/2011
Just had s look on witter and pct towbar sites and they provide towbars for the punto can't see that they would if the car was not approved for towing, but as mentioned above check with fiat
Just looked in Towsure brochure expecting it to say a tow bar is not available but it gives 94-99, 99-,2006-.It does say for the older ones some drilling is required so the car may not have any mounting points.
They may have made it for another model, outwardly very similar, but with critical differences. The fitter may have decided that it would be OK to fit.
Some "eco" models just can't be approved for towing. You really need to check the Type Approval. If it can't be used, take the towbar off, so that when you dispose of the car, the new owner doesn't fall into the same trap.
How does one find out if a car is typed approved for towing, not thinking of repalcing my car for a couple of years but when I do I don't want to make a expensive mistake.
If nothing is specified for Train Weight, you can't tow anything with the car. If that turns out to be the case, do get the towbar off as quickly as you can. It is an offence even to have it fitted, much less tow with it.
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Topic: Towing with 5 Door Punto 1.9 JTD
