Fitting a towbar to my 66 plate GLe

[harrycatcat]

I want a towbar fitting to my newly acquired GLe and I have had a couple of quotes from local reputable firms and they assure me that the warranty won't be compromised. I have 6 months out of the 3 years left. I have not asked Mercedes direct as I would have thought that they would want to cover their back and say it would compromise the warranty.

What do you think?

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[John Laidlaw]

Wouldn’t think warranty would have anything to do with it provided the car is approved to be fitted with a tow bar....
@keefysher on here has a GLE with a tow bar, perhaps he can advise?

 

[keefysher]

Wouldn’t think warranty would have anything to do with it provided the car is approved to be fitted with a tow bar....
@keefysher on here has a GLE with a tow bar, perhaps he can advise?

Mine is a factory fitted tow bar. That can be retrofitted at considerable cost as an aftermarket item.

OP which GLE do you have? SUV or Coupe? The Coupe has less tow bar options.

This list may be helpful:
https://www.pfjones.co.uk/tow-bars/...es-gle-tow-bars/mercedes-gle-suv-towbars.html

You'll need to have the electronics coded to the car so ensure any fitter can do that. Depending what driving aids you have will determine what the coding will enable/disable. Do you have airmatic?

What are you wanting to tow? If a caravan, check if your caravan has 13pin electrics in which case you'll need the correct wiring for the stability control, fridge and onboard battery charging that not all wiring kits cater for. Also if you have an AlKo hitch you will need the correct 'long' neck for the tow ball if a flange type.

This is mine:

Its often worth finding a car with a factory fitted tow bar these days rather than aftermarket fitting given the complexity of electronic systems these days.

 

[harrycatcat]

Mine is a factory fitted tow bar. That can be retrofitted at considerable cost as an aftermarket item.

OP which GLE do you have? SUV or Coupe? The Coupe has less tow bar options.

This list may be helpful:
https://www.pfjones.co.uk/tow-bars/...es-gle-tow-bars/mercedes-gle-suv-towbars.html

You'll need to have the electronics coded to the car so ensure any fitter can do that. Depending what driving aids you have will determine what the coding will enable/disable. Do you have airmatic?

What are you wanting to tow? If a caravan, check if your caravan has 13pin electrics in which case you'll need the correct wiring for the stability control, fridge and onboard battery charging that not all wiring kits cater for. Also if you have an AlKo hitch you will need the correct 'long' neck for the tow ball if a flange type.

This is mine:

Its often worth finding a car with a factory fitted tow bar these days rather than aftermarket fitting given the complexity of electronic systems these days.

Mine is a GLE "sport"

I was asked if I wanted a retractable one or fixed, I asked for a quote for fixed, one firm wanted £557 and the other £265.

I just want to tow a trailer so basic electrics.

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[harrycatcat]

Mine is a GLE "sport"

I was asked if I wanted a retractable one or fixed, I asked for a quote for fixed, one firm wanted £557 and the other £265.

I just want to tow a trailer so basic electrics.

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Its not a coupe.

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[EmilysDad]

Mine is a GLE "sport"

I was asked if I wanted a retractable one or fixed, I asked for a quote for fixed, one firm wanted £557 and the other £265.

I just want to tow a trailer so basic electrics.

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That seems to be a big difference in price. Were both towbar fitters quoting for the same thing? There are fixed 2 bolt flange & fixed swan neck bars as well as detachable bars
https://www.pfjones.co.uk/tow-bars/...es-gle-tow-bars/mercedes-gle-suv-towbars.html

I'd always go for a detachable as I don't want to see a load of iron work on the back of my car but need a towbar to tow my caravan.

 

[harrycatcat]

That seems to be a big difference in price. Were both towbar fitters quoting for the same thing? There are fixed 2 bolt flange & fixed swan neck bars as well as detachable bars
https://www.pfjones.co.uk/tow-bars/...es-gle-tow-bars/mercedes-gle-suv-towbars.html

I'd always go for a detachable as I don't want to see a load of iron work on the back of my car but need a towbar to tow my caravan.

Back to the drawing board, I will have to go and see them to get to the bottom of exactly what the prices are for. They were supposed to be for a fixed bar.
Thanks for your help.

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[harrycatcat]

I have been and had a chat to the chaps at Derbyshire towbars and they have assured me that having a towbar fitted won't invalidate my warranty.
They also advised me to have a retractable one, all in for £345.

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[ajlsl600]

prefer retractable but having a lump of iron hanging out the back is not a bad idea i had that on one car some yrs ago in kenya, at a traffic go slow i had a pick up sail onto my car rear .at fair speed, when i gt out expecting the worst, i found my own rear undamaged and his front end with no rad left as the bar had punched thru it ,got back in drove away.quite chuffed.

 

[harrycatcat]

I have been and had a chat to the chaps at Derbyshire towbars and they have assured me that having a towbar fitted won't invalidate my warranty.
They also advised me to have a retractable one, all in for £345.

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Sorry I have just noticed that I put retractable but I meant detachable.
For some reason or other I couldnt have a retractable one.
It's been a long day.

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[EmilysDad]

I have been and had a chat to the chaps at Derbyshire towbars and they have assured me that having a towbar fitted won't invalidate my warranty.
They also advised me to have a retractable one, all in for £345.

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That sounds a pretty reasonable price.

 

[EmilysDad]

prefer retractable but having a lump of iron hanging out the back is not a bad idea i had that on one car some yrs ago in kenya, at a traffic go slow i had a pick up sail onto my car rear .at fair speed, when i gt out expecting the worst, i found my own rear undamaged and his front end with no rad left as the bar had punched thru it ,got back in drove away.quite chuffed.

but .... hitting a towbar can just deflect any damage from where you can see it to where you can't

 

[ajlsl600]

get you. on this occasion ,no issues with my motor...

 

[davemercedes]

You need to inform your insurer - and will probably get a bill. Our daughter has just been shopping around for the renewal price on her Renault Scenic 7-seater. She found that virtually every insurer stings her a minimum of £25 (most charge £50!) a year extra for it while it made no difference with only one insurer. She only had the tow bar fitted so she could take the odd pile of garden rubbish to the tip. Having found this out, I'm quite peeved because SWMBO's runaround is a 2005 Scenic 7-seater that does sweet FA miles per annum and I fitted a tow bar on that for exactly the same reason - I'll have to check what happens on the next renewal!

 

[harrycatcat]

You need to inform your insurer - and will probably get a bill. Our daughter has just been shopping around for the renewal price on her Renault Scenic 7-seater. She found that virtually every insurer stings her a minimum of £25 (most charge £50!) a year extra for it while it made no difference with only one insurer. She only had the tow bar fitted so she could take the odd pile of garden rubbish to the tip. Having found this out, I'm quite peeved because SWMBO's runaround is a 2005 Scenic 7-seater that does sweet FA miles per annum and I fitted a tow bar on that for exactly the same reason - I'll have to check what happens on the next renewal!

Thanks Dave I will have to remember to mention it.

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[Rattler17]

Interesting thread, I have a GLC, under warranty for another 8 months. I rang Mercedes yesterday asking about fitting a detachable tow bar, they come up with that it’s not straightforward, eg if I was to tow a horse box etc the engine being under more load would need the coolant system modified. So I ask ‘ how much? I get could be £4K... I a, not into towing horses etc. I asked would my warranty be affected by have one fitted by Witter for example, they say only if the work undertaken was found to have caused an issue with the car electrics or corrosion etc. Then there is the re coding issue, some tow bar fitting outlets mention the reversing sensors, but what about the sensors under the bumper for auto opening the Boot. So have any of you had Witters etc fit and had the work done that has covered the above issues to your satisfaction please. Or a competent company in the South West.

 

[Craiglxviii]

prefer retractable but having a lump of iron hanging out the back is not a bad idea i had that on one car some yrs ago in kenya, at a traffic go slow i had a pick up sail onto my car rear .at fair speed, when i gt out expecting the worst, i found my own rear undamaged and his front end with no rad left as the bar had punched thru it ,got back in drove away.quite chuffed.

People to tend to stay away from tailgating when they see a towbar, that's for sure!

 

[keefysher]

Interesting thread, I have a GLC, under warranty for another 8 months. I rang Mercedes yesterday asking about fitting a detachable tow bar, they come up with that it’s not straightforward, eg if I was to tow a horse box etc the engine being under more load would need the coolant system modified. So I ask ‘ how much? I get could be £4K... I a, not into towing horses etc. I asked would my warranty be affected by have one fitted by Witter for example, they say only if the work undertaken was found to have caused an issue with the car electrics or corrosion etc. Then there is the re coding issue, some tow bar fitting outlets mention the reversing sensors, but what about the sensors under the bumper for auto opening the Boot. So have any of you had Witters etc fit and had the work done that has covered the above issues to your satisfaction please. Or a competent company in the South West.

Well documented on here. I had a retrofitted OEM tow bar fitted to my previous W221 S350L, the same as the factory fit, but aftermarket.

No warranty issues as it was MB dealer fitted.

The issue around cooling systems is individual vehicle related depending on what the original car was built to, primarily around its certified emissions. It may have skinny tyres, smaller wheels to meet rolling resistance, hence lower emissions. However its a no brainer if you want to tow with a car not originally built to tow with. A MB auto gearbox is considerably more than the cost of the cooling system mods that may well be just a bigger cooling fan, or larger capacity pump. In the case of the W221 it was £12k for a gearbox, or £89 for a pump.

On the W221 the wing harness was specific to the car, it provided all the functionality to tow a caravan with fridge, trailer stability control and aux power. Not all non MB harnesses give the full electrical supply requirements for a caravan. The tow bar and electrics were coded to meet the requirements.

There are myriad systems on modern MBs that are operated differently when you plug a trailer/caravan in. Coding will ensure they operate properly and is part of the MB fitment. In the case of the W221 I only paid a nominal fitting fee, based on the listed fitting time, not how long it actually took, as the tow bar was delayed in supply.

Several suppliers would do the mechanical installation, no one offered to do the electrical installation, which about sums up on the most complex of MB cars. Finding a car with a factory fitted, or ordering the option of a tow bar seems good sense and best value, especially if you build in the tow bar as a bargaining tool is a good route.

My current W166 GLE has a factory fitted tow bar that does what it says on the tin. It is used for caravan, trailer, bike rack.

 

[ajlsl600]

we really have moved too damn far when fitting a tow bar involves the hassle/cost of any kind of coding !! for it and or the car to function correctly ,IF there is a need???? and the tech was any good .it would be "plug and play", .. something thanks to this i will be taking into account on next purchase , bar will already be there or car will be chosen based on ease of fitting. all this "stuff" is driving me nuts. next we will be buying cars, but wont be able to get the bonnet up to maintain it it will likely send a message to the dealer the car will ask you to insert yr bank card ( DAMN sure there will be a way for that to work !! ) ,dealer will send code, bonnet will come up. or something like that .at 60 i likely wont be much bothered by this .T.F

 

[grayb]

we really have moved too damn far when fitting a tow bar involves the hassle/cost of any kind of coding !! for it and or the car to function correctly ,IF there is a need???? and the tech was any good .it would be "plug and play", .. something thanks to this i will be taking into account on next purchase , bar will already be there or car will be chosen based on ease of fitting. all this "stuff" is driving me nuts. next we will be buying cars, but wont be able to get the bonnet up to maintain it it will likely send a message to the dealer the car will ask you to insert yr bank card ( DAMN sure there will be a way for that to work !! ) ,dealer will send code, bonnet will come up. or something like that .at 60 i likely wont be much bothered by this .T.F

'If there is a need'? Depends whether you like towing with a car that adapts it's stability control systems when it knows you are towing, for one thing. I do, so I am happy to ensure that the right harness etc is used on my car.