SOLD Brink tow bar/hitch/accessory mount

[Eenomc]

Bought this from PF Jones earlier this year for our ID3 to allow transportation of bikes. Fitting is easy and just requires rear bumper removal, crash bar removal and a small (not visible) cutout on the bottom of the bumper. Comes with 13pin socket but no other wiring as it was left on the car. Wiring is easy with a universal relay and splicing into the rear light feeds whilst the bumper is off. Works fine with no errors however if reversing with the bike rack in you have to 'cover' the brake pedal so it doesn't auto brake.

Our ID3 was suffering HV cell 6 degradation which was severely impacting the range. The earliest VW could guarantee the work to be done was March 24 so we managed to offload it back into the VW network.

The towbar will have to be collected from Kinross (central Scotland) as it's a heavy thing to post.

£50.

From the PF Jones receipt.

Volkswagen ID.3 (E11) Hatchback 2019 Onwards Brink Detachable Towbar
CODE: 681400

[sidehaas]

Might be interested but I don't know much about tow bars so would want some reassurance.
- how much was the cost of the part new and how much was the installation (at/by PF Jones)?
- how different is the end product to a VW dealer fit tow hitch, and in what ways?
- did your car go through any software updates while you had the hitch installed and how did they go? I have seen others say that non-factory fitted cameras and tow bars caused problems in the past.
Thanks

[Eenomc]

I fitted the bar myself as I couldn't stomach the cost from VW. The bar drops down and is a vertical insert rather than the horizontal of the original part. Instead of accessing by hinging the number plate, this is at the lower edge of the bumper (like a traditional towbar).

Fitting yourself isn't too bad, it took me around an hour and a half (including cleaning underneath the bumper). A garage with a lift should get it on within an hour.

I used a universal bypass relay for the lights, wire colours were the same as my mk7.5 GTi. As my bike rack has LED lights I took power from the accessory socket in the boot as they have minimal current draw. The relay never caused any issues with the car and as it wasn't a vw kit I didn't get any software update done.

The towbar was about £300 from PF Jones.

I'll get a picture with the hitch in the towbar to give a better idea of how it sits.

[sidehaas]

I fitted the bar myself as I couldn't stomach the cost from VW. The bar drops down and is a vertical insert rather than the horizontal of the original part. Instead of accessing by hinging the number plate, this is at the lower edge of the bumper (like a traditional towbar).

Fitting yourself isn't too bad, it took me around an hour and a half (including cleaning underneath the bumper). A garage with a lift should get it on within an hour.

I used a universal bypass relay for the lights, wire colours were the same as my mk7.5 GTi. As my bike rack has LED lights I took power from the accessory socket in the boot as they have minimal current draw. The relay never caused any issues with the car and as it wasn't a vw kit I didn't get any software update done.

The towbar was about £300 from PF Jones.

I'll get a picture with the hitch in the towbar to give a better idea of how it sits.

Ok thanks. I will give it a miss as I'm not confident wiring things in myself and it'll probably make more sense for me just to cough up for an "official" mod. Good luck selling it to someone else.

[Eenomc]

No problem, I agree you've got to be confident doing this sort of thing especially with the car under warranty. If I'd had time I would've removed my loom from the car as it didn't involve any cutting of wires but when VW finally relented and agreed to take the car back on very favourable terms the car went within days.

[Eenomc]

Sold locally to a Cupra Born owner.

Thanks for the messages of interest.