Towbar Fitment

[Dave89]

So i dropped my ZRE rolla sedan in for 30,000km service last week and asked for a quote to supply and fit a tow bar.

Couple of hours later and i get a call from the service department, the guy said it would be $970 supplied and fitted, i told him i'd get back to him.

As i walked into the service department to get my car i thought $970 was a bit over priced, i paid my money for the service and asked if $970 was the best price they really could do, he took one look at it and said "yeah, we charge $105 an hour so thats about right." i said to him "about right, or right?" then he said "the guy that priced it knows what he is doing".

i still thought it was overpriced, so i pushed more

"i just don't understand why it is so much?" he then said, "well it takes some time to put the bar on, then the wiring has to be run all the way to the engine bay, and plugged into the car's ECU, we need to put some relays in the engine bay." r replied with, "you've got to be joking me" the guy had obviously got the ****s with me because he said he would go and get someone from the parts department and then he walked off.

So the guy from parts came out, and printed me off a quote for just the parts, $435.44 for the parts, then he said "It looks like they have overpriced this a bit." i agreed with him and then he asked the guy i was talking to first how long it would take to fit the towbar, the first guy checked on his computer then came back with 3-4 hours.

So 3-4 hours at $105 per hour is $315 to $420, plus the cost of parts is $750.44 to $855.44. that is already $120 to $225 cheaper than the original quote. The parts guy said if i still didn't like that price than i can just fit it myself, he said it's not hard, it just bolts on and it comes with a wiring diagram as well.

Where do Toyota get off trying to rip people off for one to two extra hours, they make money on their hourly rate as it is, it doesn't cost them $105 per hour to pay a mechanic plus running costs.

anyway, as far as running the cables to the engine bay and adding extra relays, that sounds like bull**** to me, surely when Toyota designed the car the made provision for a towbar wiring harness by having a plug behind a panel in the boot that you just plug the wiring harness in to and that plug would just look out of the tail lights anyway. Even if there wasn't a plug, i'd just cut into the tail light cables in the boot anyway, what point is there running to the ecu, and what are the extra relays for?

Can anyone confirm any of this?

Has anyone else had a towbar fitted?

Cheers!

Dave

[SuperDave]

The ZZE tow bar is plug and play. And on the ZZE no way is it 3/4 hours work, 1 hour if you know how it pulls apart and goes back together, 1.5 hours if your a n00b.

Bascially it is;

1. Remove tow hook.

2. Removing rear boot trim.

3. Attach tow bar.

4. Run wiring into boot through a grommet and plug into factory harness.

5. Put back together, excluding the tow hook.

I'm sure the torque specs are included with the instructions. This is based on my experience with the ZZE, I don't know how the ZRE is.

[SQU-47N]

everyone knows dealers are way over priced...just go diy

[robie]

theres a wire on a 150 series you have to run from the towbar to the front of the car they allow 70 mins just for wiring

and with the tow bar fitment itself you have to cut out a small section of the rear bar so yeah ok dealer ship prices are high but atleast if the dealership stuffs the cuting out part up your gonna get a new rear bar but if you stuff the cuting of the bar up well tough shiiit hey

[robie]

yeah not as simple as the 120 series

[SmellyTofu]

anyway, as far as running the cables to the engine bay and adding extra relays, that sounds like bull**** to me, surely when Toyota designed the car the made provision for a towbar wiring harness by having a plug behind a panel in the boot that you just plug the wiring harness in to and that plug would just look out of the tail lights anyway. Even if there wasn't a plug, i'd just cut into the tail light cables in the boot anyway, what point is there running to the ecu, and what are the extra relays for?

Biggest misconception is that all cars have provisions to fit towbars. Towing with passenger vehicles is pretty much a European and Australian thing. Toyota don't make cars just for Australia.

The second misconception is that there's a breakout plug for towbars for all cars. Maybe 1 in 5 cars have towbars fitted so that means 4 out of 5 people pay for plugs that they don't require. Certainly a great way to cut the cost of manufacturing.

[Dave89]

ok so is there anyone that has had one fitted?

theres a wire on a 150 series you have to run from the towbar to the front of the car they allow 70 mins just for wiring

and with the tow bar fitment itself you have to cut out a small section of the rear bar so yeah ok dealer ship prices are high but atleast if the dealership stuffs the cuting out part up your gonna get a new rear bar but if you stuff the cuting of the bar up well tough shiiit hey

what wire needs to be run to ecu?

and you sure bar needs to be cut? it doesn't just bend underneath?

[robie]

if you buy the genuine towbar and wiring kits they come with instruction and templates for cutting the rear bar

not saying you cant do it but id leave it to your dealer or even auto elec due to reason i stated earlier bout the if you **** up

[raj7]

if you buy the genuine towbar and wiring kits they come with instruction and templates for cutting the rear bar

not saying you cant do it but id leave it to your dealer or even auto elec due to reason i stated earlier bout the if you **** up

[/quote

u rite mate,

i am also currently interested in fitting a tow bar to my 2k6 corolla & got the price about $500 bucks fully supplied & fitted.

Its pretty good to have tow bar due to living standards in australia where shifting stuff - tow makes it easier with cheaper fuel consumption especially a car like corolla.

[NEWJAK]

i got one fitted recently at a place called carasel in liverpool, cost me $380 supplied and fitted in 3 hrs. i even had the choice to get the plug hidden in the boot, attached to a flat ribbon cable type. this was so they did not have to drill into my bumper to attach the plug.

[nikko.a]

i got one fitted recently at a place called carasel in liverpool, cost me $380 supplied and fitted in 3 hrs. i even had the choice to get the plug hidden in the boot, attached to a flat ribbon cable type. this was so they did not have to drill into my bumper to attach the plug.

i didnt get to fit many tow bars onto these new corollas(ZRE) when i was working at Toyota P.D i think i only did 2 to be exact and that was when they first came out.

it takes about 2hrs to 2.5hrs max if u know wat ur doing. wiring is simple, plug and play...although most of the new toyota towbar wiring has been changed to go to the ecu so it can detect when u have a blown globe. you do need to cut the bare on the ZRE when fitting a genuine bar but its very easy if u have the correct tools and the template is provided with the tow bar