Audi 2025 towbar electrics
Not to worry I was told as there were many third party tow bar companys who could fit an aftermarket tow bar (as indeed I had done on all my previous towbars). Audi told me that their aftermarket towbars were on back order and could give no indication when they would be able to fit at this point.
So my shiny new car arrived and I drove off looking forward to my many caravan trips ahead.
That's when my troubles started!
I researched all the local and national tow bar fitting companies and started to get a very common themed response.
"oh, what year is it - 2025?
Oh, Audi/VW haven't released the coding yet and some of the features won't work."
What sort of features, I asked.
"Well, all the legal requirements will be OK, lights, stabiliser, braking etc, but car features like lane keeping assist, reversing beeper cut off etc. may not work and you might get some warnings on the dash".
So I pressed ahead thinking I can do without these features until the coding problem was sorted and selected a local and highly recommended towbar fitting company to me in Bradford to do the work.
They mechanically fitted the removal towbar I had selected without any problems but they couldn't get the electrics to work, causing all sorts of electrical warnings to appear in the dash but they suggested a fix was imminent so just bring it back and we will do the electrics later.
I collected the car after they suggested I get Audi to remove the dashboard warnings but on driving home the car lost all power and was undrivable.
Thankfully, I had Audi assistance and they came and collected the car and took it to the repair centre.
After three weeks, a cancelled caravan weekend away and two courtesy cars later I'm now told that they will repair the car under warranty "this time only" as they know I had had a tow bar fitted and that the DC converter was damaged and needed repair/replacement.
In and amongst this time, I contacted Audi UK for assistance and although they have been good at keeping me informed they are not able to tell me when this towbar coding issue will be resolved.
So, I will be getting my car back shortly I hope, but sadly no caravan holidays for me for the foreseeable future.
Does anyone else have the same problem and have they had the issue resolved somehow? I've tried the forums but can't find anything with a solution.
All I'm getting for Audi is a blank face and "we don't know when".
Comments
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Sounds about right. Back in 2019 I ordered a factory fit towbar with fully functioning 13 pin electrics for my Audi A3. The car arrived with said fitment and very nice it looked. You can guess it can't you. The electrics not fully functioning though with no power to caravan battery or fridge.
In 2014 I'd hade a similar issue with a Skoda Yeti, but the dealer had fitted the "genuine Skoda" towbar.
In both cases The discussions had become heated with VAG,.
Colin
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memo to anyone else buying a new car. Have the main dealer fit the towbar and electrics ,and get it right , before you pay the outstanding balance and before you take it from his premises. Don’t take it home and then sub contract the job to someone else. I learned this lesson ten years ago.
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This issue has been highlighted on the Caravan Talk forum for months. The only way to get a towbar that functioned as designed by VW/Audi, is to have the car built with a factory bar specified, rather than selling you something that was already built and in stock somewhere. I guess thats why they are sorting the problem under warranty, as the salesman should not have said the things he did regarding aftermarket towbar fitment.
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In my case the Audi was a factory order to my specification with a factory fitted towbar. Liverpool Audi would not admit there was a problem until I stood my the ground and they opened up the electrics to discover incomplete wiring conections.
An important reason to go factory fit ix you get a manufacturers 3 year warranty as opposed to an after market supplier/dealer 12 month warranty.
Colin
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It’s not just Audi. It was a main dealer JLR service manager who said to me many years ago, We know how to do it, but people think they can get electrics done locally, and a bit cheaper, and then they come back to us to get things sorted out. And in fact electrics have become far more complex since then.
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I too had similar problems. In 2019 we were going to buy a new caravan, our first. I had a Jaguar XF and was assured it would be fine to tow the van so I booked it in to a local tow bar fitter. Tow bar fitted and I drove away only to discover my phone was not linked up to the car. I went to a supermarket and discovered the car would not lock.
Back to the tow bar man who fiddled about with the car for a while before admitting defeat and told me to go to the Jaguar main dealer and get them to fix the car and he would pay.
The dealer had the car for six weeks and in the end had to get a factory technician out to do a hard reset of the electrics. The bill was £1,200 plus vat which the tow bar man paid and also removed the tow bar from the car and refunded me my money.
I then bought a Land Rover with a factory fit tow bar.
It seems from the tales above messing about with modern car electrics is fraught with problems.
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I think it also shows that sales people haven't got a clue about the products they sell.
In recent years I've bought both a new car and a new caravan, and had educate 'sales' staff on what their products do and don't offer.
I thinks it pays to do as much research as possible before signing on the dotted line.
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Hi All, This is an issue I have posted about on a number of occasions.
Ordered a new Q5 in Sept 2012 with factory fit towbar and whilst on a rally a Q5 owner had advised to be very specific when ordering so, follow his advice, had the order clearly state that the car must have fully functioning 13 pin electrics suitable for a British caravan.He had done so but when the car arrived without this he refused to accept it till it was rectified.
Having spent a great deal of time researching the issue had established that a supplementary wiring kit was needed to get the full 13 pins operational. The day before collection on 1st March 2013 the salesman called me and said that his Master Technician said I did not need this so they would not be fitting it.
So come this day the ex of collect our first ever new car was tarnished because the salesman and Master Technician didn’t have a clue about the car they were selling.
The issue was subsequently sorted and Audi UK paid for the kit and it’s fitting.
Sadly I had similar issues in 2017 and again Audi UK paid for the kit.
I have no expectation that salesman will have a scooby about caravanning but, as mentioned above, I have found that on many aspects of the cars I have bought my knowledge was greater than theirs and often I was met with a don’t know, or worse some ridiculous explanation.
The supplementary wiring kit simply provided the full 13 pins that were not provided with the factory fit bar and having been made aware of this contacted six dealers five of whom had no awareness of its existence, hence the direct approach to Audi UK!
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To the OP, is this the new shape of Q5? I am about to purchase one and will need a towbar fitted. The websites I have found seem to suggest that there will be a visible bumper cut. Are you able to confirm and/or show a photo of your installation? Many thanks!0
