Towbar Use, Care & Warranty

We offer a 2 year warranty with vehicle-specific wiring, subject to conditions of sensible use & maintenance.

○ Thule products have a 5 year extended manufacturer’s warranty ○

○ Detachable necks have a 2 year manufacturer’s warranty ○

○ Generic accessories (like 7-13 PIN adapters) have a 1 year warranty ○

Use and Care of Your Towbar

  • Always observe the maximum load limits of your vehicle/towbar (incl. nose-weight/vertical load).

  • You do not need to grease the towball, unless it is recommended for your caravan/trailer.

  • You could damage your towbar by failing to use or care for your towbar correctly.

General Maintenance

After 500 miles of towing or 6 months whichever is sooner, and thereafter every year or 3000 towing miles you must come for a towbar inspection to ensure the towbar is still safe. These inspections include:

• Re-torque all fixings to the values specified on the installation instructions.

• Check & repair any damage to the paint finish. 

• Replace worn or damaged components. 

Dedicated Wiring

Some vehicles require re-coding when dedicated wiring is fitted. Therefore if you take your car in to the dealership for work you should inform them (so that they do not overwrite the coding or are aware any further re-coding will need to take the towbar into account). 

Detachables

  • Do not use the towbar unless the neck is properly located into the receiver (‘green light’ on ACS necks).

  • Do not leave the neck in place for months at a time, this increases the chance of rust and dirt build-up and can cause the mechanism to seize up. We suggest detaching once a month or so to avoid these problems.

  • Always use the dust cover on the receiver when the neck is detached to reduce dirt ingress.

  • If you cannot get the neck to locate in the receiver please check it is spring-loaded (‘red light’ on ACS necks), if not (e.g. ‘yellow light’ on ACS necks) then push the handle-in and turn it as if you are removing it from the car. This will load the spring ready to locate in the receiver.

Paint Finish

The towbar is subject to an extremely harsh environment due to it being located ‘under body’. Due to the high potential of stone chips, exhaust fume build up etc; no manufacturer can offer a guarantee on how long the towbar will remain free from rust. However, all our suppliers use comprehensive pre-treatment and painting systems to ensure that the towbar will remain rust free for the maximum period. Where any further paint coatings are to be applied we recommend that you test any coating on a small unexposed area of the towbar before painting the entire towbar.

 Inappropriate Use/Care 

The following circumstances are likely to cause harm to your towbar, through inappropriate use or care and will have the result that your towbar is not covered by the manufacturers’ guarantee:

• If the vehicle is involved in an accident, incident or collision with another vehicle or object.

• If for any reason (either directly or indirectly) an abnormal load is applied to the towbar.

• If the towbar has been damaged, misused or neglected.

• If any changes or modifications have been carried out to the towbar or any of its components.

• If the towbar is transferred to another vehicle.

FREE FIRST INSPECTION ~ Inspections must be carried out after the first 500 towing miles or 6 months whichever is sooner and then every 12 months or 3000 towing miles, whichever is sooner. The first inspection will be free of charge on production of your warranty certificate, thereafter inspections will be charged for at £25. Failure to comply with these regular inspections will invalidate the warranty.