Mk 3 2008 Tow bar electrics? Dedicated or not?

[karlywoo]

Hi all well after much saving i finally have managed to buy a newer V70, i have bought a manual this time as i intend to do more caravan towing, now looking at the prices of towbars etc, its an ouch!!
I,m not sure wether to buy an ordinary swan neck bar and just unbolt the thing when not towing to save the parking sensors, or bite the bullet and buy a detatchable, over twice the price!!
The next question is dedicated electrics or not, a standard kit can be had for around £20! yet dedicated a whopping £180, wow thats obscene! i have heard that splicing in on a MK3 can give problems, whats the best advice on that? Any help on this would be much appreciated thanks Les

[Model flyer]

Hi I bought a tow bar kit for my p2 v70on ebay and it was a dodle to fit and the electrics were plug and play. My current tow bar was fitted to my mk 3 by the dealer who I bought the car from and looks like a similar item that I fitted . Not expensive and doesn't interfere with the parking sensors so no need to remove when not in use . It's a Witter kit ,just looked so meets the regs.

[karlywoo]

Hi thanks for that, i fitted one to my last V70 MK2, now i have a Mk3 its just the cost of a plug and play harness, £160+ i feel that its way too expensive for what it is, where as a standard splice in kit £20 ish! it just pains me to pay it! the best quote i have had is for the bar, detatchable as i have parking sensors and a dedicated is around £360, thats an ouch!

[karlywoo]

Just a thought while i,m here, as you are an avid follower of the Volvo like myself the current being my ninth! what are your thoughts on the mk3/ i really cannot make my mind up on mine! i,m not sure wether i love it or not? i still yearn for my old classics, i truly loved them! i remember a time when things were tight and i bought unseen an old classic, it had been to the moon and back, but on driving it home from Somerset had a grin as wide as a mile!
This one i have just bought is an 08, its done 137k, has a full Volvo history, is immaculate inside and out, it the 2.4d 163 lump, drives perfect, a manual as i intend doing more caravan towing this year, but i,m disappointed with the economy, its not even close to my last and that was auto? and had done 230k!! this one has every possible toy, blinds spots thingys and lane departure, flashing lights to say i am too close etc, a complete array of extras, i,m not sure i like the handbrake, or the six speed box, that just seems too many gears, or maybe i,m an old stuck in the mud old bloke!
I don,t know i may go back to a late mk2 with an auto box if i can find a goodun, i,m just not convinced by this one, yet its a perfect drive??? confused i think!!

[Sasha94]

I love my P3, mine now has 150k otc and it's perfect. I bought a Thule detachable tow bar with dedicated wiring and it was plug and play to fit and when it's not attached the car looks no different. Mines an XC70 D5 Geartronic; it would pull a house down with all the torque!!

[kenny]

With regards the towbar and electrics there are many towbar said available but I would stick to a known name. You get what you pay for. As for the electrics take it on the chin and buy the genuine volvo dedicated kit. It is a one off purchase and any modern car needs the proper kit. There are so many things that change on your car when it knows it is towing but it only knows this when you have the right wiring kit fitted. If you fit a £20 bypass kit all the built in changes to your car such as stability control are simply bypassed and they will not work.
Regards the fuel economy, this is a well documented down side of newer emissions. welcome to phase three ownership.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by karlywoo

Hi all well after much saving i finally have managed to buy a newer V70, i have bought a manual this time as i intend to do more caravan towing, now looking at the prices of towbars etc, its an ouch!!
I,m not sure wether to buy an ordinary swan neck bar and just unbolt the thing when not towing to save the parking sensors, or bite the bullet and buy a detatchable, over twice the price!!
The next question is dedicated electrics or not, a standard kit can be had for around £20! yet dedicated a whopping £180, wow thats obscene! i have heard that splicing in on a MK3 can give problems, whats the best advice on that? Any help on this would be much appreciated thanks Les

you should never undo the bolts securing the towing hook to the tow bar , the bolts are use only once stretch bolts .
The tow bar wiring isn,t that expensive , about £60 + fitting + software .. you need the genuine volvo tow bar module to interface the socket to the digital electrics .The 2 plugs are already in the car . on the left rear side

[Guy XC70]

Originally Posted by karlywoo

Hi all well after much saving i finally have managed to buy a newer V70, i have bought a manual this time as i intend to do more caravan towing, now looking at the prices of towbars etc, its an ouch!!
I,m not sure wether to buy an ordinary swan neck bar and just unbolt the thing when not towing to save the parking sensors, or bite the bullet and buy a detatchable, over twice the price!!
The next question is dedicated electrics or not, a standard kit can be had for around £20! yet dedicated a whopping £180, wow thats obscene! i have heard that splicing in on a MK3 can give problems, whats the best advice on that? Any help on this would be much appreciated thanks Les

Have you tried Indespension? They are pretty competent IME. My tow bar (XC70, new last year) was ordered with the car, it's dealer fit, and the price was £150. I paid £80 for a Witter removable ball on my P2 V70, so this seemed pretty reasonable. £180 is silly money but the P3 does have a reputation for being fussy.

[Backhill1]

As above regards indespension. They either use brink or witter and in my old job they looked after our trailers (regular inspections etc) and tow bar fitting.
With regards modern can bus systems now I would only have done at a dealer or a quality alternative not something to be done on the drive with scotch lock clips.

[St Evelyn]

I bought a brink detachable for the wife's XC60, but here's one for the V70 from the same seller - £154 for the towbar seems decent to me. The Brink name used to be widely known for towbars and has recently been reinvigorated to replace Thule, so they are Volvo OE. The bar may not be identical to the genuine Volvo one, but it will fit perfectly. Dedicated genuine electrics cost me about £80 IIRC, then around £35 for the software download. Easy job to do yourself on the driveway - I did my S80 in a couple of hours (first bar I'd ever fitted), then a couple of years later the wife's car. I reckon you should be able to get the job done in full for a little over £250, a bargain I'd say.

Go on, have a go yourself, you'll be surprised how easy it is!