2009 TDI towing

bigdreama

New member
Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Location
Florida
TDI
2009 Jetta
My wife and I are considering a new TDI JSW and I have a small single rail trailer that I tow my BMW motorcycle on. The dealer salesman said the new TDI's had a towing capacity of 1400 pounds. I looked at the literature and the website but I saw nothing about a posted tow rating so I e-mailed VW directly. I specifically asked about the 2009 TDI Jetta Sportwagen and here is their response:

Dear Steven,

Thank you for visiting the Volkswagen website. We appreciate your
inquiry regarding the capability of using your Volkswagen for towing
purposes.

Volkswagen does not recommend a passenger vehicle be used to tow.
Please note, if you wish to tow something behind your Volkswagen, you
may do so at your own risk.

For further assistance, please contact the Customer Care Center at
1-800-822-8987 Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Thank you for your submission!

Wanda
Volktalk
So, this is not a deal breaker for me but it is disappointing.:(
 

Ol'Rattler

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Location
PNA
TDI
2006 BRM Jetta
Did you try looking in your owners manual? My 06 owners manual allows towing, although for some stupid reason, they list the towing capacity as something less than 1/2 of the same car with a gas engine.

Most likely, my guess would be that a class 1 hitch would work fine on a JSW.
 

CountryBoy

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2001
Location
Strasburg, VA, USA
TDI
2009 VW Jetta SportWagen TDI DSG, 2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-Speed
EDIT: Correct information in post below. Removing my INcorrect info.
 
Last edited:

kynimrod

Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Location
Louisville KY
TDI
'09 Sportwagen TDI
Steven,
Being an owner of an TDI JSW, I havelooked in my owners manual and it stated that it can tow 1500 lbs with the manual transmission and somewhat less with the DSG(auto). I put on a class I hitch and have towed my 17' Boston Whaler just fine. In my humble opinion you will be just fine towing a 400 lb motorcycle and 250 lb trailer.
DO IT! this is a no brainer.
:) TD
 

dr61

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2008
Location
Redding, CA
TDI
2009 JSW TDI on order
bigdreama said:
My wife and I are considering a new TDI JSW and I have a small single rail trailer that I tow my BMW motorcycle on. The dealer salesman said the new TDI's had a towing capacity of 1400 pounds. I looked at the literature and the website but I saw nothing about a posted tow rating so I e-mailed VW directly. I specifically asked about the 2009 TDI Jetta Sportwagen and here is their response:
...
So, this is not a deal breaker for me but it is disappointing.:(
There are many posts about this (try Search). The Owners Manual for 2009's specifies towing data (although there may be a misprint). It appears that VWNA wants to discourage towing, but these cars are designed for light towing and many owners in Europe tow with them.

For instance:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=2265422&postcount=3829
 

bigdreama

New member
Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Location
Florida
TDI
2009 Jetta
Thanks for the responses fellas. I think that I will just abide with VW's wishes while under warranty and not do any towing.
After that, we should have more data about towability.:cool:
 

grantdcol

Active member
Joined
Jan 22, 2008
Location
San Luis Obispo, CA
TDI
2005.5 Jetta, 2003 Jetta - Saved my life
bigdreama said:
Thanks for the responses fellas. I think that I will just abide with VW's wishes while under warranty and not do any towing.
After that, we should have more data about towability.:cool:
That's certainly an option, but why would towing affect your warranty?

Does carrying a car full of overweight adults void it? Does filling the trunk with concrete bags void it? Does carrying too many bikes/snowboards/kayaks void it?

If there is any issue at all, you put the owner's manual specifications in their face and tell them to fix it. That simple!

I would not tow much of anything behind a passenger car, but a motorcycle is an extremely light load.
 

barshnik

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
2013 Passat SE w/roof, nav
bigdreama said:
Thanks for the responses fellas. I think that I will just abide with VW's wishes while under warranty and not do any towing.
After that, we should have more data about towability.:cool:
You only got half the answer with your email question to VW. If you want the other half, you need to stay on hold for an indeterminate amount of time to reach a live customer service representative. I did that a month or two ago.

The first words are 'VW doesn't recommend towing with any passenger vehicle that did not come equipped with a factory tow hitch'. That is the half you got back. The live person will tell you that you can tow without affecting your warranty, and give you the tow limits (1000 lbs without trailer brakes, 1500 with trailer brakes, 175 lb max tongue weight.)

There are errors regarding towing in the '09 manual, VW is supposed to mail out an addendum to all '09 TDI owners sometime soon.

John F
 

gixxer1000

Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2006
Location
6 miles from Canada
TDI
06 Jetta TDI 5-spd

I pulled my trailer and bike without any issues. And I'm sure they upgraded the 09 with a better clutch and flywheel. So you shouldn't have any problems. The hardest part is to hook up the trailer lights. Good luck!
 

Pelican18TQA4

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Location
Philadelphia, PA
TDI
'13 Jetta Hybrid
My Dad regularly tows a trailer with two motorcycles without any problems in the almost 100,000 miles he's put on the car. This is with a MkIV Golf TDI. And to add to that, a lot of the time towing the two bikes has also included three people and their luggage in the car. VWoA is lawsuit-weary, as are most U.S. companies; this is the main reason that VWoA discourages towing. Probably the reason they don't offer a factory-installed hitch in the U.S. too. R.O.W. Jetta/Golfs can be ordered with hitches from the factory and these cars are structurally no different than U.S. cars, nor do they have any modifications (other than wiring and other ancillaries) to accommodate towing.
 

jvance

Veteran Member
Joined
May 22, 2008
Location
Private
TDI
Gave it back to VW
Pelican18TQA4 said:
My Dad regularly tows a trailer with two motorcycles without any problems in the almost 100,000 miles he's put on the car. This is with a MkIV Golf TDI. And to add to that, a lot of the time towing the two bikes has also included three people and their luggage in the car. VWoA is lawsuit-weary, as are most U.S. companies; this is the main reason that VWoA discourages towing. Probably the reason they don't offer a factory-installed hitch in the U.S. too. R.O.W. Jetta/Golfs can be ordered with hitches from the factory and these cars are structurally no different than U.S. cars, nor do they have any modifications (other than wiring and other ancillaries) to accommodate towing.
There is an anti-sway ESP mode that is activated when towing. I'm not sure that's available on US spec cars.
 

JLS

Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2008
Location
State of Jefferson
TDI
'09 JSW
kynimrod said:
Steven,
Being an owner of an TDI JSW, I havelooked in my owners manual and it stated that it can tow 1500 lbs with the manual transmission and somewhat less with the DSG(auto). I put on a class I hitch and have towed my 17' Boston Whaler just fine. In my humble opinion you will be just fine towing a 400 lb motorcycle and 250 lb trailer.
DO IT! this is a no brainer.
:) TD
kynimrod,
Where did you get the hitch? Brand? Part#? Price? Did you install it youself?
 

kynimrod

Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Location
Louisville KY
TDI
'09 Sportwagen TDI
It is a Curt Hitch as the link above shows. I think it was about $150 with shipping. I put it on myself, and I needed a second set of hands to hold it in place while getting some nuts started. I took it to a UHaul center for the electrical. That was about $100 and they lost money on me because it took 3 1/2 hours. Running the power supply to the fuse box in the front was "the hardest install I have ever done" .
He routed the wiring thr the interior, and I watched alot of it and I would not have had the patience this guy did.
:)
 

TDI Pete

Member
Joined
May 22, 2007
Location
Swansboro, NC SOBX
TDI
2010 JSW DSG 6 Platinum Grey Metallic Black Pleather interior
dr61,
U Haul sells the class 1 hitch kit for Jetta's. They are actually made by Hidden Hitch or Drawtite. Funny thing about it is I had the same concerns you had but got over them as I use my class 1 hitch for two reasons, receiver for bicycle mount and my little red folding utility trailer which is actually black with galvanized wheels (they match better than the chrome) it came in a kit and was a snap to assemble, 300 lbs with 3/4 in plywood deck and aluminum diamond floor plate deck. My 06 TDI doesen't know it is there. Don't worry about the warranty, I'm not. "I use the class 1 for my bicycle mount."
 

MBoni

Veteran Member
Joined
May 18, 2007
Location
Atlanta, GA
TDI
2009 Jetta Sportwagen
Curt Hitch vs Draw-tite.

I'm planning on getting a hitch, but am not sure which one to get. It looks like two basic choices for my Sportwagen:

The Curt hitch is part #11084
Draw-Tite has model #24752

Installation instructions for each:
Curt: http://www.etrailer.com/instructions.aspx?pn=11084
Draw-tite:http://www.hiddenhitch.com/fitguides/pdf/N24752.pdf

So, which one do I want? Both have the same basic specs of a class I hitch, which is all I need. It looks like I have to cut the underbody plastic cover for either one, but I can't tell which would be more hidden. Can anyone see any other differences that might make me lean one way or another?
 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Those two hitches do no look like they are for the same car, the frame rails look different at the ends, and so do the hitches (I printed out both .pdf documents and put them beside each other.)

If they are right (maybe I am wrong) then I prefer the one with the round tubing it looks cooler :)

Otherwise we need more pics of people's hitches, installed, from the back, please! :D
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Neither of those two will be hidden if they end up like my 2006 Hidden Hitch. They both will hang under the car and will scrape now and then if you aren't careful on inclines/driveways. The Bosal is the only true hidden hitch I have seen, alas not legal as you said.
 

Pelican18TQA4

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Location
Philadelphia, PA
TDI
'13 Jetta Hybrid
The Bosal hitch is illegal because it is not DOT-approved. However, owners have installed European headlights and taillights without thinking twice and neither of these items are DOT-approved.
 

Pelican18TQA4

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Location
Philadelphia, PA
TDI
'13 Jetta Hybrid
Yes, illegal is definitely illegal. But there is a difference between a blatant law-breaking action and then there is something like the Bosal hitch. If the OP is concerned that having a Bosal hitch will somehow attract negative attention from the law, then absolutely it should be avoided.
 

MBoni

Veteran Member
Joined
May 18, 2007
Location
Atlanta, GA
TDI
2009 Jetta Sportwagen
The important question is: why is the Bosal hitch not DOT approved?

Is it simply a matter of not submitting the hitch to the DOT for testing? Or does it somehow violate a DOT safety rule, perhaps compromising the strength of the rear bumper assembly? We can speculate that it's perfectly safe and nobody will ever notice, but that's just speculation.

Besides, the Bosal doesn't (yet?) have a receiver that'll hold my bike rack. I'd be more willing to overlook the lack of DOT approval if it did, and there are hints that one is coming, but it's not available for purchase currently.
 

weedeater

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 17, 2001
Location
Reston, VA
TDI
Jetta, 2001, Baltic Green
Cops aren't going to care.

Your insurance company is another matter. But only if you get in an accident pulling the trailer. If they investigate and find that you were using a non-DOT approved hitch and were involved in an accident, I'm sure they would refuse coverage.
 

Pelican18TQA4

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Location
Philadelphia, PA
TDI
'13 Jetta Hybrid
weedeater said:
Cops aren't going to care.

Your insurance company is another matter. But only if you get in an accident pulling the trailer. If they investigate and find that you were using a non-DOT approved hitch and were involved in an accident, I'm sure they would refuse coverage.
VERY true!
 
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