MrBadGUy

I know it was discussed before, but did anybody eventually get a hitch?
I need to tow my Jet Ski. I don't think that this will be any problem for TL. I did it with 2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi with no difficulty. And if anyone says that it will void warranty, how will the dealer know? All I will say that it is for bikes.

Anyway, did anybody get one? If so where? What brand? How much? How does it look? Picture perhaps? Link? Custom one maybe? Drilling, welding or bolt on?

Thanks for all help.

And don't tell me:
1. You can't tow with a TL. YES I can and I will!!!
3 The manual says don't tow. Uhmmmm did not read it, and will not read it.
2. It will be ugly. Maybe, but usefull and I need it. And no it will not be ugly to have a 150HP Kawasaki Jet Ski following the TL to the beach .

subinf

I remember someone from southern california had a custom hitch installed. there are no bolt on applications without drilling (i would assume, although valley, hidden, drawtite, wts, dont make hitches for the TL.) It was done at a custom shop and it didnt look bad at all. im not sure how the lights are going to wire up, (assuming your trailer is wider than the TL) but i think if you get the modulite 18130 from drawtite the 3 wire system will convert, havent looked into it, but you do have some limited options with the hitch.

scrb09

If you have all these things to say why dont you find yourself a freekin anwser?


and yes it is PAGE 192 of the OWNERS MANUAL where it specifically says "Your vehicle is not designed to tow a trailer. Attempting to do so can void your warranties" read the fu*k AGAIN!

MrBadGUy

I gets the key word is .....CAN void your.... Yeah sure, if you are crazy to tow a boat and you overheat the transmission, ofcourse the dealer can and should refuse a repair. I don't think that it takes any special design to tow something as light as a Jet Ski. TL has the pulling and stopping power. What else do I need? An OK for Acura engineer? It is so much easier for them to say that the car is not designed for towing which not so many people are interested in anyway.

And, YES I have all those things to say, becasue I tried to look for an answer all over the web and in the forums, and did not find any.

subinf

its not that you wont overheat your tranny, its that if a hitch is mounted you will probably rip it out of the frame/car. I have seen plenty of people push the limits of their tow capability and destroy not only the rear part of their car but also whatever they were towing. i dont give a shit what the hell you pull, a jetski isnt gonna do any serious damage...though it truly depends on how the hitch is mounted (if you can find someone to do it.)

africanstar

yeah, i got a hitch for my '02 tl. i picked it up from a place in brampton on dixie (south of steeles) called "trailerman".
its not a brand name one but it does the job. hidden hitch and all the others didnt make one for our car when i got mine.
i did it a couple of years ago so i dont remember exactly how much it was but i think it was about $185.
its a 1.25' receiver so because i have the oem skirts you can't even tell its there unless you look for it.
sorry, no pictures.
there was no drilling. it took the guy less than 10 minutes to bolt it on to the existing frame of the car.

hope this helps.

ps. i got the 1.25 receiver because i actually do use mine for carrying mountain bikes.
pps. let me know if you have anymore questions.

Hybrid

The current Accord is rated by Honda to tow 1000 lbs. and there are companies that make hitches. It would seem logical that the rating for the TL could be about the same as the Accord. However, there are suspension differences, I assume, and nobody currently makes a TL hitch. Plus, as noted elsewhere, Acura says no towing with the TL. Personally, given the tranny history of the TL, apparently due to overheating problems, I woudn't try it with an automatic, and towing isn't usually the best idea with a clutch.

Xpditor

Lemmie see....

I'm the Service Manager at an Acura dealer, and

You come in with your new TL and the tranny is toast. You're still under warranty.

Woops! I see that you installed a small trailer hitch on your car.

What do you think I will do next?

1) laugh and point to the door out?
2) give you the estimate of $3500 for a rebuilt tranny but no guarantee because you are towing
3) ignore the hitch and replace your tranny for free?

If you said #3, you must still believe in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny.

thegabrielles

WOW...this is a testy subject. I am thinking of doing something simular because as big as the TL is, it still does not carry all the caoming gear my old SUV did. Voiding the warrany is the biggest thing I would worry about. But hopefully some realism from the service manager if the tranny goes out will help. I tow 5800lbs trailer behind my Mustang convertible, trust me thats not supposed to happen. I even towed woththe stock 2.73 gears adn a 5-speed. Yes the trailer had brakes ande yes I drove it 80 mph down the highway (in 4th gear) and I have never had any issues. SO here I am with my 35k TL and I want to pull a 500lb trailer and its not capable? I think its a liability issue Acura was not wanting to deal with. If the Accord can tow 1000lbs and esentially they are the same drivetrain, then why cant the TL. Now thats the opinion part of it, matching my opinion with a service managers if the tranny goes out, that might be a bigger problem.

mickey3c

Acura is just trying to cover theirs asses when it comes to the tranny. That seems to be the case here and for anyone that owned a 2G 5AT should know. They still do not have the 5AT that they should have. And not to beat the dead horse too much...

Being in the business we always recommend that they do not do something that we know could break the product. Yes, they should be able to tow 1000 pounds and expect to get 50K out of the product. 1000 pounds is nothing.. you could have 4, 250 pound adults in the car!

Another limitation of the product is all... If you did have a bike rack that used a hitch like I do, would I get an argument from the service manager that I could not have 3 bikes on the back if the car????

o3TLson19s

it's funny because i was looking for a hitch just a few days ago. . but im just going to get rid of my TL . . . they have them out for the 03 TL but for the 04 (my mom has that) we couldn't find one online!! so we decided it's better we have a truck. . especially since we also have a boat. I just want it cause i bought my self another jet ski and i plan on takeing it to the keys and need the hitch for when ever i want to go!! so call some shops. . .the tounge weight rating was 200 lbs and the towing capacities was said to be 2,000 (plenty for the jet ski but not my boat)

scrb09

4250/5 = 850 lbs per Individual

mickey3c

lol ... that's 4, 250 pound adults in the that 4 people at 250 pounds each... wake up and get some more coffee... !!!

Xpditor

I believe that this prohibition on towing has more to do with tire wear than anything else.

The rear suspension of the TL has been tuned for handling. It does that extremely well for a FWD car- even doing better than a BMW 530i in Road & Track testing.

One of the tricks Acura used is to change the angle of the rear wheels during cornering "squat" to aid the handling. The downside is that people here -many of them- have reported wearing out a set of rear tires in a a couple thousand mile trip with a heavy load of passengers/luggage in the car. With the car in a permanent "squat", the tires just scrub off.

I suspect that even 100 lbs. or so of tongue weight would raise hell with the rear tires. It's not that the car itself could not handle the weight (see Accord).

And, of course, in typical corporate CYA, Acura/Bridgestone would not want to pay for a zillion sets of new tires. Ergo: No tow.

cM3go

Its his car guys, let him screw it up, we can't say we didn't warn him.

To answer your question, no one here's "got a hitch" because the vehicle is not designed for it, not to say you couldn't do it, good luck in your search.

tfe691

[img][img]arguing.jpg[/img][/img]

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

why are u asking questions just to defend an answer you already have ... I mean if you are going to argue with common sense dont even post [/flame off]

Ron A

Prolly time to this thread which is not proceeding without a hitch.