Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing

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Fri 6 May 2016 22:25
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - MDCox

We have not been able to source a towbar from Honda or other manufacturers which is capable of powering the fridge and recharging the caravan battery for our HRV. Honda state ‘that the capacity of the alternator with the HR-V is not high enough, meaning that during towing …….. the caravan can drain the battery’. So check carefully before you buy an HRV for caravanning and you may avoid the expensive mistake we made. For us the new HRV is not suitable as a tow car.

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Fri 6 May 2016 22:56
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - RT

We have not been able to source a towbar from Honda or other manufacturers which is capable of powering the fridge and recharging the caravan battery for our HRV. Honda state ‘that the capacity of the alternator with the HR-V is not high enough, meaning that during towing …….. the caravan can drain the battery’. So check carefully before you buy an HRV for caravanning and you may avoid the expensive mistake we made. For us the new HRV is not suitable as a tow car.

That sounds like utter BS - from Honda, not the OP.

Back in the '70/80s we towed with an Escort mk2 which had a 35A alternator which coped fine with the caravan fridge - modern caravan fridges are more powerful, but only slightly, so I don't see the problem.

It is of course possible that the HR-V just isn't Type Approved for towing.

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Fri 6 May 2016 23:25
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - focussed

Honda offer a towbar and a 13 pin socket as an accessory for the 2015 HRV

The part no is 08L92T7SK13P.

www.coxmotorparts.co.uk/genuine-honda-hrv-5-dr-det...l

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Sat 7 May 2016 09:48
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - MDCox

Note: Cox Motor Parts no longer supply this towbar as it cannot supply power to the caravan.

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Sat 7 May 2016 11:11
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - RT

The towbar itself doesn't define what electrics are supplied - generally they may come with just a 12N socket for ordinary trailers, a 12N/12S sockets for a caravan (often with the 12S as a supplementary item) or a 13-pin socket which may or may not provide auxilliary power for a caravan.

It's an easy enough job for any competent auto electrician to add a 12S socket or update a basic 13-pin to full connections.

It's fairly common that factory-fit towbars don't include the auxilliary circuits for a caravan - a supplementary kit may be available at extra cost - some big SUVs to get full caravan electrics with their factory-fit towbars.

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Sat 7 May 2016 16:49
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - focussed

There are 2 variants of the Honda OEM 2016 HRV towbar on the accessory list on Honda's website with a 13 pin socket harness.

"With this Detachable Tow Bar you can easily tow your caravan or trailer. All Honda genuine tow bars are designed for easy handling, complete compatibility and integration with your Honda’s electrical and safety system."

www.honda.co.uk/cars/owners/accessories-catalogue....5

I suggest you call Honda UK customer service and find out what actually is going on here-maybe HJ could ask the question also?

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Sat 7 May 2016 18:35
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - RT

There are 2 variants of the Honda OEM 2016 HRV towbar on the accessory list on Honda's website with a 13 pin socket harness.

"With this Detachable Tow Bar you can easily tow your caravan or trailer. All Honda genuine tow bars are designed for easy handling, complete compatibility and integration with your Honda’s electrical and safety system."

www.honda.co.uk/cars/owners/accessories-catalogue....5

I suggest you call Honda UK customer service and find out what actually is going on here-maybe HJ could ask the question also?

That's not sufficient to indicate whether the caravan fridge circuit is enabled within the car using that kit.

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Sat 7 May 2016 19:42
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - focussed

Ask Honda-how hard can it be?

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Sat 7 May 2016 19:48
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - MDCox

We initially contacted the Honda dealer who sold us the HRV and they stated that a towbar with 12v line was not available. We then emailed Phillip Crossman, Honda's Managing Director to express our dissapointment and his PA and then a Senior Management Customer Relations Advisor replied.'Unfortunately we do not offer a battery line for our 13 pin trailer harness for the HR-V. The reason for this is that the capacity of the alternator with the HR-V is not high enough, meaning that during towing the electrical users in the caravan can drain the battery. We have chosen not to supply these as there is a risk that it could drain the battery.'

We have checked with towbar manufactures and local fitters and they are not able to fit a towbar with vehicle specific electrics which provide auxilary power. It may be in development but there is no expected date.

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Sat 7 May 2016 19:58
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - RT

We initially contacted the Honda dealer who sold us the HRV and they stated that a towbar with 12v line was not available. We then emailed Phillip Crossman, Honda's Managing Director to express our dissapointment and his PA and then a Senior Management Customer Relations Advisor replied.'Unfortunately we do not offer a battery line for our 13 pin trailer harness for the HR-V. The reason for this is that the capacity of the alternator with the HR-V is not high enough, meaning that during towing the electrical users in the caravan can drain the battery. We have chosen not to supply these as there is a risk that it could drain the battery.'

We have checked with towbar manufactures and local fitters and they are not able to fit a towbar with vehicle specific electrics which provide auxilary power. It may be in development but there is no expected date.

They don't seem to understand what's required - a caravan fridge supply should only be live when the engine is running and only draws 8-12 amps - the battery supply will be live all the time but will stop drawing current when the two batteries equalize in voltage.

As I posted earlier, old 35A alternators coped so why wouldn't a 100-150A unit in a modern car.

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Sun 8 May 2016 12:49
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - focussed

Reading between the lines I would hazard an educated guess that the issue is not the risk of draining the battery but that the big H have identified a situation where they are wary of the alternator overheating due to a percieved overload when all of the car's electrical equipment is on , headlights, screen heater, heated seats, electric cooling fan, aircon etc plus the additional load of charging the caravan battery and running the fridge at the same time

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Sun 8 May 2016 14:04
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - jc2

Contact "Towsure" and see what they say.

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Mon 9 May 2016 09:46
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - MDCox

Thanks 'focussed'. We have been told by a Honda dealer who contacted Honda on our behalf that Honda had 'shot themselves in the foot' with this towbar but would not give further details. We have also been informed that we could cause damage to the alternator which would thus not be covered by the warranty. Your post confirms this.

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Mon 9 May 2016 13:43
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - madf

Is it a CVT auto?

There are towing weight limits iirc. On the Jazz CVT (Mark2) the limit is 0Kgs.

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Mon 9 May 2016 18:10
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - MDCox

No - 1.6 diesel SE with a maximum braked towing weight of 1400kgs.

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Sat 21 May 2016 20:09
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - MDCox

Thanks for all who replied to this thread. We have decided to go ahead and fit a Honda towbar without the ability to charge the caravan battery. It appears that although other manufactures have a towbar listed for the HRV they are not yet actually available. We are grateful to several suppliers and posters for advice. The Camping Club have contacted Honda on our behalf but not yet had a response. The Club have explained the technicalities and that a full electrics kit is not available for the HRV, although in development.

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Thu 26 May 2016 22:08
Honda HRV - Honda HRV 2015- Suitability for Towing - MDCox

A quick update. We had our HRV booked in for the towbar to be fitted on 31 st May, but today, 26th May, we have been informed by our Honda dealer that the electric kit for the towbar is not available. They have placed the electrics on back order and it will not be available until mid July, if then.

I have emailed Honda's Managing Director, again expressing our frustration and dissappointment.


 Even if Honda can fit a towbar by the end of July we will have missed most of the caravanning season.

Edited by MDCox on 26/05/2016 at 22:17

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