Volkswagen ID.3 Forum

I recent asked VW for a price to supply and fit a tow ball for my existing bike carrier.
Almost fell off my chair when they quoted £1,275 which is just a silly number. Their own bike carrier would be an extra £400 on top of this number.....

Anyone found a rear mounted bike carrier which hooks over the rear hatch of the car as these seem to be in the region of a £100-£200, far more palletable than what VW are charging for the tow ball mounted option?

I don't believe that the ID3 can have anything fitted to the roof, including the rear spoiler so that rules out a rear hatch mounted carrier I'm afraid.

These are available though:

https://www.driveden.com/product/farad- ... aa1f1fbf40

I don't know what the're like at all but they look decent enough and then you could fit bike holders to them.

I've just had the rear cycle mount retro-fitted. At £880 supplied & fitted it's very expensive. But that reflects about 6 or 7 hours labour. Quite tricky the garage told me, with help calls to VW in Germany. But the result, with 13 pin electrical connectiio, & socket for the removeable towball hidden behind the retractable number plate, is very impressive. If cycling is as important yo you as it is to me, it's worth it.

A tow bar fitted rack, that hinges down to allow tailgate access, is a far superior way to carry a bike or bikes, than a roof or tailgate fit.

I also bought the VW supplied 'Compact 2' rack after considerable research & comparison with the Thule alternative. The rack also seems very expensive, but is much the same price as the top-of-range Thule. The VW one is NOT the same as the much cheaper & inferior Thule Compact 2, whose name it coincidentally shares. However, the VW group Compact 2 (same model marketed also for Fords) is much lighter & smaller when folded than the Thule equivalent. It feels very well made to me, though I have not yet used it in anger.

I have been able to arrange the bracket on the VW carrier so that it holds my seat tube rather than the top tube. As a bike seat tube is strengthened by the seat post it is, imo, a much better place to grip the bike top tube which could more easily be damaged.

For what it's worth, If any harm comes to my (precious) bikes, or the id3 itself, as a result of using the VW approved combination, I'd be able to hold VW to account. That was also a consideration for me in shelling out for the VW solution.

It would have been cheaper to spec the bike carrier up front, rather than retro-fit. However, I had to retro-fit because I grabbed a Dec 2020 pre-reg ID3 Family a few days after the gov grant withdrawal (as Family is £35k +). That way I not only got the last of the full gov grants, but also big discount for the pre-reg on a '70 plate after '71 plates were available.

Anyone know if you can retrofit the VW carrier to a 1st? I've got an Altera towball mounted bike rack on my California and i could just swap that over.

Amarcord,

I'd be very interested to know what the weight limit is for your tow ball.

There is considerable confusion as different versions of the online manual have stated 55 kg, 75 kg and '55 kg or 75 kg depending on the equipment'. Another poster had the tow ball factory fitted and ended up with an addendum to the paper manual stating 75 kg, and a data plate next to the tow ball socket stating 55 kg.

It is certainly delaying my commitment to buy, as I need 67 kg to carry our two electric bikes.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=499&hilit=bike
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=575&hilit=bike

mph wrote: ↑Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:00 pm Amarcord,

I'd be very interested to know what the weight limit is for your tow ball.

There is considerable confusion as different versions of the online manual have stated 55 kg, 75 kg and '55 kg or 75 kg depending on the equipment'. Another poster had the tow ball factory fitted and ended up with an addendum to the paper manual stating 75 kg, and a data plate next to the tow ball socket stating 55 kg.

It is certainly delaying my commitment to buy, as I need 67 kg to carry our two electric bikes.

The data plate on my retrofitted hitch states 55Kg and, immediately below, states a max of 2 bikes. To me that suggests 55Kg as the max weight of the 2 bikes together. It maybe assumes that you are using the 2-bike VW carrier.

So, I'm guessing, 55Kg relates to the weight you can load onto your hitch mounted cycle carrier, whereas 75 Kg allows for another 20Kg for the weight of the carrier itself, which may be a 3rd party product. This would count out you loading electric bikes with a combined weight of 67Kg (which, I think, is pretty heavy, even for an electric bike).

Even more confusing is that the ID accesory brochure offers a triple cycle carrier as well as a double, even though my data plate specifies a 2 cycle limit.

Is it possible, as an alternative explanation for all this, that the factory-fit hitch can carry more (75Kg) than the retro-fit hitch (55Kg)?

Sorry I can't be more helpful. It's very annoying that VW are so unclear, & it seems impossible to get hold of anyone from VW, or the dealer network, who can answer this.

Amarcord wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:37 pm
The data plate on my retrofitted hitch states 55Kg and, immediately below, states a max of 2 bikes. To me that suggests 55Kg as the max weight of the 2 bikes together. It maybe assumes that you are using the 2-bike VW carrier.

So, I'm guessing, 55Kg relates to the weight you can load onto your hitch mounted cycle carrier, whereas 75 Kg allows for another 20Kg for the weight of the carrier itself, which may be a 3rd party product. This would count out you loading electric bikes with a combined weight of 67Kg (which, I think, is pretty heavy, even for an electric bike).

Even more confusing is that the ID accesory brochure offers a triple cycle carrier as well as a double, even though my data plate specifies a 2 cycle limit.

Is it possible, as an alternative explanation for all this, that the factory-fit hitch can carry more (75Kg) than the retro-fit hitch (55Kg)?

Sorry I can't be more helpful. It's very annoying that VW are so unclear, & it seems impossible to get hold of anyone from VW, or the dealer network, who can answer this.

Amarcord,
I am not sure if I get it right or not. So you were able to get a VW dealer to mount the original tow bar without changing the rear bumper? Did they cut out the necessary bits in order to fit the bar and the bracket for the retractable plate?
I am really interested in the details as my dealer is proposing the "Brinks" hitch solution of which I am not fully convinced due to the rmc pins which cause compatibility issues with many bike holders.
Their statement is that the original tow bar would require modifications on the bumper which they are not allowed to make. By the way they told me that both VW original and brinks would allow 75kg, I wonder if something changed in the last few months!

Thanks for sharing your experience!

arod wrote: ↑Mon May 16, 2022 8:07 pm

Amarcord wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:37 pm
The data plate on my retrofitted hitch states 55Kg and, immediately below, states a max of 2 bikes. To me that suggests 55Kg as the max weight of the 2 bikes together. It maybe assumes that you are using the 2-bike VW carrier.

So, I'm guessing, 55Kg relates to the weight you can load onto your hitch mounted cycle carrier, whereas 75 Kg allows for another 20Kg for the weight of the carrier itself, which may be a 3rd party product. This would count out you loading electric bikes with a combined weight of 67Kg (which, I think, is pretty heavy, even for an electric bike).

Even more confusing is that the ID accesory brochure offers a triple cycle carrier as well as a double, even though my data plate specifies a 2 cycle limit.

Is it possible, as an alternative explanation for all this, that the factory-fit hitch can carry more (75Kg) than the retro-fit hitch (55Kg)?

Sorry I can't be more helpful. It's very annoying that VW are so unclear, & it seems impossible to get hold of anyone from VW, or the dealer network, who can answer this.

Amarcord,
I am not sure if I get it right or not. So you were able to get a VW dealer to mount the original tow bar without changing the rear bumper? Did they cut out the necessary bits in order to fit the bar and the bracket for the retractable plate?
I am really interested in the details as my dealer is proposing the "Brinks" hitch solution of which I am not fully convinced due to the rmc pins which cause compatibility issues with many bike holders.
Their statement is that the original tow bar would require modifications on the bumper which they are not allowed to make. By the way they told me that both VW original and brinks would allow 75kg, I wonder if something changed in the last few months!

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Like Amarcord, I jumped on an existing order so had a tow hitch retrofitted by the dealer. It is in the ID3 accessories brochure and far as I know is mounted in exactly the same as in the factory....just the extra work required in dismantling and reassembling.

At the time of buying (November) it cost me £800 as against the factory fit which was £200. Soon after that the factory fit price went up I believe.
I just looked in the brochure and they are showing the retrofit kit for £540.

Mine states a max load of 75kg (three bikes). There has been various threads debating the 75kg v 55kg issue, I can't say this has ever been completely resolved as to why the apparent discrepancy.

mph wrote: ↑Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:00 pm
It is certainly delaying my commitment to buy, as I need 67 kg to carry our two electric bikes.

Is that 67kg just for the bikes?? I presume not, that is bikes + carrier?

Griff wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 4:55 pm

Mine states a max load of 75kg (three bikes). There has been various threads debating the 75kg v 55kg issue, I can't say this has ever been completely resolved as to why the apparent discrepancy.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1835

Griff wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 4:58 pm

mph wrote: ↑Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:00 pm
It is certainly delaying my commitment to buy, as I need 67 kg to carry our two electric bikes.

Is that 67kg just for the bikes?? I presume not, that is bikes + carrier?

Could be either. The carriers are typically around 25kg, so it’s either two pretty like e-bikes and the carrier, or two very heavy e-bikes and no carrier.

With some further push it seems I have successfully convinced the dealer that the trick can be made with the original VW part. The bumper appears to be precut for the trailer hitch so they will provide me with an estimate. Based on the initial feedback I expect something between 1500 and 2000€ installed and registered.
They also confirmed the 75kg load and stated it is applicable since end of 2021.

Is everyone happy with the rear tow hitch solution for bike transport? I am about to pick up a max but bike prep was not included as a factory option. The dealer has quoted me to retro fit and assured me it would be same spec as factory but I am a little nervous. Is the rear bumper pre cut and is dealer retro fit a tidy installation?

Pepper75 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 8:51 pm Is everyone happy with the rear tow hitch solution for bike transport? I am about to pick up a max but bike prep was not included as a factory option. The dealer has quoted me to retro fit and assured me it would be same spec as factory but I am a little nervous. Is the rear bumper pre cut and is dealer retro fit a tidy installation?

I had a retrofit since I jumped on a existing order so didn't have the factory option. The installation is fine and has the same load spec as the factory fit (see earlier posts in this thread as to the two "different" specs around). The solution works well although the bike does sit higher than a normal tow bar, so is exposed above the roof. All good.

Hi, I am trying to get a tow bar retrofitted but the VW garage I bought it from are saying that they can't do it. Any recommendations for VW garages that will do this work without invalidating the warranty?

Thanks in advance for your help. I am in Essex so somewhere East would be great.

Darren

Hi Darren, my local VW dealers Marshall (Newbury and Reading) and Martins (Basingstoke) claim that they can do this and indeed I'm booked in for the tow hitch retrofit next week

Just remember that the car can't tow, and the official kit is only to allow a towball-mounted bike carrier. The official kit seemingly deliberately puts the towball too high up for you to be able to connect a trailer, just to make sure no one will try.