Tow Hitch on Prius C?

I'm going to a shop on Saturday to see about putting one on for a bike/luggage rack. Just looking underneath the rear area it seems possibilities for attaching a hitch are severely limited. In case anyone's wondering I checked with my Toyota dealer and they confirmed that a rack for luggage or bike won't void warranty.

Will report back on the prospects of getting a hitch installed

 

Hidden Hitch and other receiver manufacturers should be working on a solution for the c. I just contacted Hidden Hitch and will see what they say, if they answer my email.

I expect that the Prius c will be limited to a Class I hitch and most likely it will be 1 1/4". That's what we had on our Gen II hatch for our bike rack and worked fine.

If you want the aftermarket community to produce products for the c you are going to have to make them aware of the car and what you'd like to see available.

This car is going to be a huge volume seller (already is) but the aftermarket seems to be treating the c as an entry level car, so they figure that we won't be purchasing products for it. I'd say they will miss out on significant profit if they stay away.

Make some noise.

 

Bad news, update, kind of... so now what?

I looked over the Prius c Manual and I found this little notice... read the whole thing especially where it mentions bicycle...

 

I specifically asked my dealer about this and they put in writing that it would not void warranty to install a small tow hitch. Warranty would only be affected if damage was caused by pulling too much weight.

The hitch store was closed on Saturday(!!!) so I'll have to make it by another time. They have tons of universal solutions there so hopefully I can post a compatible model for you guys.

 

Don't worry about that.

The manual for the Gen-II Prius and Gen-III Prius says that too. And yet lots of us have hitches and hitch-mounted bike racks on those for years.

 

I did put a hitch on our Gen II and will stick one on the Gen III we just bought, since it's just for our two road bikes. I did get a lighter aluminum bike rack to lessen the load back there.

Would be cool if someone produced an aluminum tow bar specifically for bike rack attachment on the c. That would help with the weight issues. The aluminum bike rack is less than half the weight of our previous bike rack and has held up great over the two years we have used it.

 

Unfortunately The Dealership doesn't support the warranty, Toyota does...

If Toyota is NOT recommending a tow hitch? Then your dealership saying it's okay with them, wouldn't mean much if you had to make a warranty claim.

Besides the caveat of "Warranty would only be affected if damage was caused by pulling too much weight." Pretty much leaves you with nothing. Because if you did have a problem who is determining what caused the damage?

Just like the regular Prius, Toyota doesn't recommend towing. PERIOD.

Of course it seems many have disregarded that recommendation and at least on a limited basis have success in towing.

Prius c, has a smaller engine, and a smaller HSD...personally? I'd just follow Toyota's recommendation. But if you are willing to bypass it? I'd be as conservative as possible.

If you are talking bicycles why not a roof mount. Slightly less convienent but at least your not risking your warranty.

Roof mounted racks exist for the Honda Fit, I'd have to believe they would be compatible for the Prius c.

 

Certainly wouldn't tow anything with the c. But what is the difference between adding a tow bar for use with a bicycle rack or sticking a bicycle rack up on the top of the car?

Convenience and aero factors would point me toward the tow hitch mounted bike rack.

Weight behind the bumper would be a concern on a c, that's why an aluminum tow hitch for a bike rack might be a good idea.

 

I know from older threads with Gen 2 and 3 that this debate becomes heated. With people soon posting pictures of Prius hooked up to trailers crossing high altitude passes. With folk lore like tales of using Prius to tow herculean objects, with proclamations of absolutely no ill affects.

Fine. Your vehicle, Your Choice.

But the c? Does have a smaller engine, and a smaller redesigned version of HSD. I wouldn't risk it. It becomes to me an issue of best tool for the job.

Plus to me? When TOYOTA prints this in the owners manual? "Your Vehicle Is Not Designed For Trailer Towing Or For The Use Of Tow Hitch Mounted Carriers.". I think one ignores it at their risk.

IMO "Not Designed For" means "Not Designed For". I'm sure Toyota would want to present the Prius as being as versatile as possible. If there were acceptable parameters for towing? I think they would present them. Instead, we get the "Don't Do It" statement, including the Red Circle with a slash through it. I don't really know how Toyota can make it much clearer.

 

Well, like I said, your vehicle, your choice, your risk.

You will certainly find MANY regular Prius owners that will back you with past history of personal experience.

I just find it hard to believe, that if there was no significant risk, or that if a bicycle hitch wasn't a possibility, Toyota wouldn't simply present that reality, and provide the spec's for allowable useage.

If it came down to hitch my bike to the back...but risk warranty coverage problems IF a problem should arise, VS. Attach my Bicycle to a roof rack, and have no potential issue if a problem should arise, well I'd pick the latter...

Believe it or not? If I was willing to gamble? I'd say a bike hitch probably IS a gamble you can take and win. BUT...IMO a new car is an expensive enough asset that I don't want to take that gamble.

But that's just me.

Good Luck...and hopefully we get positive long term feedback, and you never do have a premature problem in any area that could connect to towing against Toyota recommendation.

 

In order to deny a claim Toyota would have to demonstrate that the damage was caused by the use of the trailer hitch. All the disclaimer means is that in the event of a failure that is caused by use of a hitch Toyota would not pay for the repair.

But the OP is not asking "Will Toyota cover me if it breaks while carrying bikes?" they're asking "Will it be OK to carry bikes?"

I'll leave that to people who can actually give informed answers.

 

I've had a Curt hitch and bike rack on my '07 ever since I bought the car new. No problems.

On the Gen-II at least, the Curt hitch is bolted onto the locations under the car where Toyota had eyelets for securing the car onto the deck of a ship with tie-down chains during its delivery trip across the Pacific.

Those eyelets are responsible for keeping the 3000-pound car from moving around on a pitching ship deck. I'd say it's strong enough to hold the 15-pound Curt hitch, the 15-pound bike rack, and my 15-pound carbon-fiber road bike.

If the hitches for the gen-III, c, or v are also mounted at the eyelet locations, I have no doubt they will work fine too.

 

Checked with our local hitch shop and a 1.25'' receiver is in development; ETA ~1month.

In regards to voiding Toyota warranty, the specific terms and conditions of warranty we read through at the dealership state that aftermarket vehicle modifications in and of themselves do not void warranty; however, a modification that causes a subsequent problem will void the warranty. The hitch would only be used for a bike or light weight luggage so I just can't see how Toyota could say that damaged the frame or powertrain.

However, I have encountered this problem at a ford dealership years ago when I put a custom intake on a cougar. The shift pin in the transmission kept breaking and the dealership tried to deny warranty due to aftermarket modification of the intake. After appealing to Ford corporate, the dealership agreed the modification and failure were not related and the repair was approved.

My experience is that any vehicle modification might affect warranty if the service manager is having a bad day. That said, as long as you're not towing or hauling stupid weight with the hitch, a little persistence can get non related failures covered if that ever becomes an issue.

 

It's a little more than that, as Toyota defines the vehicle within their own provided owners manual as being "not designed to tow, or use a tow hitch".

That's Toyota saying...this vehicle is not designed to be used in that manner.

That's not Toyota saying...it's okay to do it...but don't come to us if you have damage.

Listen I think hauling bikes on a rear bumper Bike Hitch, probably is doable. If I was an owner outside of warranty? I'd probably take the risk.

But I'm NOT going to recommend it, above Toyota's Non-Recommendation.

Leaving it to people who can actually give "informed" answers?

What people are better "informed" than Toyota themselves? I'm going to trust the engineers, designers and the manufacturer before "Bob" who has done it for years....

Besides...this is Prius c...which hasn't been on the market very long. It has a redesigned and smaller HSD. The vehicle hasn't been on the market or out in the world long enough for anyone to have a long track record of what is possible.

 

Honestly, car makers are stamping these claims on just about every "car" in the US market now days. My other car is a 2004 Ford Crown Victoria with the cop package. It is the last car made on with body on frame construction. It has a 250 HP V8. The cop package upsizes the cooling system and adds a transcooler amongst other things. If there ever was a car that could tow, this would be it.

However, Ford states in their manual that they do not recommend towing with the vehicle. It is pattently rediculious not to be able to tow a small trailer with this thing. I have been doing it for two years and it works great. Now, I am responsible with my spead, respect my stopping distance and I raised my ball mount to the correct hight. You can get in trouble with a trailer easier than typical driving. But to have a truck, just to tow small loads is an absolute waste.

I blame lawyers and the tort system in this country, making the manufactures way too conservitive with their recommendations. You will find that in Europe and even Canada towing recomendations for identical vehicles are higher than they are here.


All that said, with as light and low powered as the Prius C is, I would be hesitent to tow anything with wheels on the ground behind it besides maybe a trailer designed for motercylces. The bike racks and luggage holders being discussed seem completely within reasonible range of the vehicle to me. As a fellow traveler on the roads I would much rather have those things securely mounted to a hitch and out of the wind than on top.