I found a used 2017 gen 4 for decent price. My concern is that it has a trailer hitch. From what I read in the manual this car does not like to tow anything! Battery and transmission might have gotten a hit there. What do you guys think? Is it safe to buy it? The car has 70'000km (~45'000 miles).
I have a trailer hitch on mine that I use for a bike rack. I'm sure that it does not have any negative effects on the car.
I understand that if the towing load is small, then it's fine but this car is in Germany and they like to tow camper trailers.
yeah, there's just no way to know, is there? i thought european prius got a tow rating, may have misremembered
I called and asked. The previos owner did tow a camping trailer i just don't know how big it was. There is a plug mounted in the back of the Prius that was delivering power to the trailer. My gen 3 has a tow limit of 300kg (~660lbs). I don't know the gen 4 limit but I guess it wouldn't be much different.
Trailer hitch could mean nothing, but it’s worthwhile to be more wary. Good the prev owner did disclose trailer towing: it will have more impact than a bike rack for sure. It’s commendable he didn’t lie, for what it’s worth.
if you could get it at a decent discount to pay for possible future repair, it might be worth the risk. i suppose any used car could be abused one way or another, without it being detectable until the future.
Not sure of the weight on the campers over there in Germany but even the ultralights in America would exceed the towing recommendations of the Prius
I'm pretty sure Porsche 911's aren't rating to 'tow' anything, either, but there are reasons for hitches beyond towing.
