Leon Cupra ST towbar

RADIOTWO

Active Member
Mar 6, 2018
486
93
North Derbyshire
hi this my towbar!
 

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babyhawk53

Active Member
Apr 7, 2019
11
2
Hi Altea4. Great to see it can be done and thanks for your advice. Are the Brink and witter towbars that you were quoted for, specifically for the Cupra ST 2017> or does the standard Leon ST TSI/TDI etc fit all. I had been told by the main dealer that the exhaust gets in the way on the Leon Cupra ST
 

ALTEA4

Active Member
Jan 12, 2019
71
32
The company used my reg number to quote for the towbars so I’m not sure on specifics. Looking underneath the car I can confirm the exhaust does not get in the way of the tow bar or new rear impact bar that has been fitted.
Lookers told me from the outset that a tow bar could be fitted, your contact is wrong.
 

RADIOTWO

Active Member
Mar 6, 2018
486
93
North Derbyshire
The company used my reg number to quote for the towbars so I’m not sure on specifics. Looking underneath the car I can confirm the exhaust does not get in the way of the tow bar or new rear impact bar that has been fitted.
Lookers told me from the outset that a tow bar could be fitted, your contact is wrong.
Hi just a quick question ALTEA4, which Lookers do you deal with ?
 

ALTEA4

Active Member
Jan 12, 2019
71
32
Correct.
Stockport had the best deal on an 300 ST I could find. Was going to pcp but a lease deal they offered worked out a better proposition over 3 years as no £££ upfront , lower payments over the same term and I’m not paying interest on the balloon. I’m guessing it was a cancelled order as signed deal to collection was under a month , there was a deposit contribution from SEAT so I presume this countered their loss on a pcp sale.
 

RADIOTWO

Active Member
Mar 6, 2018
486
93
North Derbyshire
Correct.
Stockport had the best deal on an 300 ST I could find. Was going to pcp but a lease deal they offered worked out a better proposition over 3 years as no £££ upfront , lower payments over the same term and I’m not paying interest on the balloon. I’m guessing it was a cancelled order as signed deal to collection was under a month , there was a deposit contribution from SEAT so I presume this countered their loss on a pcp sale.
Brilliant, can you remember the name of the salesman ?
 

babyhawk53

Active Member
Apr 7, 2019
11
2
So finally I have a towbar fitted. Turned up at the shop as an fr st was being tested with a Witter attached. The detatchable bar was not obscuring the number plate so I asked how it was regarding fitting. After a quick chat and a ‘no problem’ I decided on the witter as if it’s a wet day of riding/travelling I can leave the ball in place and still be legal. Very easy to attach and detach the bar , first attempt in less than 5 seconds. I think the cutout is ok , has to have room on the right to be able turn the locking mechanism and room on the left for the electrics swinging arm. I’m pleased with the result.
Compared to the freetrack cutout it’s very neat.
Got a Brink towbar fitted to my cupra st 300. Was kind of advised not to go for the coded wiring as they had encountered problems with the re coding. Its not detachable but you can unbolt it. Reversing sensors dont see it, and no issues at all driving forward with my box trailer. Only issue is reversing as it obviously thinks the trailer is a brick wall and if you put the brakes on the car stops like with the handbrake. You then have to drive forward an inch or two before reversing again. Not a big deal and doesn't bother me. See photos.
 

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RADIOTWO

Active Member
Mar 6, 2018
486
93
North Derbyshire
Thats the reson it should be coded but if there has been a problem it must be down to the company coding it as there is not
a issue , But I have not had a problem and its nice it switches off the reverse sensors, but leaves the camera on
 

babyhawk53

Active Member
Apr 7, 2019
11
2
Thats the reson it should be coded but if there has been a problem it must be down to the company coding it as there is not
a issue , But I have not had a problem and its nice it switches off the reverse sensors, but leaves the camera on
very true, but the cupra is a different story. Official line from Seat is you should not fit a towbar on the Cupra. Just had the car serviced and spoke at length with the service guy. Last year he said they would not fit one. this year he said they would. Total cost about £1100. But if something goes wrong in the future and it is traced back to the coding, not sure who foots the bill. This actually happened to one of his customers. He said they spent best part of a day getting it sorted. If you get the towbar fitted at a towbar place and the car develops a problem traced back to the coding then you are up the creek. He also said if you are buying a new Seat (not Cupra) then order it with a towbar. It is only £250 extra on a new car./
 

RADIOTWO

Active Member
Mar 6, 2018
486
93
North Derbyshire
very true, but the cupra is a different story. Official line from Seat is you should not fit a towbar on the Cupra. Just had the car serviced and spoke at length with the service guy. Last year he said they would not fit one. this year he said they would. Total cost about £1100. But if something goes wrong in the future and it is traced back to the coding, not sure who foots the bill. This actually happened to one of his customers. He said they spent best part of a day getting it sorted. If you get the towbar fitted at a towbar place and the car develops a problem traced back to the coding then you are up the creek. He also said if you are buying a new Seat (not Cupra) then order it with a towbar. It is only £250 extra on a new car./
I cannot see what the diffrence is between just a ST and a cupra (st) as fas as the coding goes, I have not done it but beleive it can be done with OBDeleven, so all you are doing is a couple of things like Indicators,Parking sensors and Trailor stability, and poss something else, But is your dealer having problems with the bar or the coding ? We have just bought a ex demo FR and asked if I could have a Towbar fitted before I pick the car up and they said yes, the only problem Witter was out of stock at the time so had to wait, but as far as it went I paid the dealer, so any problems its down to them.
 

babyhawk53

Active Member
Apr 7, 2019
11
2
I cannot see what the diffrence is between just a ST and a cupra (st) as fas as the coding goes, I have not done it but beleive it can be done with OBDeleven, so all you are doing is a couple of things like Indicators,Parking sensors and Trailor stability, and poss something else, But is your dealer having problems with the bar or the coding ? We have just bought a ex demo FR and asked if I could have a Towbar fitted before I pick the car up and they said yes, the only problem Witter was out of stock at the time so had to wait, but as far as it went I paid the dealer, so any problems its down to them.
The Fr ST has a hole in the diffuser specially for the tow bar. Think it also has the wiring and a special box of tricks factory fitted just in case you decide to fit a towbar in the future. Dealer said to me last year, "if you do get a towbar fitted check first to see if the wiring is already there". Anyway the Cupra was not meant to have a towbar fitted, so none of these extras are fitted (just in case). The tapped holes in the chassis rails are there though, so towbar is an easy fit.
Coding is a different subject. I think it is all part of the ECU software. I think there is only one central computer.
So what he said happened, customer brought his car in for regular service and said something like this " when you put the hazard warning lights on with the passenger window open, the engine cuts out" or something along those lines. So they spent best part of a day (@ £80+ hr) trying to figure out what was happening. And it turned out the towbar coding was to blame.
Even though this is a Seat main dealer, I think them fitting the towbar wouldn't be covered by Seat warranty. (its just the coding thing). It would have been done as a goodwill gesture. If there was a problem, they would fix it. But I have moved house, so if I took it to another Seat dealer they would probably say, we never fitted it so its your problem.
 

RADIOTWO

Active Member
Mar 6, 2018
486
93
North Derbyshire
The Fr ST has a hole in the diffuser specially for the tow bar. Think it also has the wiring and a special box of tricks factory fitted just in case you decide to fit a towbar in the future. Dealer said to me last year, "if you do get a towbar fitted check first to see if the wiring is already there". Anyway the Cupra was not meant to have a towbar fitted, so none of these extras are fitted (just in case). The tapped holes in the chassis rails are there though, so towbar is an easy fit.
Coding is a different subject. I think it is all part of the ECU software. I think there is only one central computer.
So what he said happened, customer brought his car in for regular service and said something like this " when you put the hazard warning lights on with the passenger window open, the engine cuts out" or something along those lines. So they spent best part of a day (@ £80+ hr) trying to figure out what was happening. And it turned out the towbar coding was to blame.
Even though this is a Seat main dealer, I think them fitting the towbar wouldn't be covered by Seat warranty. (its just the coding thing). It would have been done as a goodwill gesture. If there was a problem, they would fix it. But I have moved house, so if I took it to another Seat dealer they would probably say, we never fitted it so its your problem.
Ok fingers crossed, but my Son has a Tourag(not a new one) and has a bar, but no wiring so he is going to get the dedicated wiring kit and wants me to code it so that should be fun
 

ALTEA4

Active Member
Jan 12, 2019
71
32
Got a Brink towbar fitted to my cupra st 300. Was kind of advised not to go for the coded wiring as they had encountered problems with the re coding. Its not detachable but you can unbolt it. Reversing sensors dont see it, and no issues at all driving forward with my box trailer. Only issue is reversing as it obviously thinks the trailer is a brick wall and if you put the brakes on the car stops like with the handbrake. You then have to drive forward an inch or two before reversing again. Not a big deal and doesn't bother me. See photos.

Good to see there is a choice of towbars available for the cupra. I've also left mine on since having it fitted, sensors are not picking it up.
I played with settings in the management screen and have cancelled the auto stop feature. I can't remember how but it is possible.
 

babyhawk53

Active Member
Apr 7, 2019
11
2
Good to see there is a choice of towbars available for the cupra. I've also left mine on since having it fitted, sensors are not picking it up.
I played with settings in the management screen and have cancelled the auto stop feature. I can't remember how but it is possible.
Many thanks for the tip. Its quite easy to find. To cancel the auto stop feature as you said. Go to - Vehicle Settings > Parking and manoeuvre > manoeuvre braking - untick this box.
 
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Reactions: ALTEA4
Jan 22, 2022
4
0
Thanks for the info. Anyone got any part numbers or information?

I'm in the Netherlands and the tow bar fitters tell me it's not possible according to their information.

The brink EU site sure no applicable tow bars for Cupra 280/300.
 

ALTEA4

Active Member
Jan 12, 2019
71
32
If you have the ST it must be possible as we’ve had them fitted. Witter have a choice that fits. As shown you can have a fixed or detatchable.
 
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