Check your new hitch!

A cautionary. tale indeed, our Kia Dealer has always sent any cars that are having a towbar fitted.  .to a specialist towbar fitting  specialist.as in their words " we do not fit enough to be up to speed with them"

Yes that is what Skoda did before I went Mitsubishi.  

@ Pippah .... So correction made and he flipped the cover of the electrics - one pin is missing!

Which pin? A 13 pin socket generally only uses 12 of them anyway.

I couldn't see which one - he thought it could be the fridge - I think it was right of centre about 4 o'clock if that makes sense?  I will plug everything in tomorrow before I blow my top at Mitsubishi!  Since he is a trusted professional at tow bars and electrics I trusted his judgement - should check of course!  

Checking this morning - it appears to be hole 13 on the wiring diagram - Earth - on the diagram I found online?  So at 5 oclock on the outside edge not 4 o'clock.  

We wanted to have towing hitch fitted to our new Jeep when we bought it. Dealer quoted us an astronomical amount, so we got a tow bar specialist to come out and fit ours at home, Jeep on the drive. He told us that most dealers simply get a tow bar specialist to do such work anyway, then they add a dealership premium, passed onto customer, after paying the mobile fitter a lower price. We always get a specialist to come to us, unless I can swing it as part of the vehicle purchase package👍

Yes Skoda encouraged me to get a specialist to fit a tow bar so I did.  

What happened to the Customer is always right?  All the excuses about fitting the tow ball and the electrics all come already connected so that wasn't their fault!  I got quite heated with them!  On the other end of the scale I called the Club's Technical department and got a lovely lady who told me without pin 13 the caravan battery would not be recharged while driving.  That could be very annoying.  I will ask my friendly tow bar fitter what price the electrics - and maybe cut my losses and go for peace of mind.  I am quite tempted to return the car to them!  

Incidentally the independent  Tow Bar fitter told me some horrendous stories about caravans using the short necked tow ball - apparently they can hitch up (which mine didn't some years ago) and it goes against what ALCo recommend so please be aware that it is far from ideal.  

Another twist on tow bar and electrics.

If you have it as a factory order then you have a 3yr warranty. If it is fitted by the dealer or a 3rd party of there choice before you collect the car then it should have a 3yr warranty.

If you collect the car and take it back to the dealer for fitting later, or have it done by a 3rd party then you will probably have a 1yr guarantee. 

For the above reasons I have asked for a factory fit where possible, or at least fitted before I collect it.

The non fully functioning electrics I thought was a fairly common problem, particularly with VAG. I know our continental caravaners do not favour a battery set-up so cars are often not set up for providing a permanent feed to a battery/fridge. 

Asian/Eastern cars were I thought [wrongly] more likely to be set up for UK demands.

Colin