Range Rover detatchable tow bar recall

Is this only on the sport we  have a l322 and have not had a leter we got detachable tow bar but I never take it off 

I had my Discovery checked by the dealer the info given was ;

If a detachable towbar is used for towing with excessive nose loads, or for commercial towing, or if the towbar is not removed when not in use, it can lead to premature and excessive wear of the detachable towbar within the rear crossmember mounting.

I now remove mine after towing.

Have been in the vehicle recovery industry, and Range Rovers snap detachable swan necks all the time!

This doesn't help you now, but at the time, it was deemed it better to fit a flange type for towing anything of reasonable weight.

Be aware that if your car has already been to a dealer to have the detachable towbar checked, JLR will not look at it again. I have a Range Rover Sport which was a used purchase and it  came with a detachable towbar. Since buying the car I learnt of the recall issued last year and contacted my local dealer who informed me the recall was carried out on the car by the previous owner. Judging by the condition of the towbar that came with the car, it was never used by the previous owner. I've towed a Buccaneer Caravel (not a small or light van) 6 times this year and each time I've unhooked, the towbar was loose in the socket. If you refit it, it is tight in the socket again but the green handle is slowly moving around to vertical with wear, this is the test the dealers look for when carrying out the recall. Explaining this to the dealer and to JLR customer service, they didn't want to know. Basically saying the work has been done and regardless of the towbar now being used and showing wear, even if it was never used by the previous owner, their obligation has been met.

Rather than risk the van becoming detached in the future, i'm now having to fork out £290 for a fixed bar which, despite looking butt ugly compared to the nice clean look of having a detachable... is a whole lot better than the caravan being spread over 3 lanes of carraigeway.

Write your comments here... Nigel regarding the ugly bit this might help. When LR replaced mine with the obligatory multi drop height plate I found that the ideal height for my caravan was the centre position. It was clear to me that the actual large drop plate could be dispensed with and instead bolt the tow ball straight onto the tow bar assembly. However I asked LR if that was in order and they agreed and actually did the work. I now have the redundant plate in my garage but the appearance of the tow bar now looks a lot neater.

Is this only on the sport we  have a l322 and have not had a leter we got detachable tow bar but I never take it off 

Write your comments here... It also applies to Discoveries so presumably various full sized RRs and LRs using this particular assembly.

Is this only on the sport we  have a l322 and have not had a leter we got detachable tow bar but I never take it off 

I had my Discovery checked by the dealer the info given was ;

If a detachable towbar is used for towing with excessive nose loads, or for commercial towing, or if the towbar is not removed when not in use, it can lead to premature and excessive wear of the detachable towbar within the rear crossmember mounting.

I now remove mine after towing.

Write your comments here... I was told exactly the same so the explanation is consistent across dealers. For those wondering the replacement did not involve a complete new tow bar just the removal of the bolt on detachable assembly and replacing it with a fixed bolt bracket. 

Be aware that if your car has already been to a dealer to have the detachable towbar checked, JLR will not look at it again. I have a Range Rover Sport which was a used purchase and it  came with a detachable towbar. Since buying the car I learnt of the recall issued last year and contacted my local dealer who informed me the recall was carried out on the car by the previous owner. Judging by the condition of the towbar that came with the car, it was never used by the previous owner. I've towed a Buccaneer Caravel (not a small or light van) 6 times this year and each time I've unhooked, the towbar was loose in the socket. If you refit it, it is tight in the socket again but the green handle is slowly moving around to vertical with wear, this is the test the dealers look for when carrying out the recall. Explaining this to the dealer and to JLR customer service, they didn't want to know. Basically saying the work has been done and regardless of the towbar now being used and showing wear, even if it was never used by the previous owner, their obligation has been met.

Rather than risk the van becoming detached in the future, i'm now having to fork out £290 for a fixed bar which, despite looking butt ugly compared to the nice clean look of having a detachable... is a whole lot better than the caravan being spread over 3 lanes of carraigeway.

Write your comments here... Nigel regarding the ugly bit this might help. When LR replaced mine with the obligatory multi drop height plate I found that the ideal height for my caravan was the centre position. It was clear to me that the actual large drop plate could be dispensed with and instead bolt the tow ball straight onto the tow bar assembly. However I asked LR if that was in order and they agreed and actually did the work. I now have the redundant plate in my garage but the appearance of the tow bar now looks a lot neater.

Thank you Tirril. The height of the detachable bar is pretty much spot on so I'll measure it and ask the fitter to do the same with the fixed in the centre position. If it's at a similar height then I'll do as you suggest. Must admit, it'll be a comfort to get this done, having heard about trailers detaching by others, i'm paranoid the same will happen so having the bar changed is certainly the way to go.

each time I've unhooked, the towbar was loose in the socket. If you refit it, it is tight in the socket again but the green handle is slowly moving around to vertical with wear,

I think you are highlighting a second problem.  The dealers check the dimentions of the receiver in the chassis and if remediation is required either fit a fixed bar or cut out and renew the centre of the back chassis.

The knob rotating is something new to me altogether and sounds like a problem in the removable part.  Have you tried borrowing one from another owner to find if it also has rotation in the knob? The knob has to be pulled out against a spring to engage the ratchet drive onto the locking pin - is the knob also pulling out too easily?

A good used removable towball sells for about £125 on the Land Rover forums.

each time I've unhooked, the towbar was loose in the socket. If you refit it, it is tight in the socket again but the green handle is slowly moving around to vertical with wear,

I think you are highlighting a second problem.  The dealers check the dimentions of the receiver in the chassis and if remediation is required either fit a fixed bar or cut out and renew the centre of the back chassis.

The knob rotating is something new to me altogether and sounds like a problem in the removable part.  Have you tried borrowing one from another owner to find if it also has rotation in the knob? The knob has to be pulled out against a spring to engage the ratchet drive onto the locking pin - is the knob also pulling out too easily?

A good used removable towball sells for about £125 on the Land Rover forums.

The dealers use a gauge tool which they place up against the bumper, the tool has a green and a red portion. When the detachable tow bar is fitted, the striker pin releases the spring loaded tapered securing pin which goes into a hole just behind the main receptacle for the tow bar. The green handle spins into a position at the same time, i'm sure you know all this but thought I would explain how the dealer uses this tool. With the tow bar fitted and in the locked position, the dealer places the gauge up against the handle, if it has rotated and is in the green portion, they pass it, if the handle has rotated too far into the red portion, they fail it and as you say, either fit a fixed bar or a new rear cross member. As the receptacle wears given that it tends to work loose when towing, the green handle moves further and further towards vertical and into the portion which deems it unsafe by the dealer. Having come from a VW Touareg which had a Westfalia detachable and was always rock solid no matter what, this by comparison is a poor poor design. My towbar is new, it came with the car but was never used. It'll be going on flea bay when Ive had the fixed bar fitted next week, I really don't like the fact that it is loose after each time i've unhitched the van, many report this as being normal but i'm not all that happy about it, hence it's being changed.

Have been in the vehicle recovery industry, and Range Rovers snap detachable swan necks all the time!

This doesn't help you now, but at the time, it was deemed it better to fit a flange type for towing anything of reasonable weight.

Snapped!!!! That's a new one, nearly 40,000 members on disco3/4 and 14,000 RRS members, not one report of a towball snapping, a few rattling, one that posted that it fell out on a Disco, but the same post was trawled around the net, general consensus that it was not locked in position, if you cannot remove the key it's not locked in.

Here's a video of a well worn receiver, you see how the handle rotates when fitted and locked to a near vertical position? Mine doesn't rotate as far as this one does, yet. However, when I first used the towbar the handle locked in a horizontal position, each time I have refitted the towbar though, the handle when locked has moved a tiny bit further round. There is a video somewhere on the internet of a dealer using the guage tool mentioned in my post above but I can't find that one. Like the guy in this video, I lightly grease the blade that fits into the receptacle, and  have always removed the bar when not towing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0sA8Ud-SXo