Volkswagen Tiguan Owners Manual:  Introduction to the subject

In this chapter you will find information on the following subjects:

⇒ Technical requirements 

⇒ Hitching up and connecting a trailer 

⇒ Loading the trailer 

⇒ Driving with a trailer 

⇒ Ball mount 

⇒ Retrofitting a trailer hitch 

⇒ Maximum permissible trailer weight 

Obey country-specific requirements about trailer towing and trailer hitches.

Volkswagen does not recommend installing a trailer hitch on your vehicle. Your Volkswagen was mainly designed for carrying passengers. If you plan to tow a trailer, please remember your vehicle will be performing a job for which it was not primarily intended. The additional load will affect durability, handling, fuel economy, and performance, and may require the vehicle to be serviced more often.

Trailer towing not only places more stress on the vehicle, it calls for more concentration from the driver. Always follow the operating and driving instructions given, and use common sense.

Under winter conditions, install winter tires on the vehicle and the trailer.

Tongue weight

The maximum permissible trailer tongue weight exerted on the ball mount should not exceed 220 lbs (100 kg).

More information:

• Anti-theft alarm system ⇒ Anti-theft alarm system 

• Lights ⇒ Lights 

• Braking, stopping, and parking ⇒ Braking, stopping, and parking 

• Saving fuel and helping the environment ⇒ Saving fuel and helping the environment 

• Tires and wheels ⇒ Tires and wheels 

• Parts, accessories, repairs and modifications ⇒ Parts, accessories, repairs and modifications 

Warning

Riding in a trailer is dangerous and may be illegal.

Warning

Improper use of the trailer hitch can cause accidents and injuries. An improperly installed, incorrect, or damaged trailer hitch can cause the trailer to separate from the towing vehicle and cause serious personal injuries.

• Only use an undamaged, properly mounted trailer hitch.

• Never repair or modify the trailer hitch.

• To reduce the risk of injury in rear-end collisions, and the risk to pedestrians and cyclists when the vehicle is parked, always remove the ball mount when you are not towing a trailer.

• Never install a weight distributing or load equalizing trailer hitch on your vehicle. The vehicle was not designed for these kinds of trailer hitches. The trailer hitch attachment can fail, causing the trailer to tear loose from the vehicle.

Warning

Improper trailer towing can cause loss of vehicle control and serious personal injury.

• Driving with a trailer and carrying heavy or large things can change the way the vehicle handles, increase the distance it needs to stop safely, and cause accidents.

• Always secure the load properly with suitable and undamaged straps so that the load will not shift.

• Always adapt your speed and driving to the heavier load and the weight distribution in the vehicle. Take road, weather, traffic, and visibility conditions into account as well.

• Reduce your speed even more than you otherwise would when going downhill and under unfavorable load, weather, or wind conditions.

• Trailers with a high center of gravity tip more easily than trailers with a low center of gravity.

• Always avoid sudden maneuvers and hard braking.

• Be especially careful when passing other vehicles.

• Reduce speed immediately if the trailer shows the slightest sign of swaying.

• Never try to stop the swaying by accelerating.

• Always obey speed limits. In some areas, the speed limits for vehicles towing trailers are lower than for vehicles without trailers. Never drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/h; under exceptional circumstances 60 mph - 100 km/h) when towing a trailer. This applies even if the local speed limit is higher.

If you are driving a new vehicle or a vehicle with a new or rebuilt engine, do not tow a trailer during the break-in period, about 600 miles (1000 km) ⇒ Parts, accessories, repairs and modifications .

If you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need maintenance more often because of the extra load it has to move.

When you are not towing, remove the trailer hitch ball. This helps keep the trailer hitch from causing damage to your vehicle and to others if your vehicle is hit from behind.

Some models need a trailer hitch to tow or tow-start other vehicles. You may want to always carry the ball mount in the vehicle after it has been removed. Be sure to stow it securely.