VW Passat Towbars

Volkswagen Passat Towing Specifications

The Volkswagen Passat is one of the longest produced models of the German car maker Volkswagen, currently, in its 8th generation, this model has been on the roads since 1973.

We have covered in more details the towing specifications of the different generations in their individual subcategories below, under the "Things to Consider" sections.

The Passat is a serious towing vehicle, which has seen both its towing weight and nose weight increase over the last couple of generations.

It is important to check your vehicle if it is on a changeoveryear. The logbook will state the model number, this will help you to ensure you are selecting the correct towbars for your vehicle. If you are in any doubt and your vehicle has been manufactured on a changeoveryear, please contact us to discuss your vehicle and help us to help you pick the correct towbar for your Passat

Volkswagen Passat Towbar electric kits

We recommend that all tow bars fitted to a Volkswagen Passat's are fitted with a dedicated electrics kit, this not only helps to ensure all modern features, such as trailer stability, parking sensors function correctly, but also ensures that the vehicles manufacturer’s warranty is not invalidated. A quick look at Volkswagen's warranty page confirms that Passat's produced after 2016 will possibly have a manufacturers warranty active.

• A 2-year unlimited mileage manufacturers warranty.
• A further 1 year / 60,000 miles (whichever is soonest) warranty.

This means you're covered for a total of 3 years or up to 60,000 miles, whichever comes first Used cars purchased from Volkswagen come with 12 months warranty. Volkswagen Warranty information. For the majority of all Passats, we do of course offer, universal electrics kits, however as stated these will invalidate any manufacturer warranty you may have.

Bypass Relays

Depending on which year and model of Volkswagen Passat you own, will determine as to whether you will require a bypass relay when universal electrics are fitted, or not, check the subcategories "things to consider" sections for more details.

Bypass relays are used to ensure that the kit does not present faults on the dashboard.

A bypass relay helps the universal kit hide from your vehicle ECU and functions so as not to put faults on the dashboard hence the name “BYPASS”

A dedicated system works in harmony with your vehicles ECU and all of its functions.

Bumper cuts

Again this is model specific, please check the " things to consider" section for your particular model.

Nose weight

Nose weight is the amount of weight pushing down on the tow ball, it is important to not exceed the nose weight set on the tow bar, failure to do so could damage the car chassis and/or tow bar mounting points. For the Volkswagen Passat, the nose range varies only slightly over the different year ranges/ model. We show the minimum capacity nose weight, and the maximum capacity nose weight, nose weights are displayed under each tow bar below.

Towing weight

Towing weight is the weight that the Volkswagen Passat towbars can tow safely, without damaging the vehicle. The maximum capacity and if different for your make and model minimum capacity is shown.  


You will need to check the towing limit for your model of Passat as it may not be able to tow up to the weight limit that the tow bar can tow.