Towing - Do You need a Flatbed?

Hopefully I'll never run out of juice but just in case I need a tow - does it need to be up on a trailer/flatbed or can it be towed by lifting the front, but rolling the rear wheels on the road?

The manual doesn't address this.

It's a FWD car, towing it with the rear wheels on the ground should be fine. Just make sure the parking brake is released, and that the car is lifted by the front wheels and not by the bumper (there shouldn't be any tow trucks left in service that still work this way).

I posted it on the 2016 SE FAQ sheet
You can tow from the front. Don't tow from the back unless you have a flatbed or a tow driver that knows how to put down the secondary tires under the front of the car.

But even then I would wait for a flatbed.

It's a very heavy car for steel spring suspension for that reason alone, I'd flatbed it.

JoulesThief said:

It's a very heavy car for steel spring suspension for that reason alone, I'd flatbed it.

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How's that a problem?

NeilBlanchard said:

JoulesThief said:

It's a very heavy car for steel spring suspension for that reason alone, I'd flatbed it.

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How's that a problem?

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How much do you think you are going to flex the unibody, chasssi and battery pack lifting the car and battery up, every time you drive over a bump, or speed bump, or whatever? Keep it on all 4 wheels, and avoid that unknown. There is a reason VW didn't put a sunroof in this model. It's flimsy.

There are heavier FWD cars than the eGolf (many recent full-size GM models for example) and there's no problem with towing them with the rear wheels down.

As far as "flimsy", I felt my Leaf (with its largely aluminum construction) felt flimsier and yet Nissan specifically states in the manual that towing with the rear wheels on the ground is OK, as is flat-bedding. The Leaf is also roughly the same weight as the eGolf.

RonDawg said:

There are heavier FWD cars than the eGolf (many recent full-size GM models for example) and there's no problem with towing them with the rear wheels down.

As far as "flimsy", I felt my Leaf (with its largely aluminum construction) felt flimsier and yet Nissan specifically states in the manual that towing with the rear wheels on the ground is OK, as is flat-bedding. The Leaf is also roughly the same weight as the eGolf.

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I don't think it's a good idea to compare cars designs or brands for being towed, just because they have a battery. That's not much commonality. I hope none of my 4 VW's ever requires a tow, but the two touaregs, and the e-golf will see a flat bed if necessary, and I don't care how long it takes to get a flat bed out there to have it done right.

I don't know about the later model years, but in the US model 2015 eGolf manual (the big thick one), pages 366-367 state that not only is front-wheels up towing OK (1), but under certain circumstances it's even OK to flat tow as long as:

1. Transmission is in Neutral
2. You do not exceed 30 MPH
3. You do not tow further than 30 miles
4. There is no warning on the dash to warn of you flat towing
5. The car has an adequate 12 volt supply
6. Both front and rear wheels can turn
7. There is no damage to the steering or wheels or suspension


(1) "Tow the vehicle only with its front wheels off the ground" (page 366, left hand side under "Towing on a commercial tow truck") and "When a commercial tow truck is being used, the vehicle must only be towed with the front wheels off the ground." (page 367, left hand side under "Towing your vehicle")

Nowhere in this section does the owners manual mandate the use of a flat-bed tow.

JoulesThief said:

NeilBlanchard said:

JoulesThief said:

It's a very heavy car for steel spring suspension for that reason alone, I'd flatbed it.

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How's that a problem?

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How much do you think you are going to flex the unibody, chasssi and battery pack lifting the car and battery up, every time you drive over a bump, or speed bump, or whatever? Keep it on all 4 wheels, and avoid that unknown. There is a reason VW didn't put a sunroof in this model. It's flimsy.

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Huh?

There is absolutely no reason that towing it in a cradle is ANY more stressful than driving it. The weight is the same, and it is resting on the wheels.

And I will have you know, that the e-Golf chassis quite torsionally strong: my mechanic doing a tire swap put it up on 4 floor jacks, and when one of the rear jacks was then lowered - the car stayed up on the last three.

And the doors could be opened and closed, without any noticeable issue.

Wow!

This is the first time I've seen Joules ignore the manual. And the fact that manual actually covers this occasion (Which it is so badly written it doesn't even cover the fact that the eGolf is a car sometimes )

forbin404 said:

Wow!

This is the first time I've seen Joules ignore the manual. And the fact that manual actually covers this occasion (Which it is so badly written it doesn't even cover the fact that the eGolf is a car sometimes )

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A flatbed is always an option. IMHO, the best option.

Having had tow trucks screw up your car, this has been my experience, wrecking front valences, breaking expensive to replace fog lights, tearing up transmissions jacking up the back of the car and hauling it out of a parking spot, pulling it out backwards, etc, etc. YMMV, I'll wait for a flatbed, every single time.

I pay annually for tow service, with 100 + mile towing range. I don't abuse it, but when I need it, I need it. I don't worry about it. Better to have it, and not need it, than need it, and not have it. And it's very handy also, to avoid huge waiting lines at the DMV instead, I just go to AAA, pay my fee, and have my registration tag. 10 -15 minutes, max, not 2 or 3 hours.

The only comment I will make on the manual issue is that I would not trust it since it looks like a poorly translated/copied version of the regular Golf manual. It's possible that the towing section is inaccurate.

JoulesThief said:

A flatbed is always an option. IMHO, the best option.

Having had tow trucks screw up your car, this has been my experience, wrecking front valences, breaking expensive to replace fog lights, tearing up transmissions jacking up the back of the car and hauling it out of a parking spot, pulling it out backwards, etc, etc. YMMV, I'll wait for a flatbed, every single time.

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I've seen flatbed tow trucks damage cars as well. Having a flatbed tow truck is no guarantee of having a careful tow truck operator to go with it.

I pay annually for tow service, with 100 + mile towing range. I don't abuse it, but when I need it, I need it. I don't worry about it. Better to have it, and not need it, than need it, and not have it. And it's very handy also, to avoid huge waiting lines at the DMV instead, I just go to AAA, pay my fee, and have my registration tag. 10 -15 minutes, max, not 2 or 3 hours.

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For just the price of a first class stamp, you can also renew by mail. In fact, if you have internet service, DMV now allows you to pay online with no added fee.