Just bought a 2019 Ford Fiesta and a Stehl tow dolly. The Steering wheel does not lock and it’s front wheel drive. The vehicle manual says when on a tow dolly to put it in neutral and disconnect the battery. It says nothing about the steering. The dolly manual says put the vehicle in park or gear and lock or tie off steering wheel. An explanation as to why would be nice but it doesn’t offer one. I called a Ford service department to ask if they had any advice about the steering and the guy kept telling me that the steering does lock which I know it doesn’t. So that didn’t help any. I towed it from Phoenix to Quartzsite and as far as I could tell from the camera view it did okay. But the back end of the car is turning when I turn and it looks like turning to sharp would cause the fender on the dolly to hit the door of the car. Any advice? Anyone Thanks Joe

I used to tow my Fiesta on a older Stehl dolly.You just pull it on a strap it down. There's no need to disconnect the battery. That's only for 4-down towing. Likewise, nothing to worry about with the steering either.The fenders can kiss the doors on really tight turns, so to be careful there. It was actually the lights on mine that would kiss, so you might be able to swap for a lower profile light and gain a little more clearance.

If it were me, I'd ignore Ford's guidance and securely tie down the steering wheel to prevent turning.

I downloaded the manual and I think it is just poorly written. For a manual transmissions it mentions that when using a tow dolly follow the dolly manufacturers instructions. After this is goes on to mention towing 4 down with the trans in neutral. But when it gets to the automatic transmission section it never mentions a tow dolly. The way the manual is written I think they are assuming their instructions on the tow dolly in the manualtransmission section are automatically applied to the automatic section. But it's hard to say for certain. In this case you're going to have to do some thinking for the person who wrote the manual as they obviously don't have any experience in this area and didn't know to ask the design engineer for clarification.Call the dealer back and ask if your particular vehicle has any type of rear wheel drive. Or take to any mechanic (the dealer, the corner gas station, a brake and tire shop) and ask if the rear wheels have any power applied to them like in rear wheel drive or all wheel drive. If the answer is no then there is no reason to put the vehicle in neutral when the front wheels are on a dolly. Just follow the manual transmission section of the manual and follow the tow dolly instructions. If the answer is yes to all wheel or rear wheel drive then follow the Ford manual on towing.As far as tying off the steering wheel. It sounds like this it to prevent the steering wheel from turning when taking a corner. If the steering wheel turns the vehicle can be damaged by the tow dolly. If the wheel is tied down then then the car and dolly turn as one and no damage occurs.

opnspaces wrote:I downloaded the manual and I think it is just poorly written.Doesn't matter how well it is written, some one will misunderstand it.

Looking at everything more today I realized that the cradle pan that the tires sit in pivots. So that’s how it follows. But at the same time the car was turning also which it’s not supposed to do. With both turning like that it limits how tight of a turn can be made and would of caused the fender to crunch the door if I had done so. I found the steering tie down strap on line and a video. It’s just a Y ratchet strap that secures to the break pedal or under the seat and to the steering wheel. I’m just glad I didn’t have an issue towing it like that. And the fact that both the Ford dealer and the trailer dealer knew nothing about it? Just amazing. So I have the strap on order and staying put till I get it. Thanks for all the input. Be safe! Joe

Conflicting information tow dolly | Good Sam Community

Fifty4F100
Explorer
Jan 13, 2021
travisc wrote:
There are vehicles where the steering components can not handles the stress of this. I would get a representative of the vehicle manufacturer customer service engaged. There are fewer cars that are towable these days
If you ever saw how a steering wheel is locked, you would know that any front end components would hold up much better than what was locking the steering. I'm actually wondering if our 2017 Mini has a locking steering.
rjstractor
Nomad
Dec 31, 2020
opnspaces wrote:
Call the dealer back and ask if your particular vehicle has any type of rear wheel drive. Or take to any mechanic (the dealer, the corner gas station, a brake and tire shop) and ask if the rear wheels have any power applied to them like in rear wheel drive or all wheel drive.

The Ford Fiesta is front wheel drive. No need to call the dealer or have a mechanic look at it. If the OP really had doubts, a 10 second look under the back of the would confirm that there is no rear drive axle.
carringb
Explorer
Dec 31, 2020
Most new cars lack a steering wheel lock. They went away with the advent of keyless ignitions.

I towed my Fiesta thousands of miles and never had the wheels move relative to the turntable. I also ran wreckers for a few years during grad-school, and you normally only secure the steering when towing a vehicle backwards. And we did use a seatbelt or strap. The steering locks can't be counted on to resist steering forces. Although there shouldn't be any on a tow dolly.

I don't see how strapping the steering will prevent the fenders from kissing. That's just a simple function of how huge modern cars have gotten. That was why I ended selling my dolly. If I ever dolly again, I'll go with the Acme dolly.
Up_DownDeCoast
Explorer
Dec 31, 2020
QCMan wrote:
There are still vehicles manufactured without steering wheel locks?

X2
travisc
Explorer
Dec 30, 2020
There are vehicles where the steering components can not handles the stress of this. I would get a representative of the vehicle manufacturer customer service engaged. There are fewer cars that are towable these days
Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Dec 30, 2020
If your steering wheel doesn't lock when the key is off you can use your seat belt to lock it. Wrap the seat belt a couple times around the steering wheel and then buckle it in place. Now pull the seat belt all the way out so that as you let it retract it locks. Your steering wheel will be locked. That was our routine any time we had to tow a vehicle backwards.
QCMan
Nomad III
Dec 29, 2020
There are still vehicles manufactured without steering wheel locks?
JOERVDREAM
Explorer
Dec 29, 2020
Looking at everything more today I realized that the cradle pan that the tires sit in pivots. So that’s how it follows. But at the same time the car was turning also which it’s not supposed to do. With both turning like that it limits how tight of a turn can be made and would of caused the fender to crunch the door if I had done so. I found the steering tie down strap on line and a video. It’s just a Y ratchet strap that secures to the break pedal or under the seat and to the steering wheel. I’m just glad I didn’t have an issue towing it like that. And the fact that both the Ford dealer and the trailer dealer knew nothing about it? Just amazing. So I have the strap on order and staying put till I get it. Thanks for all the input. Be safe!
Joe
Tom_Barb
Explorer
Dec 29, 2020
opnspaces wrote:
I downloaded the manual and I think it is just poorly written.

Doesn't matter how well it is written, some one will misunderstand it.
opnspaces
Navigator II
Dec 29, 2020
I downloaded the manual and I think it is just poorly written. For a manual transmissions it mentions that when using a tow dolly follow the dolly manufacturers instructions. After this is goes on to mention towing 4 down with the trans in neutral. But when it gets to the automatic transmission section it never mentions a tow dolly. The way the manual is written I think they are assuming their instructions on the tow dolly in the manualtransmission section are automatically applied to the automatic section. But it's hard to say for certain.

In this case you're going to have to do some thinking for the person who wrote the manual as they obviously don't have any experience in this area and didn't know to ask the design engineer for clarification.

Call the dealer back and ask if your particular vehicle has any type of rear wheel drive. Or take to any mechanic (the dealer, the corner gas station, a brake and tire shop) and ask if the rear wheels have any power applied to them like in rear wheel drive or all wheel drive.

If the answer is no then there is no reason to put the vehicle in neutral when the front wheels are on a dolly. Just follow the manual transmission section of the manual and follow the tow dolly instructions.

If the answer is yes to all wheel or rear wheel drive then follow the Ford manual on towing.

As far as tying off the steering wheel. It sounds like this it to prevent the steering wheel from turning when taking a corner. If the steering wheel turns the vehicle can be damaged by the tow dolly. If the wheel is tied down then then the car and dolly turn as one and no damage occurs.