Towing a Toyota Corolla

Thanks for the informative ideas. Yes, Toyota says the manual transmission Corolla is fine to tow in the ACC position. It just says to make sure the radio etc are turned off. I have been thinking the safest thing would be to add the charge line directly to the battery as some of you have suggested.

And to Old Guy, I bought this car because I liked it, it met our needs, I like Toyotas, and Toyota says it is good to tow without removing any fuses or anything else. Toyota says if you leave the radio and accessories turned off, it will be fine. I have just been mildly concerned about towing it for several days. My conclusion has been to just add the charge line, but I was looking for any experience anyone else has had,that might indicate it isn't required. I got a lot of info from others, which I do appreciate.

Ed Headington

I have a Hyundai with a standard shift and the manual says to turn the key to acc to unlock the steering wheel. It also says to turn off the radio and heater so the battery won't run down. I left it like that one day and left it like that all night then the next day. The battery was low but it started. Turn the key off at the end of the day and you will be fine, or run a charge line if you want.

Our much older Corolla (2006) doesn't run the battery down to where it won't start, and we have a Brake Buddy connected to the battery also. But no NAV, Active Cruise, Cameras, Radar, Sonar, etc. like newer ones.

Does this 2018 have Navigation, and is the Screen automatically come ON in ACC? I looked at the manuals for 2017 Corolla and IM models, saw the "Tow in ACC, Idle three minutes after towing" words were the same when I looked at 2018 Corolla for you.

Try it. If the Screen and Entertainment System stay lit, you may want to add a Charge Line, or maybe find a fuse to pull. I'm cautious about pulling fuses on later model cars, just might trigger a Code.

Something like this battery charge line kit would probably work for you.

eheading wrote:
We recently purchased a 2018 Corolla SE with manual transmission. We are currently outfitting it for towing. Toyota says you must tow with the smart key in the "accessories" position. Does anyone have experience with towing the Corolla? Is there any problem with draining the battery with the ignition in the "accessory" position??

Thanks,
Ed Headington

No experience with this particular model, but the key in the ACC position probably releases the steering/front wheel lock for flat towing. It also most probably will drain the battery, like playing the radio for hours will. Consult your Toyota owner's manual to see 1) if this vehicle can be towed recreationally, and 2) is disconnecting the negative ground cable on the battery or some other fuse pull in the instructions for flat towing.
Sorry, best I can do.

I only have a question. why, if you are wondering about the battery being drained, did you check into this before you bought a car with this disadvantage. there are cars out there that do not require you to tow like that. sorry if I stepped on anyones toes