Towing Smart car
Most of the tow bars require the installation of a base plate which is a major expense and requires the removal of all the front panels to install. There is a British company that uses the spots w...
Forum Discussion
From the 2013 owners manual:
From the "Towing eye bolt" section:
WARNING
For safety reasons, recovery or lashing down of the vehicle by means of the towing eye is not allowed. Failure to observe this could result in the towing eye being ripped out of its mounting and people being injured.
It then proceeds to the "Flat towing" section:
For vehicles that will be flat towed over long distances observe the following recommendations:
Preparing the vehicle:
Contact an authorized smart center for information on recommended tow bar equipment and installing a matching on/off switch on the battery terminal.
Before towing:
- Make sure the ignition is switched on.
- Engage the parking brake.
- Depress the brake pedal and keep it pressed.
- Move the gear selector lever to neutral position N.
- Release the brake pedal.
With the gear selector lever in neutral position N, the key cannot be turned fully to starter switch position 0. Therefore turn the key in the starter switch as far left as it will go when switching off the ignition.
- Switch off the ignition.
- Leave the key in the starter switch.
- Wait approximately 30 seconds until the multifunction display in the instrument cluster is completely blank.
- Turn the battery off using the previously installed battery switch.
- Release the parking brake.
- During towing: Make sure the gear selector lever remains in neutral position N with the ignition switched off.
It first warns not to use the towing eye for recovery and then goes on to instruct how to flat tow. It does not say specifically not to use the towing eyes for flat towing.
As I mentioned in my first post, there is a company in the UK that uses the towing eye mounts to attach a tow bar. It appears that it is okay for them. I don't see any mention of beefing up the tow eye mounts on their website.
http://www.smart-tow.com/
From the "Towing eye bolt" section:
WARNING
For safety reasons, recovery or lashing down of the vehicle by means of the towing eye is not allowed. Failure to observe this could result in the towing eye being ripped out of its mounting and people being injured.
It then proceeds to the "Flat towing" section:
For vehicles that will be flat towed over long distances observe the following recommendations:
Preparing the vehicle:
Contact an authorized smart center for information on recommended tow bar equipment and installing a matching on/off switch on the battery terminal.
Before towing:
- Make sure the ignition is switched on.
- Engage the parking brake.
- Depress the brake pedal and keep it pressed.
- Move the gear selector lever to neutral position N.
- Release the brake pedal.
With the gear selector lever in neutral position N, the key cannot be turned fully to starter switch position 0. Therefore turn the key in the starter switch as far left as it will go when switching off the ignition.
- Switch off the ignition.
- Leave the key in the starter switch.
- Wait approximately 30 seconds until the multifunction display in the instrument cluster is completely blank.
- Turn the battery off using the previously installed battery switch.
- Release the parking brake.
- During towing: Make sure the gear selector lever remains in neutral position N with the ignition switched off.
It first warns not to use the towing eye for recovery and then goes on to instruct how to flat tow. It does not say specifically not to use the towing eyes for flat towing.
As I mentioned in my first post, there is a company in the UK that uses the towing eye mounts to attach a tow bar. It appears that it is okay for them. I don't see any mention of beefing up the tow eye mounts on their website.
http://www.smart-tow.com/
