2016 Malibu (Towing)

[drifterpilot]

I will be towing my new 2016 Malibu Premier 4-wheels down.
I have had the baseplate, electrical plug and kill switch installed.
I am in the process of installing a lightbar on the rear window deck for the tailights and turn signals.
The car is equipped with pushbutton start. No key required.
The Owner's Manual states "Remove fuses F10 and F41 from the instrument panel fuse block, however there are NO F10 or F41 fuses installed. Checking with the dealership service manager where I bought the car proved to be no help. He stated "It looks like you don't have any fuses to pull so you should be good to go".
I'm not ready to buy that.
The 2016 FMCA Dinghy Towing Guide states:
Remove fuses 8 and 22 (key access only (so this doesn't apply to me)) and fuse 24 from the instrument panel block. The owner's manual fuse descriptions states that F24 is "Airbag".
Has anyone had experience with this issue yet?
Do I have to pull any fuses to keep my battery from running down?

[j-d]

Awful! How can we help salvage this situation?

You can remove the towing equipment, of course. There are websites that feature towing components.

Would you switch to a dolly and keep the Malibu?

How long have you had the Premier? Perhaps a dealer would do a helpful trade... Lady in our church bought a CR-V. Her mother looked at the Accord while they were at the shop and bought one. Got it home and found the garage door wouldn't close. I don't know how long it was "home" but they worked out a deal for a second CR-V.

[drifterpilot]

afrescop

I missed seeing your posting of 13 November.

You are totally correct. I discovered this afternoon the 2016 Malibu Premier cannot be towed 4-down. Not sure how I am going to resolve this issue at this time.

Thanks for your info, hopefully it will help someone following this thread.

[afrescopXx]

I think you have a very severe issue. You said you have the Malibu Premier. If it has the same motor as does the 2017 Premier it CANNOT be towed four down. If you read the 2016 owners manual you would have seen that only certain versions of the 1.5 litre engine can be flat towed. All the rest cannot be flat towed. The Premier does not have the 1.5 engine.

I fear you have made a VERY expensive mistake.

[jerseyjim]

My former toad, a 2007 Chevy HHR said to remove one fuse. I realized doing that was awkward and I was prone to break something taking that fusebox cover off all the time. So, I rigged up a toggle switch. Worked just fine.

[missnmountains]

This is per the 2016 Dinghy Towing Guide:

Shift the transmission to NEUTRAL. Place the ignition in the ACC/ ACCESSORY position. Remove fuses 8, 22 (key access only), and 24 from the instrument panel fuse block.

Link:Towing Guide

Ken

[sch911]

Does the vehicle have a steering column lock? On many vehicles it's the steering lock that requires the key to be on so that the steering remains unlocked, this leads to the fuse removal because the system is left in accessory mode. On yours if there's no steering lock you're good to go.

[ADAD437]

years ago when i was going to flat tow my grand cherokee, i had unanswered questions so i contacted jeep factory and they cleared it up for me.

[jerseyjim]

Get ahold of a GM rep ASAP. Get all that info from your dealer. Starting to tow 4-down with this kind of confusion can really cause problems. Owners manuals can change mid-stream...as can in-production auto changes....WITHOUT changing the owners' manual.

I seem to remember a couple years ago, Chevy went from a 4 spd auto to a 5 spd auto (or was it 5 to a 6?) and told nobody. Folks bought the car, the owners' manual said OK...next thing, trannies were blowing up all over the place.

PURSUE this...and g'luck!