tow a mini?

Has anyone towed a BMW z3 standard trans?

We had a 2015 MINI roadster that we towed over 15000 miles. I concluded that the reason BMW says they "don't recommend towing' it is that they had not tested it. We had no problems. At the time we got theirs, Roadmaster didn't have a baseplate for the roadster, but Blue Ox did, so we used that. Never had any problems.

Another nice feature on ours was that it did not have a locking steering wheel. This meant that we could turn the ignition off, take out the key, and tow away. Nice.

Ed Headington

mrmrsbb wrote:
An update -- i began towing my mini in 2017 and it does great

Thanks for the update, but just curious...

After your original post with many favorable responses (including mine), why did it take two years for you to start towing your mini?

Tim

guy I got my rv from towed a mini with it. Said he was told it was not towable but he did it. Check with roadmaster site that was the baseplate system he had. We tow a 13 Hyundai and it also is a good towed vehicle, just dont see many out there.

thought I was in the Twilight Zone for a few min. June of '15 was a sleep or 2 ago.

An update -- i began towing my mini in 2017 and it does great - even helped stabilize the motorhome - mini said it was ok to tow it -- can't imagine a better toad to have

If you are under warranty and BMW finds any sign of it being towed they will not cover any drivetrain failure and will blame it on towing.

I know with the 323i I had it had to be 99 or older with the 5 speed. 2000 and newer went to the 6 speed and it would not hold up to towing. Assumed it was due to the gears not throwing enough oil with the input side spinning.

From my post above, HERE is the 2015 Clubman.

Tim

mrmrsbb wrote:
Can i flat tow a mini cooper with manual transmission

As I type, this fine Father's Day morning, I am in an RV park with our Good Sam Chapter.

Looking out my window, I see TWO Minis (in our group) that got here under tow. One is a 2006, the other is a 2015. I helped the owner to install the towing base plate on the 2015.

Reportedly, they tow GREAT!!!

I tow a 2012 Miata. Most people tell me that it cannot be towed. The manual says "No", but you cannot always trust what you read. Mostly written by lawyers, not engineers.

Tim

mrmrsbb wrote:
Can i flat tow a mini cooper with manual transmission

Look in the owners manual under 'recreational towing'.

It will tell you right there whether that car can be towed 4 down or requires a dolly.