Towbar accessories

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Steve Minshall 05/04/2018

Fitting a Hayman Reese #2980RW towbar to an Audi Q5

Fits models: Q5 March-2009 to January-2017.

Time for experienced fitter: Approx. 3.5 hours

Fitting difficulty: 6/10

In this article we are giving an overview of the installation of a Hayman Reese 2980RW tow bar to an Audi Q5. This bar is suitable for vehicles built between 03/2009 and 01/2017. It fits all model variants.

The Bar:

For current specs and fitted price please see our Audi Q5 page.

Rating 2400kg max trailer, 240kg max ball weight.

Hayman Reese tow bar fitted to Audi Q5

The Hayman Reese tow bar for this fitting is a Class 4 hitch making it a heavy duty unit with a 50mm square receiver socket for the tow ball mount. The bar replaces the vehicle impact beam and is mostly hidden behind the bumper.

The Kit:

Towbar #2980RW, ECU #4826 or #4828, trailer socket #4816.

Hayman Reese tow bar fitted to Audi Q5

The Hayman Reese kit comes with a wiring loom, tow ball mount and ball. Additional parts required are an electronic control module (HR #4826 or #4828) and a tail piece to complete the electrics with the desired socket style. We would typically install a Hayman Reese #4816 which is a 7-pin flat socket with an appropriate length of cable to complete the hook up. The mounting hardware relies on the existing impact beam retaining bolts with the addition of some spacer tubes.

Fitting:

Physically bolting the bar to the vehicle is pretty straight forward as the tow bar simply replaces the vehicles impact beam. It is secured with four long bolts that fix the tow bar arms through the chassis rails. The removal of the bumper does require some care and locating the internal fixing nuts requires some dismantling in the boot area.

Hayman Reese tow bar fitted to Audi Q5

Electrics:

The wiring for the Audi Q5 is the trickiest part of the job and is probably the best reason to get an experienced fitter to do this for you. The take off points to read the lighting circuits are found in the control box on the driver's side of the boot. We have found several different wiring and ECU combinations for this vehicle and despite doing installs on over one hundred Q5s we have not been able to work out a definitive pattern. Each vehicle has to be treated on a case by case basis. It is also worth noting that when probing for signal wires and for the trailer lights to work correctly, the tail gate must be shut.

Hayman Reese tow bar fitted to Audi Q5

Bumper cut:

There are several bumpers that have been fitted to the various Q5 variants that have been released so extra care needs to be taken when following the instructions to ensure the cut is appropriate to your particular vehicle.

Additional:

This job could be done by a competent DIY mechanic who takes appropriate caution when removing/refitting the bumper. The hardest part is the electrics which requires investigation of the wiring looms to find the correct take off points to attach the supplied loom. We do not sell this bar online, in kit form because we can not tell ahead of time what ECU part number to supply. It can be purchased from the store but it is worth coming in first to have a chat about what is involved.

Our current fitted prices for this bar are available here.