120 Towbar recall

[Hoody Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hoody]

you may be right mate - but why does it say 'using non-genuine LDH' on the sticker? image attached

edit - maybe just the way they have worded the sentence. does seem to be a disclaimer of sorts though...

[peril Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close peril]

It's an escape clause to save them being sued, something they can do that is cheaper than a recall and redesign of the bar. Toyota used to have principals, now it's all about the money The Hamman Reece after market towbar bar values just went up if you asked me. AJ120, you about to get a flood of towbar requests from all those Grey Nomads with Vans hehehe.

[Tar Trek Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tar Trek]

Hi there,

I read an article in Caravan & Motorhome Magazine in Mid 2007 indicating that the "Gall Boys" had broken a Genuine Toyota 120 Prado Towbar on Fraser Island.

That prompted me to check mine, as I'd just returned from a trip Sydney to Darwin return, towing my caravan.

One of the bolts on the bottom of the towbar had snapped & fallen out & the towbar was twisted.

In August 2007, my towbar was replaced "No Charge" by Toyota, even though my Prado was out of warranty.

I was quizzed at the time re my van, WDH etc.

I replaced the vehicle in 2010 & even though I no longer owned the vehicle I was quizzed again about the towbar.

If you remove one of the "Bottom Bolts", you will see that the hole in the towbar & the chassis is much bigger than the diameter of the bolt.

You will also note that there is a recess in the towbar for the washer & the washer actually locates the bolt in the towbar.

I'll stand correcting, however I believe that because the bolt is not a "Snug Fit" in the towbar, as you stop & start the bolt gets "Worked Back & Forth", until it snaps & the towbar twists or breaks.

I have photos, however I can't work out how to post them.

Tar Trek.

[leachy_9 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close leachy_9]

I no longer have an owners manual but I seem the remember it was clear that using a WDH with the Toyota tow bar would void the warranty. Over the years there have been a number of threads across numerous forums discussing failure of 120 Prado Toyota tow bars with WDH fitted. Kaymar also states that use of a WDH with their rear bars / tow bars will void warranty. This really should not be a surprise. If you want / need to use a WDH get a Haymen Reese tow bar which has been designed and tested to work with a WDH.
AJ - what is your position on the use of WDH with your bar?

[120D4D Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 120D4D]

Looks like Andrew is off to the printer tomorrow to get some stickers made up!

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

AJ - what is your position on the use of WDH with your bar?

When tow bars are tested for rating purposes they are tested with a particular tounge, if you use any other tounge or even invert the one tested with then strictly speaking it hasn't been tested for that. So any manufacturer would be silly to say you can use a WDH and guarantee its OK. I could get it tested with a WDH, but that's another $2500 and still no guarantees that a customer won't use another brand, or style that still wouldn't be rated.

Having said all that I believe mine would be stronger than the cast Toyota hitch.

Cheers Andrew

[MorrieD Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close MorrieD]

I picked up my 2007 Prado today after a 90 000k service and my tow bar had been replaced. They wouldn't call it a "recall" instead referring to it as some sort of "customer dissatisfaction response" as people had experienced cracking in the tow bar from using load distribution devices. I don't tow anything more than a 6 x 4 box trailer but my bolts were found to have signs of movement so they replaced the whole lot. Apparently it's a more heavy duty version of the old one. It looks the same as far as I can tell and comes with the warning sticker on it. The service guy said that letter's hadn't yet been sent out to customers regarding the issue.

[adrian5800 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close adrian5800]

If you remove one of the "Bottom Bolts", you will see that the hole in the towbar & the chassis is much bigger than the diameter of the bolt.

You will also note that there is a recess in the towbar for the washer & the washer actually locates the bolt in the towbar.

I'll stand correcting, however I believe that because the bolt is not a "Snug Fit" in the towbar, as you stop & start the bolt gets "Worked Back & Forth", until it snaps & the towbar twists or breaks.
Tar Trek.

If the bolts are torqued correctly the clamp load on the towbar housing and chassis crossmember will prevent any movement of the housing provided the stresses involved are within design specifications. The engineer(s) would have calculated all this in the design phase. Obviously adding a WDH adds further stress to the assembly...

Ades

[Tar Trek Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tar Trek]

Hi Adrian 5800,

The Titanic, The Hindenburg & The Tacoma Bridge were all designed by engineers.

Tar Trek

[120D4D Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 120D4D]

Well played Tar Trek

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Hi there,

I read an article in Caravan & Motorhome Magazine in Mid 2007 indicating that the "Gall Boys" had broken a Genuine Toyota 120 Prado Towbar on Fraser Island.

Tar Trek.

If you see the footage (in the Fraser Island DVD) you wouldn't be blaming the Toyota components for that break... even the Gall boys admitted they stuffed up by not removing the load distributors through that terrain.
It broke when the car went down a dip and as it started to come out is when the caravan was going in so you could imagine the forces pushing down on the towbar.

[Hendo66 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hendo66]

Ok checked the other day, it's not a safety issue so no official recall, but as stated above its a customer satisfaction issue. You won't be getting a letter.
If you own a Prado 120 with Gen. Towbar have it checked for bolt tension and any warping or cracking of the Towbar itself. If faulty you get a new Towbar
If you use a WDH, Toyota will replace it free of charge with their Genuine (recently released) WDH.
Pretty simple really, case closed.
Get the service guys to search their service bulletins if you get the common blank look.

(Edit: if you have non-gen Towbar then it doesn't apply)

[Rusty Olds Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty Olds]

Thanks Hendo I'll get mine done as soon as I can.

[yowie Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close yowie]

Is the 150 tow bar the same design/measurement/number of bolts as the 120?

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Is the 150 tow bar the same design/measurement/number of bolts as the 120?

The 150 towbar is completely different, a more traditional towbar rather than the small cast one in the 120 series.

Cheers Andrew