Trail tours, horrible experience!

[mxs]

Any car will pretty much tow class 1 hitch and trailer. Most of the world does that, unfortunately in North America, car manufacturers of small/economy vehicles will tell you NOT to do that. So legally they cover themselves against something, who knows what, but technically there's no reason why your Mazda 3 could not pull a trailer with bike on it (up to 2000lbs tongue weight).

If you call Uhaul and ask them to install a hitch on your car and they say "no problem" ... there's a hint right there. I had them install one on my VW Golf and I could easily tow Uhaul 800lbs mototrcycle trailer and two dirt bikes on it if I wanted.

Apologies to OP for hijacking the thread. Back to the topic ..

 

[Rick CH]

Apparently the owners manual advises that the car is not built for towing, and there is a risk of voiding the warranty, although in world markets the car successfully tows with an effective rating.

Bigger concern than voiding the warranty is that insurance co. is probably going to deny coverage if you're towing when the manual says it's a no-no (despite the same vehicle being rated for towing in the rest of the world) and towing the trailer can be a contributing factor in an accident.

 

[Jbrizzy]

I have a 2010 ms3 so the warranty literally just ended this year. That behind said, I don't have a hitch yet but I have seen them online for speed s. So I know they exist and people use them. I wouldn't use it for heavy towing, Just a trailer and one or two dirt bikes. They are much lighter. Dealers will ALWAYS look for a way out of their warranty, so I mean if you feel warranty is more important to you.. Then wait for it to expire unless you can find something that can be easily put on and removed before you go to the dealership. For instance with stage upgrades, warranty is denied if upgrades are found : solution :keep stock parts, use Bolt ons. Remove Bolt ons and switch with stock parts and reflash ecu to daily if you need to take for servicing at dealership. No need to worry about dealership

 

[Jbrizzy]

Bigger concern than voiding the warranty is that insurance co. is probably going to deny coverage if you're towing when the manual says it's a no-no (despite the same vehicle being rated for towing in the rest of the world) and towing the trailer can be a contributing factor in an accident.

See I don't know if this is true or not, I would say I bought it like that without a manual. But his is new, so in that event I would just say that I asked a Mazda mechanic non chillantly and they said it wouldn't make a difference for a really small pull.

 

[Iceman]

That's very interesting. Sorry to take away from this thread, I am hoping you could tell me more. I am curious about what year your Mazda3 2.0 is that you use for towing. I am looking to tow a dirt bike/trailer with my 2015 Mazda3 2.0 Skyactiv hatchback myself, although I have major hesitations as I haven't encountered a lot of people that have done it to have as an example. Do you have any modifications to help with the towing? Have you encountered any maintenance concerns related to towing? I am very curious and would like to get a dirt bike but hope to figure out the towing situation/scenarios first! Do you have any other advice or words of wisdom that you could share? Apparently the owners manual advises that the car is not built for towing, and there is a risk of voiding the warranty, although in world markets the car successfully tows with an effective rating.

I have a 2010 5 door hatch/wagon, base 2.0l. I've done zero mods, just bolted on a tow hitch and added a 4pin harness for trailer lights, took about an hour. It actually tows really well with a small trailer and two bikes, didn't even affect fuel economy too much. It hasn't caused any excess maintenance, but I take my time and don't overly push the car on the highway with a trailer etc.

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk

 

[Ash]

I've got an older generation Hyundai Accent (1.6L w/manual transmission) that frequently tows a 4'x4' Harbor Freight style trailer with a single dirt bike. The trailer weighs less than 200lbs and the bike is less than 250, so in terms of acceleration and braking it is similar to having a couple of big guys in the car with you. If anything, my gas mileage is better when I'm towing because I'm in no hurry.