Hi. I just purchased a 2003 VW Jetta GLS tdi wagon, automatic transmission. I want to put a hitch on it to pull a small trailer to haul my scooters (Honda Elite 110 and Honda Helix 250) and also to haul a few goats now and then. The old-timer mechanic who checked the car out for me told me that I …

What does your owners manual say?

Mountain or flatland driving can make a difference. If you are on flatland, occasional trailer pulling will not, without incident, make a problem for your car but don’t permit the automatic transmission to “hunt” between lockup and the top gear if it has the lockup function. Trailer pulling is neve…

Another second for @whatwho. 's excellent comments.

Is the OP asking a “safety” question? Or, is he asking if pulling the trailer will do mechanical damage to the car? On safely pulling a trailer, it is entirely about the trailer. How big is it? How heavy is it? Will it have surge brakes, electric brakes, or no brakes at all? The two scooters a…

Those two scooters weigh 350+250=600 pounds dry, so with a trailer, etc. it’s around 1,000 pounds. @Goatmother - you need to give us more information on your towing, especially the kinds of roads, speeds, and distances involved.

Those two scooters weigh 350+250=600 pounds dry, so with a trailer, etc. it's around 1,000 pounds. That trailer better be small and made of aluminum. I have a small 6’ open utility trailer and it weighs 500lbs.

I would reccommend against towing anything with this car. As others point out, these are not robust transmissions, and even without towing they have a higher than average failure rate and shorte life. I’ve seen these cars pull trailers in Europe, but they were all manual shift units.

I will go back to what was said earlier by “WhatWho” " and add frequency. There is a lot of misconception going on about dealing with the weight in trailer pulling. As far as the drive train is concerned, it’s NO different then loading the interior of the car with the same weight. The main differenc…

I also add that if you are an idiot…the answers is no. If you are a reasonable human being, and don’t feel like you are going to go to the mountains trailering, you will be fine. Tow it like you stole it. You’ll be fine.

Safe to pull a trailer with my VW Jetta tdi?

General Discussion

missileman December 31, 2012, 7:24pm 6

A VW Jetta is just about the worst candidate for pulling a trailer. They have tiny 4 cylinders or a small V6 with FWD. I think the mechanic at the dealership knows nothing about towing anything. The old-timer mechanic gave you the best advice along with Uncle Turbo.

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Safe to pull a trailer with my VW Jetta tdi?

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