Towbar LS400

tiny0158 · August 8, 2020

Hi

I know about the need for added transmission cooler but don't know where I can buy a towbar to fit 1998 ls400

I'd be grateful for any ideas

thanks

tim

I'm in N Lincs

Howplum · August 8, 2020

It might be worth asking this company:

https://www.watling-towbars.co.uk/

They listed one in 2009.

ambermarine · August 9, 2020

Hi Howard

The 1998 Lexus LS400 according to Lexus is not designed for towing so this means that no reputable company will supply or fit a towbar as it would be unsafe

That is why you cannot source one from Lexus there have been instances of people transferring towbars from other series in the LS400 range but should you do this is a very iffy situation because even though you might get it through a MOT your insurance would be invalidated in the case of an accident whilst towing.

royoftherovers · August 9, 2020

13 minutes ago, ambermarine said:

Hi Howard

The 1998 Lexus LS400 according to Lexus is not designed for towing so this means that no reputable company will supply or fit a towbar as it would be unsafe

That is why you cannot source one from Lexus there have been instances of people transferring towbars from other series in the LS400 range but should you do this is a very iffy situation because even though you might get it through a MOT your insurance would be invalidated in the case of an accident whilst towing.

Won`t the V.I.N. plate disclose the maximum towing weight (if any) Phil ?

ambermarine · August 9, 2020

Hi John

No, because the manufacturer says the car is not designed for towing and that in itself is enough to condemn the fitting of any type of towbar.

royoftherovers · August 9, 2020

9 minutes ago, ambermarine said:

Hi John

No, because the manufacturer says the car is not designed for towing and that in itself is enough to condemn the fitting of any type of towbar.

Doesn`t the Manufacturer fit the V.I.N. at the point of production and won`t it indicate therefore that the maximum towing weight of the vehicle is zero Phil ?

ambermarine · August 9, 2020

Hi John

I have to apologise to the members because my previous posts are not correct the handbook states the towing capacity is 2000 kgs with a brake and 750 kgs without so where I got the info from I cannot recall but I had looked into fitting a tow bar some while ago and read somewhere that Lexus do not make a towbar for this model as it is not designed for towing although the handbook gives advice that you must use a Lexus towing hitch .If you approach Lexus they say there is'nt one and the car is not designed for towing and I definitely read that somewhere.

More research is needed it might be that Lexus changed their view after issuing the handbook but the towing advice is very comprehensive.

tiny0158 · August 9, 2020

Well many thanks to you responders

yes I've just looked at the handbook and find 2000kgs as a braked towing weight limit

I've emailed Watling Engineering so will post when I hear from them

thanks again

Tim

John N · August 9, 2020

With an LS430 because your car was registered after July 1998 the only type of towbar you can legaly fit has to be a European 'type approved' one. (Type approval 94/20/EC Regulation 55 applies.) This involves the design going through a costly 'type aproval' test.

Lexus did supply one that was made by Brink, but my understanding is that:- Brink made it for Lexus and they would only supply it to Lexus not to any private buyer.

When I tried to by one direct from Brink my order was stopped and I was simply told they could not supply one. It is still not listed in Brinks' catalogue.

I had to order my towbar through my Lexus main dealer, but that was 11 years ago and I don't know if they are still available.

If your Lexus Dealer can't supply a new one your only legal option is to search car breakers listing (Breaking Lexus LS430) and ask if a car they have has a towbar.

The id plate on my towbar is marked:- LEXUS, pe.nr. 3291, er. nr. 0034825MN, Coupling Class. A50-X, Aproval No. ell 00-2750, part No. PZ 408-F1550-00, Made by Brink Europe

The good news is it was straight forward to fit, and the LS430 with its' self leveling suspension is a brilliant tow-car

Beware, towbars sourced from America etc. are available but not legal here and will fail an MOT.

John N

John N · August 9, 2020

Sorry, just realised your question was about a 1998 LS400.

That was the year the Type Approval regulations came in, and applied to any vehicle registered after 30th July 1998. If it was registered before that date you can have a non- aproved towbar made and fitted.

After that date you have a problem!

John N

ambermarine · August 10, 2020

12 hours ago, John N said:

Sorry, just realised your question was about a 1998 LS400.

That was the year the Type Approval regulations came in, and applied to any vehicle registered after 30th July 1998. If it was registered before that date you can have a non- aproved towbar made and fitted.

After that date you have a problem!

John N

Thanks for that update John and I now feel a bit better over the mis-information that I broadcast. My car was registered in Nov 98 and falls into the category you describe of non approved and no tow bar available .The information in the handbook was printed before that date and was directed with the terminology at the US market (towing hitch) so my initial info was correct for the most part.

The unavailability was created by the EU regulations, another good reason for leaving it.

John N · August 10, 2020

It wasn't the EU who created the unavailability it was the ISO (International Standards Organisation) who set an agreed standard for a 50mm ball coupling and the strength of the towbar mountings. It is a world wide standard that means a car from any country can tow a trailer from any other country anywhere.

Except of course in North America (USA) where they still use a 2" ball, and have different regulations in different states, which can cause chaos!

Lexus were in a situation where they had the LS400 due to go out of production in a few months, and in it's main market (the USA) it would not be affected by the new ISO standard. So they did nothing, just told customers outside the USA they could not fit a towbar to a LS400.

John N

royoftherovers · August 10, 2020

2 inches is 50.8mm.

The USA ignored the I.S.O. which set "the agreed standard" which of course was not agreed by those who wished to ignore it!

If 2 inches is the metric equivalent of 50mm and the vehicle V.I.N. states a maximum towing weight, then surely the owner of the vehicle can fix a trailer if he wishes. He just has to find a 2 inch ball coupling on a written off vehicle which was registered prior to 30 July 1998.

Does he not ? Please put me back on the straight and narrow if I`m talking nonsense!

John N · August 10, 2020

I'm afraid not. It does not matter when the tow bar was manufactured, it goes by when the car was registered. Any car in Europe etc. registered after 30 July 1998 can only be fitted with a towbar that has been 'type approved' for that model of car. The towbars for the early LS400 were made to recognised standards but were never 'type approved' for the car.

Prior to the changes towbars in the UK were certified to the appropriate British Standard, in Germany to the appropriate German Standard etc. Manufacturers had to pay to get their towbars certified in each country where they sold them. That cost had to be passed on to the customer. After the changes once a towbar was 'type aproved' for a specific model of car it could be sold in any country using the ISO standards.

Although the 50mm ball is the ISO standard coupling, 2" balls and pin couplings can also be used and fitted to type approved towbar.

The fact that the vehicle V.I.N. states a maximum towing weight is a seperate issue, it can only tow that weight if it is fitted with a 'type approved' towbar!

John N

ambermarine · August 11, 2020

Hi John

Good research and definitive explanation of this anomaly created by rules that make a nonsense of something.This for no good reason disqualifies a person of their right to fit a towbar to a vehicle which to all intents and purposes will do the job perfectly well.

I had a few years ago reason to get a CE mark applied to a 12v discharge oil pump that I was importing from the US enabling me to distribute it in the EU.This entailed giving it to a Guy in Wigan who tested it for noise frequencies pollution and other aspects of its origin and construction to certify it met CE approval ,That cost me a grand and to this day I feel it was another example of the money tree the EU stands for serving itself.

The pump which had been around for twenty years and sold in the big US marine chandler outlets was tested in the USA type approved by the US coastguard for ignition of flammable liquids and gases (the pump was designated for use on marine engines)when I asked the contractor who tested the pump on behalf of the EU he said he had'nt done that test because he did not have the expertise.

This now showed how farcical the EU rules are and convinced me we are better off out twenty years ago.