Towbar For A Gs450

Robmac666 · October 18, 2009

Can anybody help. I require a towbar for my GS450h however I can not find one unless I buy it from my dealer. They want £1300 for a towbar which is a joke.

Any help appreciated

nedsram13a · October 23, 2009

Why do you want to Tow with a GS450H?????

Maybe there charging £1300 - as i remember the IS200 Auto needed a cooling kit fitted to the Auto box, maybe the E-CVT needs something similar fitted, since it will be towing some weight?

knitware · October 23, 2009

Can anybody help. I require a towbar for my GS450h however I can not find one unless I buy it from my dealer. They want £1300 for a towbar which is a joke.
Any help appreciated

Don't do it! Rent a van............

Robmac666 · October 24, 2009

Can anybody help. I require a towbar for my GS450h however I can not find one unless I buy it from my dealer. They want £1300 for a towbar which is a joke.
Any help appreciated

Don't do it! Rent a van............

Think you could be right, I have a twin axle caravan I bought brand new in April so need to have something decent to pull it.

I think the GS would pull it very well with the weight and the Awesome power.

nedsram13a · October 27, 2009

why would you want to put it under stress - i know i wouldnt be towing anything in a £48K car!

knitware · October 27, 2009

why would you want to put it under stress - i know i wouldnt be towing anything in a £48K car!

Exactly my point. I would buy a second 'towing' car, if you feel the need for a caravan!!!

trackside tripod · August 16, 2013

I have one too and need a tow bar and am finding the same issues. For my part, I want to tow a trailer so I can take my garden cuttings etc to the tip and don't want to have to buy an old banger or a van to do it with. Furthermore, it would be handy if I chose to buy a caravan or need it to tow my scooter to a track for my motor racing photography. The reason for wanting one is irrelevant. It simply suits my needs to have one. Unfortunately, it looks like nobody makes an aftermarket one in the UK yet. This is so vital for me that I might just change it for an RX hybrid instead, but that would be a shame as I really love the car and really didn't want anything that big!

mrfunex · March 20, 2019

Just personal opinion, but I’d imagine a small, local place could fit a towbar and you wouldn’t need a transmission cooler (I’d heard this too when looking for a towbar for our old RX450) if:

You're towing a small, lightish trailer on short journeys to the tip or using the bar to mount a bike rack etc.

I’d think hard about doing things properly if I was using the car to tow something more substantial, like a caravan across Europe for example.

Britprius · March 20, 2019

I tow a caravan with my GS450H, and have done for some time on a regular basis. It has a towing capacity of 2000 kg or 44092 lbs as is. At first I monitored the transmission temperature via an ELM327 devise, but found little if any difference in the temperatures while towing to driving solo. My car is now close to 150,000 miles without problems.

The normal torque converter type transmission gets hotter when towing due to the extra slippage in the torque converter being given off as heat. In the GS hybrid there is no torque converter.

As to the question why would you want to tow with a GS450H? my answer is why not?. With most other large cars you would not think twice about towing. What makes the Lexus any different? People have different needs from there vehicles, and having to buy another car just to perform a task is not the answer.

John.

GavJ · March 20, 2019

Im just a poor 300h owner, who also want's to tow a small trailer for garden rubbish, don't want dirty stuff in my car (especially the spiders 😂 ) Cant find one listed anywhere, haven't asked Lexus, will pluck up the courage when next in for a service....... 😯

Lwerewolf · March 21, 2019

One more thing about the 450h transaxle - it does have a front-mounted oil cooler.

https://lexus-europe.epc-data.com/gs450h/gws191r/5066/chassis/3914/

https://lexus-europe.epc-data.com/gs450h/gws191r/5066/engine/1603/16491/

And, as John said - no torque converter, or anything slippery really... apart from the bands for the 2-stage automatic for MG2, but those shift very rarely.

Britprius · March 21, 2019

13 hours ago, Lwerewolf said:

One more thing about the 450h transaxle - it does have a front-mounted oil cooler.

https://lexus-europe.epc-data.com/gs450h/gws191r/5066/chassis/3914/

https://lexus-europe.epc-data.com/gs450h/gws191r/5066/engine/1603/16491/

And, as John said - no torque converter, or anything slippery really... apart from the bands for the 2-stage automatic for MG2, but those shift very rarely.

As Alexander above says the only real gear change is for the two speed auto, but this only changes above 60mph which is above the legal towing limit so should not come into play anyway.
A simple way to improve cooling if you so desire is to fit an electric fan directly in front of the existing cooler with a switch to turn it permanently on when towing. Alternatively using one of the many apps, and an OBD device monitor the transmission temperature as I did initially.

John.

Ziggy1024 · April 1, 2019

On 3/21/2019 at 2:14 PM, Britprius said:

As Alexander above says the only real gear change is for the two speed auto, but this only changes above 60mph which is above the legal towing limit so should not come into play anyway.

John, sorry for the off-topic, but can you point me at anything which describes the 450h drivetrain in any detail - e.g. the two-speed auto you mention above?

wharfhouse · April 1, 2019

On ‎3‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 6:22 PM, GavJ said:

Im just a poor 300h owner, who also want's to tow a small trailer for garden rubbish, don't want dirty stuff in my car (especially the spiders 😂 ) Cant find one listed anywhere, haven't asked Lexus, will pluck up the courage when next in for a service....... 😯

If you find out anything I would also be interested as I have a 2014 IS 300h too and was looking to fit a tow bar to pull a sailing dinghy (less than 300kg all up) . The IS 300h is rated for 750kg and when it was first released Lexus offered a tow bar as an accessory but since then it seems to have disappeared from the new car accessories and I have found no 3rd party tow bars (probably not surprising given the small numbers of IS 300h). When I was looking a couple of years back I guesstimated from the new car accessory price that if was supplied and fitted by a Lexus dealer there wouldn't be much (if any) change from £1,000...!

Lwerewolf · April 1, 2019

1 hour ago, Ziggy1024 said:

John, sorry for the off-topic, but can you point me at anything which describes the 450h drivetrain in any detail - e.g. the two-speed auto you mention above?

https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/947393/

Mostly the same, definitely the same principle.

In short - Prius power split device, with the connection between MG2 and the driveshaft happening with a 2-stage ravigneaux gearset.

OldTrout · April 1, 2019

1 hour ago, Lwerewolf said:

https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/947393/

Mostly the same, definitely the same principle.

In short - Prius power split device, with the connection between MG2 and the driveshaft happening with a 2-stage ravigneaux gearset.

Or Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Synergy_Drive

John

Britprius · April 1, 2019

4 hours ago, Ziggy1024 said:

John, sorry for the off-topic, but can you point me at anything which describes the 450h drivetrain in any detail - e.g. the two-speed auto you mention above?

Thanks to John "Old trout" has answered your question basically above, and if you scroll down on the link to a box on the right hand side labeled GS450H- LC600H you will see a depiction of the layout.
What is not shown is that the system is operated by it's own external electric hydraulic pump "mounted on the transmission" to enable ratio changes. The pump is turned on by it's controller to enable ratio change.
This pump or more accurately it's drive motor has been known to failure due to nothing more than it's bearings failing due to lack of any lubrication. These bearings can be replaced as the pump and motor can be removed from the transmission. The bearings being standard ball bearings available from non Lexus suppliers for less than £10. Lexus will only supply a complete pump unit for over £2500.

John.

Farqui · May 8, 2019

@Robmac666 I presume that your dealer price included fitting right?

I sourced an OEM towbar and electrics from my local stealer for <£600 and fitted it myself.

I use it occasionally with a back box (boosting boot capacity) and with a bike rack (easier than a roof rack).

martinbrown8975 · June 12, 2019

I also need a trailer for car towing service which we have to use for 24 Hour NYC Towing Services.

Alonzo · July 22, 2020

Here i have found a TOWBAR kit for GS450H

https://www.lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/lexus-gs/lexus-gs-phase-iii-2005-2012/lexus-gs-3-accessories/lexus-gs-phase-3-detachable-towing-hitch/

https://www.lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/lexus-rx/lexus-rx-phase-ii-2004-2008/lexus-rx-2-accessories/lexus-rx-phase-2-12s-caravan-wiring-kit/

Rameez · August 3, 2020

I know this thread is very old but seems like it's been going for years and still people are adding to it.

I bought my car with the tow kit attached and 2 tow bars, all official lexus. Are these worth anything, if so how much and would anybody be interested.

Still attached to the car at present.

MAXemilian · July 19, 2022

On 8/3/2020 at 9:53 PM, Rameez said:

I'm interested, because i want to tow a caravan

Please contact me on whatsapp or Viber +359899467930 or write me on fb https://www.facebook.com/EMILDIM0V/

I know this thread is very old but seems like it's been going for years and still people are adding to it.

I bought my car with the tow kit attached and 2 tow bars, all official lexus. Are these worth anything, if so how much and would anybody be interested.

Still attached to the car at present.