Honda Civic Towing ?!?!?

dingeesboy

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Ok guys and girls.
I have a 17 EX-T sedan w/ the CVT.
I know were not technically supposed to tow or haul anything, but does anyone know the weight limit our cars can handle ?
I mean they do sell hitches for our cars ( I have the Curt installed )
I have used it to tow my 4x6 trailer (roughly 350lbs) with my Grom loaded on it (200lbs) to run up and have some service work done to the bike. The civic felt fine, no sway, no tugs. it felt like nothing was even behind me.
I've also used my trailer loaded with kayaks and it felt fine.

question is I'm looking into getting a 4x8 runaway camper (micro camp trailer) to go camping with the family.
the company states the trailer weighs 760 lbs.
do you think our civic's can haul that ?

there's pics of vw bugs, mini coop's & fiat 500's towing them.
Honda Civic 10th gen Honda Civic Towing ?!?!? 9f6f88927fee940896c69a296084b399
Honda Civic 10th gen Honda Civic Towing ?!?!? $_1


Can it be done with a Civic ? or am I asking for trouble ?
 

inv4zn

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Payload for the Civic is 850 lbs (including the driver)...so unless your combined family weighs 90 lbs, you're over.

That said, as I said in a similar thread a long time ago, not many people care or are even aware of such limits.

Not that said again, over 850 lbs IN the car is going to be very, very different then 850 lbs BEHIND the car. You'll put huge stress on the transmission (towing = warranty denied, if they find out), and also a lot of insurance providers will deny claims if they find your vehicle was in breach of manufacturer limits.

So, I'd probably not risk this.
 
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dingeesboy

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Payload for the Civic is 850 lbs (including the driver)...so unless your combined family weighs 90 lbs, you're over.

That said, as I said in a similar thread a long time ago, not many people care or are even aware of such limits.

Not that said again, over 850 lbs IN the car is going to be very, very different then 850 lbs BEHIND the car. You'll put huge stress on the transmission (towing = warranty denied, if they find out), and also a lot of insurance providers will deny claims if they find your vehicle was in breach of manufacturer limits.

So, I'd probably not risk this.

Thanks for the input inv4zn.
850, huh...kinda seems low. I'm not arguing, just mumbling. sucks if you have some overweight passengers. lol
 

inv4zn

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Thanks for the input inv4zn.
850, huh...kinda seems low. I'm not arguing, just mumbling. sucks if you have some overweight passengers. lol
It is indeed - I'm sure there's a factor of safety included in it, but again, having the car itself overloaded vs towing a load is different. I'd be most worried about the CVT if I'm doing what you want to do.
 

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CRV has a tow rate of 1000lbs. Havent been much research if it has the same CVT as the civics
 


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TBH I'd see if you can just rent something that can reliably tow. I wouldn't risk doing this.

But I've never towed before, so
 

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CRV has a tow rate of 1000lbs. Havent been much research if it has the same CVT as the civics
This. With a similar power train (well assume it can because it's the same), you'd have to look and see if the connection points for a hitch exist. I doubt the harness for the lights that are run in a CRV, even w/o a towing package exist. They still run the wires and adding in the harness is plug and play. The cooling for the CVT is completely insufficient... and whatever cooling solution on the CRV would have to be retrofitted.

As I don't think there's any provision for towing in the Civic, you would be liable if there was an accidental on a public road. You would be towing w/a vehicle that isn't rated to tow... its suspension is not setup for it... it is FWD so it, by design will have weight come off the front end, does not have additional cooling OEM for cooling it's transmission fluid. Honda has historically had issues w/poor performance of their ATF for their trannys mated with their J-series engines, especially with towing... though I know nothing about the fluid associated w/their CVTs.

If you were paying to add a hitch, associated wiring, add a transmission cooler and we're willing to take on the additional liability if not being covered by your insurance if you were to get in an accidental w/a vehicle not designed to tow... just rent a vehicle that is capable of towing and use that instead. You could pay to use a rental multiple times, be ahead and not beat your vehicle up or do anything that could get you hurt or in trouble.

You can, obviously tow, given a hitch added if you want... however you want, regardless of safety or detrimental effects or legality, but it's just a terrible idea. Yes I think the Civic could pull 700+ lbs with 5 occupants. I bet it could move twice that much. Your CVT will not hold up, the car will not be very stable at speed and you will not be able to stop effectively, especially in poor road conditions. Even with trailer brakes, it'd be a long process.

I've pulled a trailer across the country once and up and down the coast multiple times (about 10k of 80k due to PCS moves) using an Xterra at a time, which really isn't super great given it's limited power w/it's 4.0 VQ and it's very short wheelbase, but it was still rated for 5000 lbs. Towing near it's limits cooked it's ATF (it did have a cooler) requiring additional drain/fills and, even with trailer brakes, stopping distances were long.

If you *really* want to know... our neighbors across the pond in Europe tend to rate cars for towing that the US doesn't. These Euro-Civics likely are the same and this would be the number that would apply. However, these numbers will not hold up based on warranty claims or legal issues stateside.

Sorry to be a Negative Nancy... but I don't see any upsides to this.
 

uoip

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If you *really* want to know... our neighbors across the pond in Europe tend to rate cars for towing that the US doesn't. These Euro-Civics likely are the same and this would be the number that would apply. However, these numbers will not hold up based on warranty claims or legal issues stateside.
It's not only warranty claims and legal issues that are the problem. There are some technical issues related to safety.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/tow-me-down-1609112611

There are a lot of details in that link, but the TL;DR summary is this: The Europeans have a different approach to towing safety than the US approach. The Europeans allow smaller cars to tow heavier trailers, but with lower tongue weight, which would cause serious instability if it were allowed at speed. They mitigate the problem by strictly limiting the speed of trailer towing, and actually enforcing that limit.

In theory, if you're willing to ignore the law, the European limits could supply at least European-level safety in the US, but only if you strictly limited the tongue weight, and then strictly limited the towing speed. But if you did that on US freeways, you'd run the risk of having the back of your trailer run over by someone expecting you to keep up with freeway traffic.

I've driven in Europe, and I'd suggest we not mix the two systems up. When in Rome, drive like a crazy Italian, but when over here, drive like a crazy American. It's best to stick to driving the way the locals are going to expect. I won't say either system is better or worse (except roundabouts. Roundabouts are definitely better than waiting at traffic lights!).

I'd agree with the main point of charleswrivers, that the Civic is not a good tow vehicle for American highways.
 

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I used to tow my 750lb seadoo and trailer with my ‘06 si with zero issues. With two people in the car it never had any trouble. Mpg stayed right around 29 even. Used to tow it 4.5 hours to the lake and back a few times a year. That’s pulling it out of the water an everything.

Just get a plug and play light kit and if anything ever happens make sure you take the light harness out before going for warranty work, nobody can prove otherwise. Just tell them the hitch is for a bike rack.

The only thing I can think of is that the cvt might not like the abuse compared to a manual, if you were avoiding hills you’d probably be ok.
 
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dingeesboy

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MT_FK7. I had to use a different harness (tekonsha) to maintain the plug and play, but that's exactly what I was thinking. If need be unplug everything and remove.
The Curt harness that came with the hitch would have to be spliced in, no way was I splicing wires all over a new car.

I already had to go in for warranty work and they said something to me about the hitch, but I said i only use it to load my trail bike.
 


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Cr-V has been rated at 1500lbs for quite a while, excluding the first generation I believe.

I have installed a hitch on my civic, mostly for bikes, but I've used it for a 4x8 foldable trailer (harbor freight). The most I've hauled was two chest of drawers, the vehicle did fine (pretty flat ohio here) but the fuel economy took a hit as is expected. Towing a small camping trailer would mainly concern me in hilly areas, the one big hill I did with that full trailer, the car stayed at 3k the entire time, 60mph, and was a little nerve wracking the first time.
 

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Ok guys and girls.
I have a 17 EX-T sedan w/ the CVT.
I know were not technically supposed to tow or haul anything, but does anyone know the weight limit our cars can handle ?
I mean they do sell hitches for our cars ( I have the Curt installed )
I have used it to tow my 4x6 trailer (roughly 350lbs) with my Grom loaded on it (200lbs) to run up and have some service work done to the bike. The civic felt fine, no sway, no tugs. it felt like nothing was even behind me.
I've also used my trailer loaded with kayaks and it felt fine.

question is I'm looking into getting a 4x8 runaway camper (micro camp trailer) to go camping with the family.
the company states the trailer weighs 760 lbs.
do you think our civic's can haul that ?

there's pics of vw bugs, mini coop's & fiat 500's towing them.
9f6f88927fee940896c69a296084b399.jpg
$_1.jpg


Can it be done with a Civic ? or am I asking for trouble ?
I'm also looking to tow a small 3 x 5 trailer . What type of drawbar are you using? One with a rise or a drop?

Honda Civic 10th gen Honda Civic Towing ?!?!? D2BF1CB4-E525-42C7-AF65-700AC36BC4E4-9917-000015F64F865AC5
 

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You can tow with anything. However, is it the best choice and are you willing to pay for any issues that arise. As someone outlined above, engine and transmission cooling could become an issue and tend to be a cars weak point. Most vehicles that come with a hitch have those items already added in. My guess is towing a small trailer as outlined, over primarily flat terrain is that you will be fine. No different than pulling a small u-haul trailer.

In the land of folks buying F-150s with 10,000lb capacity to tow two jet skis, and tow them at 90mph uphills is common. As someone above mentioned, the European approach and US approach to trailering is diffferent. My folks have towed a car trailer with both a Motorhome (never noticed the trailer was there) and with an old Mercedes sedan (where you did notice the trailer).. both worked.. but the approach and abilities were different.

And, lets be honest, Honda (Ford, Chevy etc) would much rather sell you a high profit CUV/SUV to tow (and to appear part of the "outdoorsy group", then encourage you to use the "car" you already have.
 

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Definitely will not be towing anything too serious. A few odds and ends from Home Depot, things to the dump, christmas tree to the house etc... Nothing long distance, and having the 6MT is a plus!
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