Latest BMW model’s integrated towball has been rendered inactive until local fix for complete compliance enables.

The factory hitch (above) requires a local update (seen below) to enable a dual shackle mounting that fully meets NZ regulation.

THE factory tow hitch on a newly landed BMW sports utility has been disabled, pending a design update, and the make also warns against reducing the ball to an alternate NZ-historic size.

In recognition of their popularity as tow vehicles, BMW New Zealand has decided to make an automated swing away single piece steel tow bar standard to its towing capable products, primarily the X-prefixed ‘sports activity’ types.

The latest X3 has arrived with this. With this model, the feature enables with the push of a button in the boot and otherwise retracts behind the bumper.

The brand suggests this installation beats fixed after-market solutions and attunes to up to 15 safety and drive assist functions, “calibrated to each specific model.”

However, it has rendered the feature inoperative on the X3 because the factory format falls short of meeting NZ legislative requirement.

The factory design’s trailer safety chain hitching point does not comply with regulations when more than two tonnes is being hauled.

As images here show, the factory provides a single safety chain hoop for a single chain shackle. If more than 2000 kilograms is being towed two independent shackles and chains are required.

To meet this, BMW NZ has locally developed a bolt on safety chain attachment.

However, in case of the X3, vehicle stock has arrived ahead of a local solution being ready, so the tow bar has been disabled, apparently through the simple expedient of pulling a fuse.

This exercise came to this writer’s attention during road test of an X3 20d, with questions being asked of first the dealer, then the distributor, about a potential malfunction.

BMW NZ homologation manager Mike Thompson explained why the button, when pressed, won’t release the tow bar as it should.

He says it might be several months before the production SCA - for ‘safety chain attachment’ - might be fully available, but early adopters are being supplied as and when the improved fixtures are available.

Until then, the vehicles affected cannot be used for towing.

“During the first few months of vehicle supply while the vehicles are waiting for the SCA we temporarily disable the tow bar function to meet our legal requirements.

“The first production SCA units have been supplied (last week) and we will be contacting owners to have them fitted.”

BMW has not identified of models other than the X3 are affected, however all vehicles that get a factory swing away tow bar also achieve the local update.

“We realise this situation is not ideal for the first few vehicles released to our market, we are working hard to improve the development time so our customers are not unduly inconvenienced.”

Thompson said BMW NZ was proud it can offer a tow bar at vehicle launch , saying “many other markets and other brands do not offer the tow bar range that BMW NZ offers at vehicle launch.”

He also noted: “If complete tow bars are needed to be developed from scratch the process can take much longer than the development of the SCA.”

With the factory kit the whole towing arm, ball included, is a single piece, rendered from mill steel. The tow ball is to Europe-market specification, so of 50mm diameter.

That jars with the historic NZ choice; of a ball to imperial size, of one and seven-eighth inches (47.6mm). With traditional tongue tow bars, it’s just a matter of unbolting one ball and replacing with the other.

With one-piece factory fittings, revision requires seeking out a specialist engineering shop to have the ball diameter reduced. This alarms BMW.

Thompson says machining down a tow ball this is not a practice BMW advocates. In fact, it expressly prohibits it, on grounds of endangering integrity.

“Because the tow bars are factory fitted, the tow bar homologation is part of the whole vehicle homologation.

“Any machining of the tow ball would change the integrity of the tow bar which would deviate from the homologation and hence its safety cannot be guaranteed,” he proposes.

“We expressly prohibit any tow ball machining. If customers require the one and 7/8th tow ball then we suggest it is much simpler to change the trailer coupling.”

Thompson said it was his experience that most customers are now used to 50mm tow ball sizes and that “… most caravans, trailers and bike racks from Australia and Europe use the 50mm ball size.”

With the factory tow array, a vehicle achieves full compliance with trailer reverse assistant (which enables backing control via the iDrive drive controller and console screen for newer models), trailer stability control and a tow ball zoom function.

The trailer assist and trailer light check controls are activate. Cross traffic warning, remote boot opening, auto park function and rear park assist, reverse and fog light, side collision warning, steering intervention and blind spot warnings are deactivated. The speed limit display on some models also changes.