I'm posting this to help others who Google search whether a towbar can be retrofitted to an ML63 AMG.
On Friday we took delivery of our new ML63 AMG and having a tow bar is essential for us, so before I committed to the car I checked pretty much every option available for retro-fitting: Mercedes-Benz dealer, 5 or so towbar manufacturers, and more than 20 towbar fitters.
To cut a very long story short, when you contact the manufacturer or fitter the standard answer is "No we don't manufacture/supply/fit because the car is not homologated for towing" or "No we don't supply/fit because the towbar manufacturer says it's not compatible".
Westfalia supply the towbars to Mercedes for factory fit and for the parts counter, but they said they had never come across a retrofit, and couldn't provide a reason why their database and technical documentation states that the Westfalia towbar is not able to be retrofitted to the W164 ML63 AMG.
I suspect it's because the ML63 was released after the non-AMG variants fitted with either standard or AMG bumpers, and other AMG models are not homologated to tow, so the Westfalia documentation simply says the kit is compatible with AMG bumpers, but not the full fat ML63 AMG. This statement was never checked or revised after homologation and release, and the other towbar manufacturers simpy followed their lead as the OEM supplier.
Westfalia UK challenged their technical department on my behalf, and they said there's possibly no reason why the standard Westafalia kit can't be fitted, but there may be issues with exhaust routing, etc. They recommended ordering the kit from the Mercedes to minimise the likelihood of experiencing issues, and letting them know how the installation goes so they can update their records.
I found a main dealer who had retrofitted one successfully, but they said a towbar specialist would be quicker and would do a better job because they do so many of them, and in fact they would get an expert fitter to do the install even if I asked them to do it.
So with the expert fitter's contact details in hand I arranged for their most experienced fitter to inspect my car whilst at the dealer on the ramps, and ordered the full fitting kit from Mercedes. Whilst the fitter was inspecting the car, the last kit in the UK was sold, so another came from Germany. It arrived too late for it to be fitted prior to collection of the car, so it was fitted at home today.
The kit supplied by Mercedes is fully labelled Westfalia with MB part number stickers. The fitter confirmed that it appears to be identical to the standard W164 kit supplied to him directly from Westfalia on any regular W164 job.
There's one exception, the MB kit includes the integrated wiring module which even dealer retrofits don't bother with because it's so expensive, but I wanted it all to be spot on. It does things like illuminate only the caravans rear fog lamps when the switch is turned, and not on the car, so there's no glare reflecting back at the driver from the front of the caravan. Clever.
So today, the fitter installed the towbar:
- The bar/beam behind the bumper bolted straight on in place of the standard item.
- The lower bumper valance was trimmed along the mould lines which differentiate the standard item from towbar compatible version, so ultra neat.
- The 13 pin electrics socket was fitted and positioned perfectly on the bracket welded to the beam.
- The integrated wiring module was plumbed in between the standard wiring loom and the 13 pin socket.
As there are no instructions provided, we need to ensure that the star coding to let the car know a towbar is fitted will also enable the electric power supply to flow through the wiring module and in to the 13 pin socket, as that's not passing a current yet.
We're currently checking with the main dealer, but this could be new to them too, so I plan to start a new thread to canvass the views of our STAR experts.
I'll update this thread with Westfalia and Mereceded part numbers once confirmed.
