[billisnice]

Many Americans now days tow bikes and small stuff. I am sad the HRV does not recommend towing. I am sure you can tow but if in an accident lawyers will eat you alive in a court room as you read the non recommendation to the jury.

 

[Ex-cape]

I was very excited about the HR-V but the lack of towing killed it for me. I have a 231 pound dirtbike that I tow with a 300 pound utility trailer. A reasonable expectation for this type of vehicle.

Too bad, Honda once had an ad showing an Element trailering two Honda dirtbikes. I suppose they truly view the HR-V as an urban vehicle and not outdoor-oriented.

 

[Vanguard]

I was very excited about the HR-V but the lack of towing killed it for me. I have a 231 pound dirtbike that I tow with a 300 pound utility trailer. A reasonable expectation for this type of vehicle.

Too bad, Honda once had an ad showing an Element trailering two Honda dirtbikes. I suppose they truly view the HR-V as an urban vehicle and not outdoor-oriented.

Killed it for me as well. I do like the HR-V, but a need is a need, and I need to tow with my next car, cuv, suv, hatchback....automobile.

 

[Ex-cape]

It would have been especially nice as the HRV is one of the few well-equipped manual vehicles. Like you said, a need is a need.

 

[Okhick]

If I otherwise loved the car, and only needed it for occasional towing up to 1/2 ton. I would not let the lack of a tow rating stop me from purchase. Honda Australia rates it for 1100 lbs unbraked. You can be assured at least a couple of reputable companies will supply hitches for it over here. I have put hitches on a number of compact cars over the years not rated for towing that have gone in for service or repairs with no hassle . Barring a catastrophic driveline failure, you are not going to have a warranty problem. That won't happen unless you do something not so smart or Honda builds far weaker cars than I thought. If I buy one of these or a Mazda 3 or CX-3, it will get a hitch.

I wonder if the warranty expressly states it will be invalid if the car is used for towing. Can an owner help us out on that?

 

[idearat]

Besides warranty, any insurance concerns?

 

[Conceals]

As far as I was told. Bike Racks are an okay for this vehicle. Anything less than 800 LBS will be capable of "towing". Thus, Yakima Bike rack here I come. The idea of towing a trailer may be out of the question but having a tow hitch just for bikes and cargo is still available as far as I know of.

 

[Red]

I was very excited about the HR-V but the lack of towing killed it for me. I have a 231 pound dirtbike that I tow with a 300 pound utility trailer. A reasonable expectation for this type of vehicle.

Too bad, Honda once had an ad showing an Element trailering two Honda dirtbikes. I suppose they truly view the HR-V as an urban vehicle and not outdoor-oriented.

KIa Soul has a tow rating of 550 lbs, perfect for what you need

 

[ddemetra]

If I otherwise loved the car, and only needed it for occasional towing up to 1/2 ton. I would not let the lack of a tow rating stop me from purchase. Honda Australia rates it for 1100 lbs unbraked. You can be assured at least a couple of reputable companies will supply hitches for it over here. I have put hitches on a number of compact cars over the years not rated for towing that have gone in for service or repairs with no hassle . Barring a catastrophic driveline failure, you are not going to have a warranty problem. That won't happen unless you do something not so smart or Honda builds far weaker cars than I thought. If I buy one of these or a Mazda 3 or CX-3, it will get a hitch.

If wonder if the warranty expressly states it will be invalid if the car is used for towing. Can an owner help us out on that?

I"m getting a hitch on mine once I get it.
I had a hitch on my 96 Civic for 15 years,until the unibody where it was attached to started to rust through.

I have a 300 lb light weight aluminum trailer that I will put maybe 700 lbs of stuff in. Throw bikes`coolers in to go camping, deliver a fridge, so handy!


Make sure you drive extra safe, leave extra room as your braking distance has increased.

Luckily In Canada it’s less of an issue with law suits.
As the CVT is from the much heavier Accord, you shouldn’t need to baby the transmission.

 

[Denny]

I was very excited about the HR-V but the lack of towing killed it for me. I have a 231 pound dirtbike that I tow with a 300 pound utility trailer. A reasonable expectation for this type of vehicle.

Too bad, Honda once had an ad showing an Element trailering two Honda dirtbikes. I suppose they truly view the HR-V as an urban vehicle and not outdoor-oriented.

KIa Soul has a tow rating of 550 lbs, perfect for what you need

You are to Kia Souls what HRV4ME is to the Honda HR-V

 

[vtec]

I"m getting a hitch on mine once I get it.
I had a hitch on my 96 Civic for 15 years,until the unibody where it was attached to started to rust through.

I have a 300 lb light weight aluminum trailer that I will put maybe 700 lbs of stuff in. Throw bikes`coolers in to go camping, deliver a fridge, so handy!


Make sure you drive extra safe, leave extra room as your braking distance has increased.

Luckily In Canada it’s less of an issue with law suits.
As the CVT is from the much heavier Accord, you shouldn’t need to baby the transmission.

considering you did that for 15 years that's not too bad.
If someone was to do that within the warranty term and even a bit beyond it they probably wouldn't have much to worry about.

 

[Ex-cape]

I may drive one then. I do not tow often, nor very far typically.
I will wait for an aftermarket hitch to become available before seriously considering the HR-V again.

 

[ddemetra]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ex-cape
I may drive one then. I do not tow often, nor very far typically.
I will wait for an aftermarket hitch to become available before seriously considering the HR-V again.

Watch this Honda test drive, towing through the alps in Europe.
Just silly they won’t recommend in North America, but every other country can!
Do they think we are too stupid to drive safely ?
Must be those lawyers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfaFAdmmtug

The funny thing is the same HR-V made in Mexico will not be recommended to tow in North America, but then it will also be shipped to Europe, where they will recommend it to tow.

 

[Ex-cape]

The funny thing is the same HR-V made in Mexico will not be recommended to tow in North America, but then it will also be shipped to Europe, where they will recommend it to tow.

Amazing. Must be Honda conservatism.

 

[dphill]

Honda UK site;

Combining the 1.6 litre i-DTEC diesel paired with a newly-engineered six-speed manual transmission, Honda’s new subcompact SUV will return fuel economy figures from 71mpg, with CO2 emissions starting from just 104 g/km. HR-V customers won’t find performance compromised by the car‘s frugality, however, with 118bhp powering the new HR-V from 0-62mph in 10.1 seconds.

That might be a diesel towing that trailer...

 

[Okhick]

Amazing. Must be Honda conservatism.

Mazda and probably others do the same thing. Example: Mazda Australia rates the 3s towing capacity at 1320lbs unbraked and an eye poping 2640 with trailer brakes. Its obviously got a pretty stout structure in back to allow that. U.S. Tow rating......... nothing.

Here's why. Man ties 3500lb top heavy U-Haul on back of Mazda 3. Rounds curve at double the posted limit. Trailer topples over twisting the Mazda onto its head. Man Sues. Lawyer demands Jury trial. Jury knows man was negligent but finds for him anyway because they feel sorry he's in a wheel chair for life with no one to pay his medical bills. The big bad corporation won't miss a couple of mil. Lawyer bags 40% and moves on looking for the next "victim"

Not a true story but we have all heard ones like it.
As long as the claimant has nothing to lose if there is a finding against him, why not go for it.
As long as Lawyers run Washington this will continue.
Sorry for injecting politics but it steams me.

People need to be compensated if they are , through no fault of their own , hurt by a defective product , but loser should pay courts and lawyers if there is no merit to their claim

 

[mainemanx]

IMHO, and I'm certainly not a lawyer, but I'd be surprised if the burden would not be on Honda to show that towing a trailer contributed to any sort of problem that you might be having.

I don't think loading five, 250lb hockey players, carrying an 18ft Old Town canoe on your roof rack, 1000bs of horse manure in your trunk, or towing a light trailer would actually void your Honda's warranty.
On second thought, doing all those at once might make for rather odd steering :|

 

[mwd]

Amazing. Must be Honda conservatism.

Mazda and probably others do the same thing. Example: Mazda Australia rates the 3s towing capacity at 1320lbs unbraked and an eye poping 2640 with trailer brakes. Its obviously got a pretty stout structure in back to allow that. U.S. Tow rating......... nothing.

Here's why. Man ties 3500lb top heavy U-Haul on back of Mazda 3. Rounds curve at double the posted limit. Trailer topples over twisting the Mazda onto its head. Man Sues. Lawyer demands Jury trial. Jury knows man was negligent but finds for him anyway because they feel sorry he's in a wheel chair for life with no one to pay his medical bills. The big bad corporation won't miss a couple of mil. Lawyer bags 40% and moves on looking for the next "victim"

Not a true story but we have all heard ones like it.
As long as the claimant has nothing to lose if there is a finding against him, why not go for it.
As long as Lawyers run Washington this will continue.
Sorry for injecting politics but it steams me.

People need to be compensated if they are , through no fault of their own , hurt by a defective product , but loser should pay courts and lawyers if there is no merit to their claim

He is negligent to begin with for going over double the speed limit. Mazda won't be negligent for this mans actions of poor driving and loading a top heavy trailer. Any defense lawyer will get that and if mazda was sued maybe pay a small nuissance fee. The injured party in this case would get the at fault drivers policy limits since most drivers only carry state minimum requirements. Then the injured can go after his uim limits if his bills are higher or close to the other guys policy limits.

 

[Ex-cape]

Honda is probably just limiting their liability exposure because they figure omitting the tow rating would not significantly affect their market share based on the target customer.

In Okhick's example above, the lawyer might successfully convince the jury to rule against Honda because "that's where the money is".

I recall a parallel story many years ago when a political candidate was defending a case he tried earlier in his career that financially ruined a bus company. In that case, a bus passenger was injured in an accident caused by the drunk driver of another vehicle. The politician was proud that he helped the injured person despite the ultimate ruin of the innocent bus company. This type of litigious culture is why our friends across borders can tow with Honda's blessing.

 

[idearat]

IMHO, and I'm certainly not a lawyer, but I'd be surprised if the burden would not be on Honda to show that towing a trailer contributed to any sort of problem that you might be having.

I don't think loading five, 250lb hockey players, carrying an 18ft Old Town canoe on your roof rack, 1000bs of horse manure in your trunk, or towing a light trailer would actually void your Honda's warranty.
On second thought, doing all those at once might make for rather odd steering :|

... and rather odious smell.