Help re towcar

[melanie_374367847]

Hi everyone

I am feeling a bit desperate and would appreciate your help. We are new to caravning and have just bought an old van (weight 950kg) and changed our car to a Vx zafira 2.0 tdi. We thought that we just had to check the kerbweight which is 1400kg but after trying to tow it uphill we lost a lot of power and broke down (worked fine after a rest). We looked and the tow capacity is 1050kg. We don't know if it was the way we drove up the hill or that the car isn't strong enough. Any advice greatly apprexciated.

Mel

 

[Lutz]

That particular model suffered from engine cooling problems, hence the low towload limit. You can be thankful that there was no lasting damage. It's not that the car isn't powerful enough.

 

[Terry_5112949]

The 2.0 DTi has plenty of power but as Lutz states it`s down to the cooling problem, I did once fancy the Zafira DTi but changed to the Vectra 2.0 DTi for the same problem. I`ve had my Vectra for 4 years now and it`s been a great tow car and my van`s MTPMW is 1100kg

 

[melanie_374367847]

Thanks Lutz & Terry,

Is it possible to control the overheading problem by taking it easy - or am I likely to boil at the top of every hill?

Thanks again for your advice

 

[Lutz]

It would be risky to continue towing with the Zafira. Even if you take it easy you may run into the same problem again on long hill climbs, but also on the level on a hot day in heavy traffic involving a lot of stop/start driving.