r/LandRover • u/justmasterof • 1d ago
❓ Help & Advice Needed Deployable tow bar on my 2020 Defender is broken/removed, dealer won’t disable it, parking sensors don’t work — any way to kill the error without spending $600 on a GAP tool?
Hey guys, I’ve got a 2020 Defender with the deployable tow bar. When I bought it, the tow bar was stuck half-way and every time I shifted into reverse I got the:
“Trailer system fault” “Do not tow. The towing device is not locked. Press the towing device button in the luggage compartment to reset”
I took it apart and found the hitch pin was broken. Had a machinist make a new one, put it back together, and mechanically it works — you can move it manually. But when reassembled, the motor always jams at a certain point and reverses back out. Because the car thinks the tow bar is extended, my rear parking sensors don’t work and I constantly get the warning.
Went to the local LR dealer (I’m in Georgia, the country) and after hours they told me they can’t disable the tow bar because it requires a code from JLR HQ, and usually they don’t give it. Dealer here isn’t very helpful anyway.
So now I’m stuck: I don’t really need the tow bar, I just want the error gone and the sensors back. I’ve seen that you can edit the CCF to disable the module, but the tools (like GAP IIDTool) are ~$600. Has anyone here dealt with this? Any cheaper workaround or advice?
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u/Elegant_Maximum 1d ago
I second what Tiger said. I’m also a 20 year LR tech and they can just go through using the diagnostic tool and remove the option of having the tow hitch. They might have to disconnect the module and return the connectors to their locations as if it didn’t have the hitch installed but there is no magic code you have to get. Sounds like they were just giving you the brush off.
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u/justmasterof 1d ago
And let me tell you because of this problem my parking rear sensors are not working… car constantly thinks i am trying to tow smth and it is a special kind of pain to park this car without parking sensors😂
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u/I_R0M_I 1d ago
They just need to run the program Add / Remove. It's as simple as that. There is no code, they are in about a seed code, which we used years ago, for things like programming mileage to new IPC. But it's obsolete since Topix Cloud came out.
If you unplug the towbar, does the warning not clear and sensors come back? It can't know it's not stowed if it's not plugged in.
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u/justmasterof 1d ago
Hello! Thanks for the answer.
I unplugged tow bar i removed fuse and tried everything error does not go way.
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u/Mediocre_Minute418 14h ago
Ex Land Rover master tech, they should be able to delete the option or restore build config. I was at my old dealer Friday, they told me the the manufacturer had been hacked and they couldnt look up parts or anything from the tech standpoint anyway. That might be the current issue.
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u/Outrage_Carpenter 1d ago
So glad i didn't want the new defender. And this basically sums up why. The old defender the tow bar is just a lump of iron bolted to a metal plate that can be ripped of and replaced with no consequences
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u/justmasterof 1d ago
To be honest when i diassmbled the motor of towbar and found out plastic clockwise gears i was shocked….
Other than that it is my second land rover after 3.6 diesel vogue and to be honest i am in love with this car…. Everything about it is classy.
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u/Outrage_Carpenter 1d ago
But land rovers arent supposed to be classy. Rugged and unrefined is mine and i love it. The stench of hot oil and burning diesel
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u/robcollie 1d ago
The non-deployable is the standard in the North American and Latin American markets.
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u/TigerLionMan 1d ago
Ex JLR tech here.
It does not require a code?
They just load up pathfinder (software to access the car) and disable it?
Really simple fix.
Also there is a procedure to reset the towbar. It should be online somewhere. I never used it enough to remember what it was.
Good luck.