Volvo Towing Certification
 

Hi All,

Does anyone have information on what Volvo does to qualify a vehicle to tow? I understand there is a simple ISO procedure for starting and stopping on a gradient 7 or 10% which is part of the type approval, but beyond that is anything else carried out by Volvo?

Thanks in advance, just interested to know really.

The certificate is supplied with the Towbar , and should be put in the glovebox , I doubt many do this though .

Thanks Clan, I'm after what Volvo does in terms of how the car handles the load, impact on braking, how do they decide that it can tow 2000Kg - is it just the hill starts or do they do other testing etc.

That's not something i have seen published , I would think a third party tests them , whoever issues the certificate I guess .

The maximum braked trailer weight is generally set at what the manufacturer will warrant the car to set off from rest on a 1 in 10 (10%) gradient.

Sometimes manufacturers set the weight limit lower than this (on the 1.6D V70 for example) for reliability reasons (i.e. so you don't need to fry the clutch).

In the case of V70 the auto box is rated at 2000kgs the manual 1800kgs - always wondered why - now I know.

Cheers
Bob

It’s ort of the vehicles type approval process so probably go and read that (U.K. at least) but USA big market for Volvo very different weights being towed likely it’s built to the standards of the most stringent market what Volvo Does ahead of others I guess only they know.

https://www.vehicle-certification-ag...-and-trailers/

The towing capacity of ANY car is set by the car manufacturer. How on Earth can a third party certify the cars components for robustness to tow? It is a complex process with many factors taken into account. For example some manufacturers require additional engine and/or transmission cooling fitting for towing. It has absolutely nothing to do with the towbar manufacturers. Some cars are not approved for any towing.