| Giarc |
Parked illegally for 15 min and got my X towed. Stupid, i know.... Question for tranny experts (and everyone else!) -- obviously I didn't see the tow truck actually tow the X but I highly doubt they used a flat bed. In other words, he prob just raised the front or back tires and towed it away (about 1 mile).
So, what exactly happens when you tow an AWD car that is in PARK gear?? I'm hoping it doesn't break anything.... I drove it around and it seems fine.
Any insight is appreciated. thx......... |
|
|
| yogi799 |
Damn! Never thought about it, really - but is that even legal to tow someone's ride like that? WHAT IF they do indeed screw up the drivetrain???
Glad your X seems fine. I'd be very worried, too, if it happened to me. |
|
|
| G. COLTON |
quote:
Originally posted by yogi799
Damn! Never thought about it, really - but is that even legal to tow someone's ride like that? WHAT IF they do indeed screw up the drivetrain???
Glad your X seems fine. I'd be very worried, too, if it happened to me.
It is definitely legal. If you do not want to be towed then be sure you do not park where you should not park. I even know of one instance in NY City where a cop told a truck driver to drive over a car that was parked illegally. The driver was later one of my employees.
If a tow driver or other operator screws up your drivetrain than that is just your bad luck.
G |
|
|
| renov8r |
When any vehicle is towed the tow truck driver IS responsible for "reasonable care". If the towing driver swings the towed vehicle into another parked car or fixed object the towing companies' insurance is laible. Cops cannot "order someone to hit" an illegally parked car and escape any liability. That is not how the law is written, though sometimes it seems like they believe they are above the law...
That said, one MUST hire the meanest, most connected SOB lawyer to pursue this kind of case as virtually every city if any size is heavily dependant on a barely legal web of shady insurance deals that contribute heavily to politicians & lawyers. Anyone watching the Aon case will see what I mean.
On to the techincal. When a vehicle is towed w/o its engine running the tranny won't pump fluid to the gears. If the gears don't spin (beacuse the vehicle was left in park) no harm is possible to the gears. Of course that assume that the tow driver simply lifted the vehicle and towed it, which if you've ever seen the way parking enforcement does it, you'll that is usually the case. If the parking brake was set as well it is highly unlikey that they wil drag a vehicle as large as the MDX more than a few feet. You'd see the tires get scuffed too.
I have seen TWO tow trucks used to drag a Tahoe out from the curb, then they drag the thing onto a flatbed. I've also seen 'em hoist the end and shove a dollie type set of wheels under to facilitate towing.
Tow drivers often know which vehicles have a park override. (though I don't think the MDX is on of 'em)
If the distance was short I would not worry. Even when you initially tow the MDX in neutral with the wheel spinning but no fluid being pumped there won't be much heat/wear over short distances... |
|
|
| CTPYHA |
| Do a search on towing. I am pretty sure I was reading on the subject. I even remember someone explaining that because MDX is NOT all time all wheel drive it's no problem to tow it on two wheels. Now, I am not an expert, I just repeat what I remember. But if you do a good search, you'll get all the answers - it's definitely been discussed... |
|
|
| nightguy |
| I could have sworn the last time I rotated tires the rears were spinning freely. I rotated tires on all my cars and a few others last fall so I can't be 100% sure. |
|
|
| yogi799 |
| OK. I still don't think I fully get it. Let imagine a simple front drive stick shift Toyota Corolla left in 1st gear (which is always recommended) and with a hand break applied (also very common and recommended, especially on sloping roads). There is no physically possible safe way to tow such vehicle without making some damage, UNLESS two wheels on the ground are set on those little "carts". Am I correct? |
|
|
| Pauls MDX |
quote:
Originally posted by Giarc
Parked illegally for 15 min and got my X towed. Stupid, i know.... Question for tranny experts (and everyone else!) -- obviously I didn't see the tow truck actually tow the X but I highly doubt they used a flat bed. In other words, he prob just raised the front or back tires and towed it away (about 1 mile).
So, what exactly happens when you tow an AWD car that is in PARK gear?? I'm hoping it doesn't break anything.... I drove it around and it seems fine.
Any insight is appreciated. thx.........
For a short tow like that it shouldn't matter whether it was towed from the front or rear. I would always use a flatbed in the future if you have to tow for any long distance. If I remember there were direction on how to tow from the front or rear in the manual that came with the MDX, but there was some kind of procedure you had to do prior to towing? Play it safe and use a flatbed whenever you can. |
|
|
| Giarc |
Thanks for your posts. Just wanted to follow up on this - I did some more research and here's what I found:
1. It seems that there is a good chance that the tow company was smart enough to use dollies when they tow SUVs. These dollies are 4-wheeled mini-carts that are put under the tires so that no tires actually touch the ground when being towed. Obviously there is no guarantee, but this seems to be the general consensus from other boards. It is easier for the tower to spend 5 min and use these dollies vs. having to deal with lawsuits and headaches from damage they may have caused.
2. I did some more research on many other boards and YES, the tow company can/will be sued if they used negligence when towing cars. Looks like some Audi Quattro owners were towed using 2 wheel method (i.e. tower prob didn't realize it is AWD car) and won lawsuits for damage.
3. Absolutely nothing seems wrong with my MDX. If there is any damage to the center differential or anything like that, I guess I will find out later. I highly doubt anything is wrong though.
4. Great board! Great info and great members. Love the car so far.
New to MDX board. So far I have added the following:
Side steps
Cargo mat
Ordered: Silvervisions for rears, nav screen protector
-------------------------------
2005 Acura MDX, Touring + Nav
2000 BMW 540i, 6spd
2005 Yamaha R1 Raven |
|
|
| BLEXV6 |
| Normally, tow companies will lift the front wheels and put dollies on the rear, and as such will not damage your vehicle. |
|
|
| renov8r |
the Quattro has a very different drivetrain.
I think the quattro drivetrain is probably both more "sensitive" to abuse and more "capable" ,as all the wheels are powered all the time... |
|
|
| Texas |
Per the 2002 MDX user manual:
Emergency Towing:
Flat-bed Equipment
The operator loads your vehicle on the back of a truck. This is the only way to transport your vehicle.
Any other method of towing will damage the drive system. When you contact the towing agency, inform them that a flat-bed is required.
Notice
Towing a MDX with only two tires on
the ground will damage parts of the
4WD system. It should be transported
on a f lat-bed truck or trailer.
Wheel Lift Equipment
The tow truck uses two pivoting arms that go under the tires (front or rear) and lift them off the ground. The other two tires remain on the ground.
Never tow your vehicle with wheel lift equipment.
Sling-type Equipment
The tow truck uses metal cables with hooks on the ends. These hooks go around parts of the frame or uspension and cables lift that end of the vehicle off the ground. Your vehicle’s suspension and body can be
seriously damaged.
This method of towing your MDX is unacceptable.
Hopefully there wasn't any damage done to your vehicle, but you might want to have your Acura dealership take a look just in case.
Thanks,
Paul |
|
|
|
