Black03Speed

I'm buying a Mazdaspeed3 and I know it is a lot different than a Mazda3 but I'm just curious if anyone has towed anything with their 3. I will be pulling a single place snowmobile trailer and snowmobile. My brother has a Subaru WRX and he tows the same sled and trailer without any problems so I assume the same could be done here.

Let me know if you've towed anything with your car and what the approx. weight was.

Thanks in advance,
Pete

DEm

https://www.mazda3club.com/showthrea...&highlight=tow... i never towed anything... but im sure its just a matter of beein careful, you know "PLAN" your stops and starts and such... but yeah, its not a tow truck

AlexB2

I know Mazda says not to tow anything. Here is a comparison. My 99 Corolla has 1.8 120HP and comparable torque to my P5. Same weight, same vehicle class. The manual actually says 800kg. You can also get a Hidden Hitch for P and P5, and probably for the 3 as well.

I would suggest you don't tow before end of warranty, unless your hands grow out of the right place (unlike mine) and you can DIY, since the dealer will see the hitch and blame everything on it.

icspots

Does mazda authorize towing in the US? No. Do they authorize it in other countries? Yes.

The funny thing about that is that most models overseas have smaller engines anyway. It's possible to tow with the 3 as long as you're smart about it. You shouldn't have any (non-dealership) problems towing a single snowmobile, however if you try and pull a uhaul then you'll get what you deserve for being stupid.

If you're going to get a hitch then I'd get a hidden hitch. The dealer might not even notice it to give you a hassle, and if they do just tell them you have a hitch mounted bike rack. There is the little problem of the wiring harness plug, but if they give you a problem about that then just tell them the wiring came with the hitch, and the shop that installed it went ahead and wired it up without asking.

Technically in the grand scheme of things the burden of proof is on the dealer to show that an aftermarket part caused a problem. In reality they can give you a problem with it whether or not it really did cause a problem. Just like people that have CAI's on their car, and the dealer just voids their warranty because they saw it on there. I'm sure there are bolt on hidden hitches available (at least there used to be). My suggestion is get one that bolts on, that way if your car ever has to go in for something warranty related, or really anything that might make them put the car up on a lift then you can just unbolt it and leave it at home.