Community Forums

SeaRay · 03-11-2006, 05:31 PM

We are looking at used Vues to tow. I am getting different stories from different Dealerships. Today our local dealer told me that the 04 Vue did not come with the Honda V6 and 5 speed so I could not tow a 04 except the straight drive. I see many posting on this forum with folks I assume towing 2004 Vues.
I am also getting different versions of the AWD vs 2WD.
I thought the V6 Vues from 04 on with auto trans could be towed in either the 2WD or AWD model.
Any of you owners shed any light? For economic reasons we are looking at 2004 and 2005 models.
Thanks for your input.

SeaRay · 03-11-2006, 05:31 PM

We are looking at used Vues to tow. I am getting different stories from different Dealerships. Today our local dealer told me that the 04 Vue did not come with the Honda V6 and 5 speed so I could not tow a 04 except the straight drive. I see many posting on this forum with folks I assume towing 2004 Vues.
I am also getting different versions of the AWD vs 2WD.
I thought the V6 Vues from 04 on with auto trans could be towed in either the 2WD or AWD model.
Any of you owners shed any light? For economic reasons we are looking at 2004 and 2005 models.
Thanks for your input.

RVwheels · 03-11-2006, 06:59 PM

We tow a 2004 Vue 2wd w/auto and V6. Didn't think there was a need for the AWD even here in Minnesota. Don't need to be lugging all that extra mechanics behind the coach. Did rig up a switch under the dash to shut-off the ignition instead of having to pop the hood all the time and pull the fuse. Rigged it up with my Silent Partner tow brake so that when the ignition is switched over, the brake turns on. Probably have towed 6000+ now with no problems. Do follow the instructions and start it up and run through the gears generally before we depart a stop over and have not driven beyond the seven hour limit. Satisified, Yes!!

SeaRay · 03-12-2006, 05:26 AM

Charles,
Thanks for the reply. Is your V6 the 3.5L or the 3.0L?
Thanks,
SeaRay

RVwheels · 03-12-2006, 09:02 AM

SeaRay,
We have the 3.5. Saturn put a an updated "spec" sheet Mar of 2005 which I have a copy of if you want to send me an e-mail and I will return with that attachment.

blueskycoach · 03-12-2006, 01:05 PM

Charles,
Thanks, I would like to see it. My e-mail is rsteele345@hotmail.com

Paulin · 03-12-2006, 02:19 PM

We tow our '05 VUE 2WD and love it.

We do stop every 7 hours or less and do the recommended proceedure of shifting through the gears ending up in neutral. Also, we see many AWD VUEs being towed.

SeaRay · 03-12-2006, 03:48 PM

Charles,
I logged a new member in as blueskycoach. I used his pc to send my email address. Just wanted you to know it was me.
Thanks for any info on the04 Saturn. It is like pulling eye teeth to find an 04 or 05 with the Honda V6 that we can tow. The lack of knowledge at the dealerships is scary.
SeaRay

Nonno · 03-12-2006, 05:36 PM

When we were looking to trade our LW300 for a new toad my wife wanted to get an 05 AWD Automatic Vue. According to the owners manual it wasn't towable 4 down. We didn't want to do any type of modification such as remco so that's why we went with the Liberty.
My daughter just bought an 06 AWD Autoamtic Vue and according to the manual it's towable 4 down and must be started every 7 hours. The 7 hrs doesn't mean 7 hrs driving, it means 7 hrs from last time started.

Reno-NY · 03-13-2006, 03:21 AM

We bought a '05 Vue last July with auto and the 4 cyl motor. We towed it for the first time this Janury from NYS to Florida. Went thru the starting and running thru the gears before we left but didn't start it again to we arrived in Fla. Towed beautifully. In our opinion the 4 is plenty peppy we had a L300 V6 and can't really find much difference in power.

Tom N · 03-13-2006, 06:52 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Went thru the starting and running thru the gears**** before we left but didn't start it again to we arrived in Fla. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

****You have to do this procedure every morning before towing and after more than 8 hours of towing in one day****

SeaRay · 03-14-2006, 01:05 PM

We ended up with an L300 sedan. This is my wife's car and she was at a toss up between the two. We ran across an 03 Demo with 13K miles and 2 years of warranty left so we bought it. Will have the tow stuff added next week. It is somewhat lighter than our Blazer, although the 8.4 GMC never struggled with the Blazer.
Thanks for all the input.
SeaRay

SeaRay · 03-22-2006, 06:48 PM

We just got our tow brackets installed so we are ready to tow our new Saturn L300. I have a question regarding pulling the fuses. We never pulled any on our 95 Blazer and as long I would start the car and let it run a few minutes once a day, my battery never ran down.
Is the only reason to prevent battery drain? I am thinking I don't need to pull them.
Thanks,
SeaRay

Nonno · 03-23-2006, 04:40 AM

SeaRay,
I used to tow an 01 LW300 and had to pull 2 fuses. I don't recall exactly what they disconnected but when disconnected I was still able to use the battery to power my BrakeBuddy and the car brake lights would still work. I know changes have occurred since 01 but I would think it has to do with more than a battery drain.