Procedure towing 5-speed Miata

[RVandbike]

I am not finding what I want on the search, or I may be impatient reading through them. Anyway, my 2007 Miata Sport, 5 speed manual is ready for towing. The Falcon 2 is ready, the wiring is ready, I just need the procedure before taking off. I understand there is a procedure to make sure the steering is ready to be used? Never flat towed a vehicle before.

[69Stang]

What does the owners manual say? I would trust that before someone on the internet.

[RVandbike]

Originally Posted by 69Stang

What does the owners manual say? I would trust that before someone on the internet.

Best I can tell, Mazda does not think the Miata should be flat towed. What do they know?

[Russ Silber]

Originally Posted by RVandbike

Best I can tell, Mazda does not think the Miata should be flat towed. What do they know?

Flat towed mine for six yrs. Unlock steering key in acces.
Used brake buddy.

[docj]

Remco also says it needs to be on a trailer.

[tizzyfit]

Thought about flat towing my 2017 MX5 but decided a car hauling trailer was a better option. With 5" of ground clearance and the dually's kicking up all kinds of road debris, it made more sense to me to buy the trailer.

[W.J. Demo]

Look for posts from Healeyman. He has lots of experience setting up Miatas for flat towing.

[RVandbike]

Originally Posted by tizzyfit

Thought about flat towing my 2017 MX5 but decided a car hauling trailer was a better option. With 5" of ground clearance and the dually's kicking up all kinds of road debris, it made more sense to me to buy the trailer.

If I had a 2017 MX5 I would probably go with the trailer. I have a 2007 MX5 with 196,500 miles (I bought new). My baby car has experienced ample road debris already.

[Yosemite77]

I looked into this for my wife’s 2016 Miata, and decided a trailer would be necessary if we wanted to tow it.

These screenshots are from the 2007 owner’s manual. The last one refers to Recreational Towing.
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[Healeyman]

Originally Posted by RVandbike

I understand there is a procedure to make sure the steering is ready to be used?

Originally Posted by W.J. Demo

Look for posts from Healeyman. He has lots of experience setting up Miatas for flat towing.

W.J. - Thanks for the referral.

RV - Over the past 12 years, I have flat towed 3 Miatas (2000 5-speed, 2010 6-speed, 2012 6 speed) over 75,000 miles and have helped more than 150 other Miata owners to get set-up and going.

Basically, the procedure is to:
1) hook-up to the RV,
2) plug in the lights,
3) shift to Neutral,
4) make sure the E-brake is OFF,
5) turn the Ignition key to ON,
6) turn the Ignition key to OFF/LOCK, but do NOT REMOVE THE KEY from the ignition lock!!! Removing the key WILL engage the steering wheel lock.

Go have fun.

PM me if you want more.

Tim

[mardajam]

I hope I can do the same with my 2016 mx-5 6 speed manual