Subaru Ascent towing

[GeorgiaBill]

Bobbie, good to hear you enjoyed driving the Ascent and also glad you have a Honda. I think we've enjoyed 6 Accords and 7 Honda motorcycles.

[yardsale]

Somewhere somebody mentioned that the Ascent manual advised not towing over 55mph which would be deal killer for us. I downloaded the 2020 manual and couldn't find this recommendation in the towing or derivative sections describing trans or differential over heating.
Sleepdogger, post 56, and rubicon327, post 58, I'm talking about you!
Now I've got to worry about this transmission issue as well.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by yardsale

Somewhere somebody mentioned that the Ascent manual advised not towing over 55mph which would be deal killer for us.

Your RAV4 manual said not to tow over 45 mph.

[yardsale]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Your RAV4 manual said not to tow over 45 mph.

Ha, I never saw that either when we had it!

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by yardsale

Ha, I never saw that either when we had it!

I sometimes have had to back down when I notice the speedometer indicating 120 kph ( 75 mph ) on #1 near Chilliwack. Of course I have a WDH. Don't think I'd tow that fast without WDH.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by yardsale

Somewhere somebody mentioned that the Ascent manual advised not towing over 55mph which would be deal killer for us. I downloaded the 2020 manual and couldn't find this recommendation in the towing or derivative sections describing trans or differential over heating.
Sleepdogger, post 56, and rubicon327, post 58, I'm talking about you!
Now I've got to worry about this transmission issue as well.

I was simply reiterating what I saw in the online manual at the time of my post (early 2019). It wasn't about a hard and fast speed limit with "normal" towing. It appears to be more about the added stress on the CVT transmission and overheating potential when going uphill on hot days...

-Never exceed 45 mph (72 km/h) when towing a trailer in hilly country on hot days.

-When driving uphill in hot weather, the air conditioner may turn off automatically to protect the engine from overheating.

-When driving uphill in hot weather, pay attention to the following items because the engine and transmission are relatively prone to overheating
-Temperature gauge
-AT OIL TEMP warning light
-Rear differential oil temperature warning light (if equipped)

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

... and the addition of an after market frame mounted hitch? Not sure what the issue was with the factory hitch?

There was a previous discussion about this back when the demos were just starting to hit dealerships and published specs were sparse and vague, and my memory may be failing me now, but I believe the initial factory hitch offering was only a Class II that effectively limited towing capacity to 3,500/350 (see post #20 earlier in this thread). Does anyone else remember specifics?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

There was a previous discussion about this back when the demos were just starting to hit dealerships and published specs were sparse and vague, and my memory may be failing me now, but I believe the initial factory hitch offering was only a Class II that effectively limited towing capacity to 3,500/350 (see post #20 earlier in this thread). Does anyone else remember specifics?

That misinformation was all addressed in this thread - just look back to post #32.

[yardsale]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I was simply reiterating what I saw in the online manual at the time of my post (early 2019). It wasn't about a hard and fast speed limit with "normal" towing. It appears to be more about the added stress on the CVT transmission and overheating potential when going uphill on hot days...

-Never exceed 45 mph (72 km/h) when towing a trailer in hilly country on hot days.

-When driving uphill in hot weather, the air conditioner may turn off automatically to protect the engine from overheating.

-When driving uphill in hot weather, pay attention to the following items because the engine and transmission are relatively prone to overheating
-Temperature gauge
-AT OIL TEMP warning light
-Rear differential oil temperature warning light (if equipped)

Looks like that specific language is altered to "reduce speed" or "beware of overheating" in the 2020 manual. Likely a non issue for us as we are typically climbing western hills in the winter, not summer.

[GeorgiaBill]

Originally Posted by Hilola

This is the most helpful site I’ve ever found regarding Subaru’s. The guy who runs the site is a dealer in Washington state. If you can’t find the info you are looking for, try emailing him.

2019 Subaru Ascent 7 passenger research webpage

Joe Spitz Cars101 contact page. Buying a Subaru in the Pacific Northwest?

I looked at this site recently and then could not find it again. I've saved the URL. Thanks for the link.

[h2owmn]

Consumer reports is my go-to for car info! Glad it was useful to you.