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Hyundai Elantra Towing Questions

backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
edited March 2014 in Hyundai
How much can the Elantra tow? (Maybe more than you would expect!) Post questions and tips about towing with the Elantra here!
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Comments

  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    Backy who cares? And theres about 10 other discussions of yours i could post this to.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    And theres about 10 other discussions of yours i could post this to.

    Soon there will be 101 other Hyundai Elantra discussions and you will need to do a search to find anything. Having too many topics for one make and model also kills the participation.

    Hyundai Elantra: Washing Questions
    Hyundai Elantra: Tuesday driving experiences
    Hyundai Elantra: Which XM station is your favorite
    Hyundai Elantra: Aftermarket Tires
    Hyundai Elantra: When will the hatchback arrive?
    Hyundai Elantra: ............................etc. etc. etc.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    FYI, I created all the various threads under Hyundai Elantra when our Host killed most of the existing discussions--and left no place to post anything! We were directed to put posts into very specific buckets. So I took the time to create some buckets for us to use, basing them on what was already being done for some other cars. It actually took me quite a while to do that. But I thought it would help out people who did want to discuss the Elantra.

    But recently, Edmunds.com's leaders came to their senses and re-instated the general discussions. So we don't need all the buckets any more.

    Any other snide remarks you want to make, or do you want to talk about the Elantra? Got any questions about towing? Did you know it can tow quite a load?
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    Any other snide remarks you want to make, or do you want to talk about the Elantra? Got any questions about towing? Did you know it can tow quite a load?

    750 lbs is the maximum towing capacity for the 2007 Elantra unless the trailer has trailer brakes and then the capacity is doubled to 1,500 lbs.

    How much can the Elantra tow? Not much. For example, I have a 5" x 9" utility trailer and it weighs 400 lbs empty and it does not have trailer brakes. The Elantra could haul an amazing 350 lbs in the trailer!

    Certainly not "quite a load". At least not by my idea of "quite a load".
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Going to the main Elantra board and using the Search there means you don't have to search through all of the individual discussions one at a time.

    Let's not get bogged down in format issues and understand that the content is available in all kinds of different ways. Tracking all of the discussions at the board level (see link) and then using Read New Posts to catch up is probably the easiest way to stay on top of any new thoughts/posts/topics anyone chooses to contribute.

    Towing questions, anyone??
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    The Elantra! Yes, believe it or not my '04 Elantra can tow 3086 pounds with trailer brakes and 1000 pounds without.

    That's not much by truck standards, but for a budget-priced compact sedan, it's exceptional. Note that this is 1,000 pounds more than full-size sedans like the Cadillac DeVille and Mercury Grand Marquis are rated to carry.

    http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/102426/article.html

    The 2007 Elantra's rating is down to 750 w/o trailer brakes and 1500 with, but that's still more than competitors like the Civic that aren't rated for towing anything.
  • lightfootfllightfootfl Member Posts: 442
    Question? What is it that determines the "towing capacity" of any vehicle? If a proper hitch is installed wouldn't just about any vehicle be ale to "tow" at least 1000 to 2000 lbs? I am not trying to be funny about this, but it seems to me that if the vehicle can't do that, then it can't carry 4-5 people either. :confuse:
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    I am not an expert on this but I would imagine some factors would be the power and (especially) torque of the engine, the strength of the frame/unibody, the ability of the transmission and cooling system to handle the extra load, and the design of the suspension (especially in the rear).

    Keep in mind that it's not carrying 4-5 people or towing 1000-2000 pounds--it's carrying 4-5 people AND towing 1000-2000 pounds. Although I'm not sure I'd put 5 adults in an Elantra and tow the max weight at the same time. It is after all a compact sedan, not a pickup truck or SUV. :)
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    Ha! Look what i started! Anyway, based on what you just said on what determines how much a car like this can tow, what makes the civic any less capable?
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    That is a great question... for the Civic discussion. You might want to ask Honda why they don't rate the Civic for towing anything. Maybe it has to do with lack of torque, or maybe their 5-speed trannies just aren't up to it.
  • doohickiedoohickie Member Posts: 949
    How much can the Elantra tow? Not much.

    image

    image

    image

    image

    Yeah... not much.... ;)
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    The Elantra in the first picture appears dangerously overloaded.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    too much tongue weight, agreed.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    I wonder if anyone is in the back seat or if the cargo area is loaded up? With that size of trailer, keeping the rear lightly loaded would be a good idea.
  • doohickiedoohickie Member Posts: 949
    It's the same car in the first two pics; I don't know for sure, but I'll bet the back is pretty loaded up.
  • tsgeiseltsgeisel Member Posts: 352
    How old is that first picture, with full-service gas at 92.4c/gal?

    Or is that, maybe, liters and not gallons?
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Well, it's a fairly old Elantra--2003 or earlier.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    Maybe because honda realizes that anyone who wants to tow something of significance they should look into a different vehicle, and yes they do state what its towing capacities are, so i don't know what you mean about 'rating' the civic for towing. If anything the 5 speed tranny is more than up to it over the ancient four speed that still found its way into the new elantra. Lack of torque? Look at the numbers backster. You can see that the amount of torque that the elantra has over the civic is miniscule at best.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    I looked up the towing capacity of the Civic in multiple places and it was always "0". Did you find some other data? What is your explanation for why the Elantra is rated to tow more than the Civic?

    Elantra torque: 136
    Civic torque: 128

    Not a huge difference... but maybe a significant difference when it comes to towing.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    Backy 9lbs of torque wouldn't make any kind of significant difference! The towing capacity is in the manual that comes with the car, which i don't have anymore. But the civic is CAPABLE of towing, just as much as an elantra would be. Is it stupid to sit here and say 'my elantra can tow more than your civic?' Yeah. Why? Because nobody cares. That contest is much better suited to an suv or truck for goodnessakes! Even though i don't have the actual number on hand....i'm pretty sure the elantra does not edge the civic out in this regard. And if it does wtf cares?! And don't come to me with all this 'there may be a small portion of sedan buyers who take this into consideration' crap becuase i guarantee if they do exist, they are this itsy bitsy minority who have to much time on their hands and probably WOULD gloat about how much their elantras can tow. P to the lease.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    Where did YOU find the info on how much the elantra could tow? And if you did....how do you know it edges out the civic if you don't even know what the civic can tow?
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    I already posted a link to the Elantra's towing figures. They are easy to find by searching on your favorite search engine.

    Finding the Civic's towing info is a little more difficult, but here are some references:

    http://autos.yahoo.com/honda_civic_hybrid_cvt_at_pzev-specs/?p=all

    http://autos.yahoo.com/honda_civic_coupe_dx_5_spd_mt-specs/;_ylt=Agi23QZw_N7KX4R- - Alw8I58urn9EF?p=all

    http://autos.yahoo.com/honda_civic_sedan_dx_5_spd_at-specs/;_ylt=Agi23QZw_N7KX4R- - Alw8I58u0n9EF?p=all

    So for the Civic MT coupe, Civic AT sedan, and Civic Hybrid, towing is "Not Recommended". To me, being rated by the manufacturer to tow 750 pounds w/o trailer brakes and 1500 pounds with trailer brakes more than edges "Not Recommended".

    Edit: here's another reference, from Edmunds.com. They can't even find published info on the Civic's towing capacity! Honda must be very proud of it. :surprise:

    http://www.edmunds.com/apps/nvc/edmunds/VehicleComparison?styleid=100812874&maxv- ehicles=5&op=17&tab=specs
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    just because edmunds and yahoo couldn't find it doesn't mean it doesn't exist; i've seen the figure, i just cant remember it. Common sense will tell you that there is nothing that elantra has that makes it more tow worthy than the civic. (oh wait i forgot the 9lbs of torque!) come on backster get real! "not reccomended" edging out 750 lbs? if its not been published how can they not reccomend it? Did that ever strike you? The civic can tow, BUT NOT THAT IT MATTERS. I would rehash my last post because you still managed (in classic backy form) to avoid the obvious point of wtf cares. Most people shopping for these cars DONT. End of story.

    (Feel free to post the inevitable 'elantra can tow and civic apparantly can't ha ha ha' rants below. It still wont change anything including the fact that just becuase the civics numbers are not published, they do in fact exist and when i get my hands on a manual i will prove it to you AND even if the numbers are smaller than the elantras, the matter of IT REALLY DOESN"T matter will still stand. You give people a hard time for bashing hyundai backs but a lot of times it just seems like your gunning for honda on the most miniscule things. Whatev. Happy Towing. {not really the end of story huh? :P })
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Who cares? Look at the title of this discussion. It's about towing. Look at the photos published earlier. Those folks care about being able to tow something with their Elantras. If you don't care about discussing this topic, there's lots of other discussions to choose from in Town Hall.

    As for rants, it seems to me the only person ranting in here is you.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Backy's right...it's his topic and his title so he gets to talk about that particular subject. If you don't agree with the basic premise, then challenge it courteously and everybody's happy.
  • doohickiedoohickie Member Posts: 949
    Yeah, that's Canadian dollars per litre.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    Rant rant rant!
    couldn't resist. :P
  • fnaticfnatic Member Posts: 7
    Guys,

    please refrain from pointless rudeness. Carspace is normally a friendly helpful place and I am surprised this is among the first rudeness I have seen..why bother.

    Well,
    I was considering getting -one day a used 2004-2005 elantra solely as a tow vehicle for the following reasons...( which if you Google )lists the elantra can tow just over 3000 lbs- yes that's right. They even say - no this is not a typo and list it among other PICKUPS.
    Brought to you here by the good folks at edmunds:http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/102426/article.html

    ...Noone else has heard it does tow MUCH more than the civic- and the 350 lbs.!

    I would appreciate anyone's input. I would far from purchase a car without investigation. But if it is listed among tow able cars- I would not hesitate too much from purchasing. Another reason it is a good tow car is that -locally the car can be had for no MORE THAN $7000- if I ruin the tranny- who cares- it would be a second bazoo type car so I would not loose sleep. But too anyone- upon learning this little tidbit- WHAT A BARGAIN!!!

    Further more I have absolutely no issues admitting no - i am not even slightly able to comprehend what tongue weight, etc etc etc refers to, however what it comes down to is with trailer brakes- of course- 30** pounds. PERIOD. The pics above obviously appear the car is overloaded- but numerous comparos in a google search seem to say otherwise??????? (HELP)

    What does anyone think???
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Thanks for asking everyone to refrain from rudeness. You are right, we strive to be a friendly, helpful place and we believe we succeed.

    You read some older posts - the incidental friction that you sensed has long since abated. :)
  • caazcaaz Member Posts: 209
    you know the best thing about the tow photos?......look at the 1st pic and look at the price of gas on the sign....lol
  • fnaticfnatic Member Posts: 7
    Ok, but rudeness is not why I posted I would love some help about the elantra strange credentials over tow able over 3000 lbs. Edmund's says so...the first pic does not, so anybody who has opinions what Edmund's came from....etc
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