[laluks]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

..... (Am assuming it is a normal steel cable). Does not excuse the level of damage though.
Regards
Sutripta

Originally Posted by Traveler

Really shocked at the fragile arrangement for the tow hook. ....The members have to be much stronger they are supposed to take this abuse.

At times, all things may not go in favor. Today while doing postmortem of events, many things could have been done differently. On the ground, realities, pressure, experience are very different.

It was a 5 ton tow rope/strap which was used. Not a steel cable.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Just my humble opinion, but I think that the towing point of a consumer vehicle should be able to take the stresses it might reasonably be expected to take. That includes jerks that might make a pro wince. The guy behind the wheel is likely to be the owner, not a pro.

Thanks Thad. You had said exactly what it is, and should be the point of discussion

The tow hook should be able to reasonably withstand the abuse that it is reasonably expected to take. And of course, its the owner and not a professional experienced at these.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

It looks like due to cattle on the road S Cross slowed down and the Scorpio continued. This should by no means rip the cross member off. The tow hook somehow Seems to be fitted (as provided)on the part designed to absorb and deform during a crash, I could be wrong.
Let's hear from Maruti.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

I'm really sorry ....I hope this problem gets rectified and we all come to know the exact reason for its failure.

The cross member must / should take reasonable stress, that's the point. Else it should not be designated as a towing point.

[Sheel]

I have had the displeasure of towing few cars/SUV's and once, I was being towed, for ~100 kms and that too the roads were as bad as you can imagine to be. The road had craters, so big that a bus/truck's rear overhang used to scrape.

I was being towed by a big thick telephone cable [ the fat one which is being used to lay down new cables]. Because of bad roads, there used to be a lot of jerks but nothing went wrong, I too sometimes thought that something would go amiss, but was glad that save for tightening of few screws, all was .

I assume am using the same cable and it is strong and does its job, that 2,500 - 3,000 was totally worth it.

Those of my friends who are saying that the jerk was brutal etc, what if the said S-Cross was in a deep rut/mud and had to be given jerks for it to come out and one couldn't winch it? What then?

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Those of my friends who are saying that the jerk was brutal etc, what if the said S-Cross was in a deep rut/mud and had to be given jerks for it to come out and one couldn't winch it? What then?

Sheel ideally you shouldn’t even tow a jeep or an Offroader like you said, let alone a poor car. First of all the S-Cross isn’t designed to run in mud or deep rut. If, by chance you ended up there, you should ‘winch’ the car slowly up. And if you have no winch you should be using a kinematic tow rope.

This kind of tugging and jerky pulling is a strict no-no. Not only is it harmful to the car, if something breaks,it’s outright dangerous too.

Watch this -

https://youtu.be/ETFFeUoq5Vw

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Sheel ideally you shouldn’t even tow a jeep or an Offroader like you said, let alone a poor car.

Ideally one should not, I fully agree here, but, how many of us have a winch fitted on our daily drives?

I watched the video again and to be honest, the jerk was not very violent, it was a mild one in my books to gain momentum for a slight incline as the 5084 express doesn't have a 4WD, it might have suffered from wheel-spin.

But all said and done, the design is bad for a recovery. It should have been incorporated better.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Ideally one should not, I fully agree here, but, how many of us have a winch fitted on our daily drives?

You cannot fit a winch on the car. You should seek the help of a vehicle fitted with a winch.

[R2D2]

Laluks so sorry to read about your Kungfu Panda. The manner in which the front member sheared off looks terrible. Tow hooks and front member frames are designed to pull the car out of a rut or to haul it onto a flat bed truck. It seems like lower gauge metal members was used by MSIL. Poor show on their part. I think MSIL should cover this damage under warranty given your video evidence. Hopefully they will ensure structural integrity is not compromised when it's being reassembled with new parts.

These vehicles may resemble SUVs but are called soft roaders for a reason. The stress is on the word 'soft'. Unfortunately most overestimate the capabilities of these cars and wind up in trouble. I'd recommend treating a soft roader just as one would treat a car especially on rough roads and whilst towing - carefully.

[Nav-i-gator]

When my Chevy Beat was towed, it was attached to a Maruti 800 from the garage through a thick, heavy iron chain. Throughout the towing distance of approx 3 KM, we went through heavy evening traffic of Gurgaon, through 3 large speed breakers and 2 traffic signals with constant jerks. Nothing happened.

And I am a complete novice when it comes to proper towing technique.

P.S. Beat was connected to the towing point at the front and MS 800 was attached to the rear beam.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Nav-i-gator

MS 800 was attached to the rear beam.

That's the worst damage you could do to any vehicle, though the distance is only 3km.

Even the rear tow hooks on (most) cars are not designed for towing purpose, they are actually 'tie' hooks to secure the vehicle during transit / shipping (though we follow several other methods like wheel / tire lashing, etc)

[roamer012]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

And if you have no winch you should be using a kinematic tow rope.

Can someone please share online link to buy "kinematic tow rope" in India preferably of the one which has been used by one of the members here.

[ajayclicks]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Even the rear tow hooks on (most) cars are not designed for towing purpose, they are actually 'tie' hooks to secure the vehicle during transit / shipping (though we follow several other methods like wheel / tire lashing, etc)

What if you have to recover another vehicle? If the rear tow hook should not be used, what is recommended? Attach the shackle to the hook that is in the front lower section (under the body) and have the rope exit from the rear? Would it not rub the underside of the recovery vehicle and weaken?

[Nav-i-gator]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

That's the worst damage you could do to any vehicle, though the distance is only 3km.

Even the rear tow hooks on (most) cars are not designed for towing purpose, they are actually 'tie' hooks to secure the vehicle during transit / shipping (though we follow several other methods like wheel / tire lashing, etc)

Well, I assume the garage guys who came to tow my car to their garage were pro who do this towing job every day.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by Sheel

....
Those of my friends who are saying that the jerk was brutal etc, what if the said S-Cross was in a deep rut/mud and had to be given jerks for it to come out and one couldn't winch it? What then?

Originally Posted by Sheel

I...
I watched the video again and to be honest, the jerk was not very violent, it was a mild one in my books to gain momentum for a slight incline .....

Originally Posted by R2D2

Laluks so sorry to read about your Kungfu Panda. The manner in which the front member sheared off looks terrible. Tow hooks and front member frames are designed to pull the car out of a rut or to haul it onto a flat bed truck. It seems like lower gauge metal members was used by MSIL. Poor show on their part. I think MSIL should cover this damage under warranty given your video evidence. Hopefully they will ensure structural integrity is not compromised when it's being reassembled with new parts.

Exactly the point.The fact that the lower gauge materials were used is the point of discussion.

The jerks were to get the SCrosss engaged from stand still.

Originally Posted by R2D2

These vehicles may resemble SUVs but are called soft roaders for a reason. The stress is on the word 'soft'. Unfortunately most overestimate the capabilities of these cars and wind up in trouble. I'd recommend treating a soft roader just as one would treat a car especially on rough roads and whilst towing - carefully.

It was not used like a SUV, it was taken through the sections like I care for my Civic. But then if something has to happen, it has to. Blame it on Murphy!

[Mr.Boss]

Posting some extracts from S Cross owner's manual

Originally Posted by ajayclicks

What if you have to recover another vehicle? If the rear tow hook should not be used, what is recommended? Attach the shackle to the hook that is in the front lower section (under the body) and have the rope exit from the rear? Would it not rub the underside of the recovery vehicle and weaken?

Well, you may use it at emergency situation, but not a Hatchback to tow a SUV (for an example) Even the rear tow hook is designed for shipment purpose only, the one on a heavier vehicle should be designed to tackle the vehicle mass during transportation. So the factor of safety to tow a smaller vehicle will be higher.

Originally Posted by Nav-i-gator

Well, I assume the garage guys who came to tow my car to their garage were pro who do this towing job every day.

The one doing same job everyday may not be a professional, IMO.

[Dr.Naren]

BHPian Sree73 had posted about the towing experience of his S-Cross.

They connected my car with the towing vehicle (it was a Versa) by a chain. It was a 1.5 meters long chain and that was the distance between the Versa and my car. I had no other option than to accompany them, and sat in the front passenger seat with my Aunt in the rear seat. My uncle was with the guy who was driving the Versa. The Other guy was in the driving seat of my Car.

Started from there. Oh my god. The guy in the front started driving like crazy. Like a formula one racer on this busy highway, twisting / turning the vehicle and overtaking trucks / even high-speed cars. My car was swinging and dangling like an uncontrolled pendulum just behind this Versa. I verified again that my seatbelt is buckled up and was almost sure that will not reach safely at the Service Centre.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...xperience.html (Maruti S-Cross breakdown: Coolant leakage, miserable towing experience)

Luckily he has not faced anything like the car here. It was pre facelift model. The construction and design looks similar though the part numbers of Front crash bar are different.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by roamer012

Can someone please share online link to buy "kinematic tow rope" in India preferably of the one which has been used by one of the members here.

That's Kinetic tow rope

Currently unavailable in amazon.in
https://www.amazon.in/Ymiss-Durable-.../dp/B06Y6334GD