Recreational/Flat/Dinghy Towing a Mirage

[Snowman9000]

Are there any owners here? Or anyone with access to an owners manual?

I'm trying to find out if the Mirage with manual transmission will be able to be towed behind a motorhome. I called the US HQ, they were useless. An owners manual usually has this information.

Thanks for any info.

[MetroMPG]

Hi, Snowman.

There are lots of owners here. (Not me though!)

I thought the potential problem with flat-towing (ie. 4 wheels on the ground) was limited to cars with automatic transmissions (which require the engine to be running to maintain proper lubrication in the transmission).

Do you know of manual transmission cars that can't be flat-towed? I thought manuals were "self lubricating", since the gears are in an oil bath.

I'm sure someone will check.

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UPDATE: Dealer says flat towing OK -- see post #14 for details.

UPDATE 2: North American owner's manual only warns against flat towing the CVT.

[Daox]

Ditto to what MetroMPG said. I've never heard of any manual transmission cars that aren't flat towable.

[Snowman9000]

Yes, there are some newer manual transmissions which are not properly lubed during flat towing. I can't name them offhand, but if I come across an example, I will post it. I have a dinghy towing guide around here somewhere....

Edit to add: I looked at it but couldn't find any. I'm pretty sure there are some, but hopefully I'm worried for nothing. VW comes to mind, though. IIRC they say not to tow, but owners are doing it anyway, with no issues. This is a regular manual trans, not an auto-shifted manual trans.

If I can be sure this Mirage can be flat towed, I will put off my econocar buying decision till fall.

[Snowman9000]

Also, there are sometimes some interesting requirements. For instance, the Chevy Spark has a towed limit of 55 MPH. Many are limited to 65. Some cars, you have to start the engine and idle it for a few minutes after so many hours or miles towing. Others, you have to remove fuses. Etc. So basically, I'd like to see what Mitsu has written in their manual.

[Snowman9000]

The current Honda Civic manual transmission is not towable. Here is a screenshot from the 2013 owners manual.

[Daox]

Well would ya look at that. I guess you do learn something every day.

[Alpha_One]

Checked the manual; towing is allowed. CVT vehicles are restricted to 40km/h and 40km distance, no such restrictions indicated for the MTs.

[Snowman9000]

Excellent! Thank you.

[MetroMPG]

Thanks, Alpha!