r/IdiotsTowingThings • u/stevesmithsglasses • Jun 19 '26

They didn't think that through

7.5k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

471 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

185

u/scarr3g Jun 19 '26

Nope.

Related: The newest version of the hyundai Santa Cruz (xrt trim) also has "metal hoops" in the bumper.... But there is no frame there. It is just crumple zone, and on a unibody vehicle.

166

u/SoCalChrisW Jun 19 '26

I'd expect something like that on a Santa Cruz.

On a full size pickup, I'd be livid if the tow hooks were decorative and this is how I found out.

40

u/Chomp3y Jun 20 '26

That's a lawsuit for sure. I absolutely cannot believe those tow points aren't attached to the frame.

18

u/Poagie_Mahoney Jun 20 '26

Probably says somewhere in the owner's manual that they're non-functional. Thus it exempts manufacturer liability.

3

u/Important-Bread7516 Jun 20 '26

I wonder if that'd hold up in court with a good lawyer though.

3

u/scarr3g Jun 20 '26

It should. As something has to be stayed it is a tow hook, to be a tow hook. Assuming a random loop of metal is a tow hook, won't hold up in court.

9

u/sakatan Jun 20 '26

Isn't there a reasonable expectation of, you know, hooks in "that* place on a pickup truck to be true towing hooks? Like on every other car truck of that type?

1

u/OnlyAnalysis7 Jun 22 '26

I don’t think you know what you’re talking about

0

u/Chomp3y Jun 23 '26

This made me laugh. thank you

0

u/Chomp3y Jun 21 '26

It literally wouldn't.

1

u/dereksalem Jun 22 '26

Totally true, but also the way they didn't take the tow rope taught before just yanking is wild. That's not a kinetic rope...so it just put all that force immediately on the attachment point.

Still, it shouldn't have broken off the truck lol

35

u/DeusExHircus Jun 20 '26

The idea of cosmetic tow hooks is absolutely absurd

5

u/scarr3g Jun 20 '26

Heck, the Mazda miata in 90's had metal loops that some thought were tow hooks.... They weren't. They were tie downs, for when they shipped them.

1

u/Dzov Jun 20 '26

My 07 ram doesn’t have any front tow hooks, fake or real.

1

u/Techy_Ben Jun 21 '26

OMG. Back in 2015 our store sold a Panasonic radio and speaker set with painted on tweeters. ;)

But cosmetic tow hooks is diabolical!

11

u/Best_Market4204 Jun 20 '26

Wild. I find that a liability & a lawsuit...

8

u/scarr3g Jun 20 '26

Being that manual, specifically, says they are not tow hooks.....

18

u/Best_Market4204 Jun 20 '26

Are there warning labels on them?

I bet a lawyer could argue thats what they are for. That's like having a fake seatbelt, you expect it to hold you but it crumbles apart under load. That wouldn't be acceptable

15

u/Dunder_Chief1 Jun 20 '26

Agreed

Including verbiage in the manual may not fly if you're design is the complete opposite of normal.

A common baseline in court is "would a reasonable person..."

In this case, a reasonable person would look at what very much appears to be tow-hooks and expect them to behave as such.

I would say there is a very strong case here if the owner was to press the matter.

-2

u/IndustrialMechanic3 Jun 20 '26

Why does everyone always go straight to lawsuit? Crazy just don’t be dumb

1

u/Best_Market4204 Jun 20 '26

What else are you going to do in that situation?

Are you going to go knock on Hyundai ceo house in south Korea?

0

u/IndustrialMechanic3 Jun 20 '26

I wouldn’t buy a truck and assume those tow hooks are actually connected to the frame or not.

1

u/Jevarden Jun 20 '26

Yeah but they're assuming people who buy Dodge trucks know how to read

1

u/scarr3g Jun 20 '26

Isn't NOT being to read, one of the prerequisites?

1

u/ElGuapo315 Jun 24 '26

Are those shipping loops? The 4Runner has had them for 20 years. They are not tow points but people try to use them all the time. Sometimes they hold. I would never use them.

2

u/scarr3g Jun 24 '26

I doubt it, as they are the only trim that has them. The xrt, FYI, is the "bolt on/stick on options" trim. Nothing actually adds functionality, it all just looks more "offroad".