Front Tow point?

[bhaugen]

On the 2011 pilot, is that small little tab with a hole in it way under the front of the pilot really the front tow point on it? The pilot is my wifes and I have had to pull her out 2 times this winter. I have been able to tow her out by using the hitch with a shackle reciever hitch that i have. It would have been a little easier to pull it forward out of the ditch last night, but after seeing that tab, I hooked my truck up to the back and pulled it out that way.

Is anyone making something for a better front tow point.

[mclairmo]

You can buy front mount hitches. That front hook is really a tie down point for shipping the vehicle. Not sure if it can withstand towing horizontal stresses.

[rocky]

Originally Posted by mclairmo

You can buy front mount hitches. That front hook is really a tie down point for shipping the vehicle. Not sure if it can withstand towing horizontal stresses.

Tie downs are NOT designed for vehicle recovery purposes. The best way to convince anyone of that is to watch this video:

YouTube - Car Towing Fail

YouTube - Car Towing Fail

[bhaugen]

Originally Posted by rocky

Tie downs are NOT designed for vehicle recovery purposes. The best way to convince anyone of that is to watch this video:

YouTube - Car Towing Fail

That is why I pulled it out from the rear using the hitch. There is so much wrong in that video, but the big issue was pulling it out the wrong way. They should have pulled it away from the snow bank, not into it, and not jerked on it.

I will have to crawl under it and take a closer look while its not half buried in snow. I might have to invest in a recovery hook to be able to hook onto the A-arms or ????. I don't want to mount a front hitch to it.

[mclairmo]

Holy bejeezus, that video is gruesome. Those numbnuts had no clue what they were doing yanking on that strap. They are actually lucky it pulled the back off the car before snapping the strap and having it whipsaw around and take someone's head off. I had my front bumper cover off and noticed a very beefy steel beam/bumper under the bumper cover attached to the front body structure. Somehow attaching a tow hook, shackle or D-Ring to that (and therefore poking through the middle of bumper cover) may do it but still seems risky and ugly. Not too many options I imagine.

[bhaugen]

Originally Posted by mclairmo

I had my front bumper cover off and noticed a very beefy steel beam/bumper under the bumper cover attached to the front body structure. Somehow attaching a tow hook, shackle or D-Ring to that (and therefore poking through the middle of bumper cover) may do it but still seems risky and ugly. Not too many options I imagine.

Is this on the 05 listed in your sig? We had an 05 prior to the 2011 we currenlty have and I was able to hook on to the stucture in the front easily and safely with what I had when the wife was stuck. Now I am not so sure what I can grab onto on the front.

[mclairmo]

Yes, my 05. Maybe you can find installation instructions for a front hitch and see where they bolt to. However, I would imagine any strong metal structure that is adequately tied/bolted/welded to the rest of the vehicle would be ok, assuming you use common sense in your towing technique.

[Wingwiper]

My 2010 2WD EX-L came with a large, heavy, silver towing eye that screws into a threaded hole located under a cover plate behind the front bumper. It's a bit hard to find, but should be what you use to tow for short distances.

On the 2010, you pull down the rectangular black plastic cover located below and behind the the right side of the front bumper. On the right side under that plastic cover plate is a round rubber plug which is removed to access the threaded hole for the towing eye. I would think that the 2011 models would also have it.

Instructions are on p. 532/533 of my 2010 owner's manual. Although the manual implies that the towing eye can be installed under the rear bumper, I have never found a similar attach point for the towing eye and don't believe that one exists. The diagram shows that you should use the hitch receiver for towing the vehicle to the rear.