HELP - where's the front tow hook on 02 allroad?

[Reggieroo]

Hi guys,

Can anyone tell me where the front tow hook is on a 2002 audi allroad? My allroad got stranded in a ford last night & nobody will recover me while it's in water so I need to tow it out myself first.
I'll be going to try & tow it out in a few hours & I'm guessing it's still in deep water & I won't be able to see where the front recovery point is so really need to know before hand & guess what the handbook is in the car, probably soaking wet by now like the rest of the car.

[CALL AAA]

It's behind the lower grill next to the right fog light. Once you're in there, the threaded hole is somewhere in there. If you didn't already know, the actual towing loop is in the case with your jack. Just screw it all the way in before you tow it. I understand that you can't see under there, so I'm going to look at mine and see if there's something I can use to better describe it.

[CALL AAA]

Ok, I just tried it blind, since you will be fishing around in the water. The lower grille is a pain to get off gracefully. You have to stick a screwdriver into a slot in the lower left part of the lower right grille. Push the slot in and towards the right side of the car. If your hands are in freezing water, just pry the thing out and replace it if you break it. It's kind of a pain in the ass.


Once you're in there, there's a rubber thing with a star cut into it. Stick the hook through the hole in the rubber, and push about 1/2 inch towards the right side of the car. You 'll feel the threaded hole. Screw it all the way in, and you should be good to go.

I'll be up for a while. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck!

[Reggieroo]

Ok, I just tried it blind, since you will be fishing around in the water. The lower grille is a pain to get off gracefully. You have to stick a screwdriver into a slot in the lower left part of the lower right grille. Push the slot in and towards the right side of the car. If your hands are in freezing water, just pry the thing out and replace it if you break it. It's kind of a pain in the ass.


Once you're in there, there's a rubber thing with a star cut into it. Stick the hook through the hole in the rubber, and push about 1/2 inch towards the right side of the car. You 'll feel the threaded hole. Screw it all the way in, and you should be good to go.

I'll be up for a while. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck!

Thank you so much for your help, I thought it was a long shot to ask on here & get a reply so quick. I've been scouring google for hours since 4am trying to find an answer with no luck. I couldn't sleep thinking about my car stuck in the water & how I'm going to get it out so I had to get up. I'm hoping the water has gone down as it was getting deeper by the minute after it happened, went back an hour or so later to try & get it out but the water was up over the head lights.

It's in park with the handbrake on, should be able to still get it out of park shouldn't I, even if the electrics have completely gone down? Wondering also should I tow it with my neighbours 4x4 or get a recovery truck to take it home, it's only a few miles away.

[CALL AAA]

Well, if the water is over the headlights, you're probably looking at other issues anyways. I wouldn't tow it to a shop with the hook.
If they won't pull it out from the water on a flatbed, then you will probably have to tow it out via tow hook. Maybe a flatbed driver will use the winch to tow it out, then put it on the flatbed. But if you have a friend with a 4X4, you may as well have it out and waiting for the flatbed.

The handbrake is mechanical, so there shouldn't be a problem releasing it. You do have your jack case, right? If not, you might not have your tow hook.

[Reggieroo]

Well, if the water is over the headlights, you're probably looking at other issues anyways. I wouldn't tow it to a shop with the hook.
If they won't pull it out from the water on a flatbed, then you will probably have to tow it out via tow hook. Maybe a flatbed driver will use the winch to tow it out, then put it on the flatbed. But if you have a friend with a 4X4, you may as well have it out and waiting for the flatbed.

The handbrake is mechanical, so there shouldn't be a problem releasing it. You do have your jack case, right? If not, you might not have your tow hook.

I'm guessing the car is now pretty screwed with that much water inside, could have even got deeper over night so looks like we will have to go through our insurance & make a claim. I'm absolutely gutted! I'm guessing that the jack case is there, haven't looked but pretty sure that's where the lock nut was for the wheels & had to get that out for the garage a while back.

I was wondering if I'll be able to get it out of park OK, that's what I'm worried about as it's a tiptronic?

[Mantvis]

Saddly, if the electronics are down youll be stuck in the Drive gear ;(

What happened?
any pics?

[CALL AAA]

I'm not sure about getting it out of park. I always thought that without any power, turning the key forward will allow you to move the shift lever and put it in neutral. Unless someone else chimes in, I can't confirm that.

I hope everything is the same for the allroad as it is for the S6.

[s6sputnik]

Best of luck to the OP...and props to the list for good help!

[Scotty@Advanced]

Thank you so much for your help, I thought it was a long shot to ask on here & get a reply so quick. I've been scouring google for hours since 4am trying to find an answer with no luck. I couldn't sleep thinking about my car stuck in the water & how I'm going to get it out so I had to get up. I'm hoping the water has gone down as it was getting deeper by the minute after it happened, went back an hour or so later to try & get it out but the water was up over the head lights.

It's in park with the handbrake on, should be able to still get it out of park shouldn't I, even if the electrics have completely gone down? Wondering also should I tow it with my neighbours 4x4 or get a recovery truck to take it home, it's only a few miles away.

Call you insurance company you likely have a total loss there....

[Reggieroo]

Well got it out in the end, bit of a nightmare as the water was still quite deep & freezing. The water rose so deep last night that it went right up over the dashboard. A local farmer came to my aid & helped me pull it out with his tractor, had to be pulled out backwards as the front towing eye wasn't in the jack bag. I managed to get it out of park no problem & into neutral so it could be pulled out easy enough, although very close to the edge of the ford it nearly went in the river.

It was a right drama yesterday & we even made it in the local news as the misses called the emergency services when it happened. It wasn't even that deep, around 1.5ft when I went through but it stalled half way through, must have sucked some water in but the worrying part was a strong current came down the river & pushed the car towards the edge of the river & my misses & 16 month old daughter were in the car. The water then started rising rapidly round the car & when I tried to open the door it pushed it further across. Very scary to be honest, if it wasn't for the fact that my daughter was in the car I would have just climbed out the window if I was on my own. We were told by the emergency services to stay in the car till help arrived. It was quite shocking how fast the ford started to flood within minutes of it happening & then a couple of hours later it was around 3.5 ft deep.

I've took some pics, I'll post them up soon.

[CALL AAA]

Holy crap! Glad to hear that you and your family are safe. I was caught up in getting the pics and stuff, but I didn't even think about how you ended up in the water in the first place. That's scary stuff!

[Vinchenzo51]

holy shit man, thank god everyones OK

anyone find it ironic that the guy who originally helped user name is "Call AAA"... lol

[CALL AAA]

I find it ironic that I was going to ask where the tow hook is on a 2002 S6.
I actually have no affiliation with AAA, except for maybe some free advertising. I had CALL AAA plates on my Taurus SHO, since it spent half of its life on a flatbed.
I'm taking it to the track next weekend...to the Auto Club Speedway. It would be horribly ironic if I had to use the tow hook and take it out of the Auto Club Speedway on a AAA approved flatbed with CALL AAA plates. I could probably get my picture in the magazine, though.

[gbjoshe]

^^ hahaha..
btw while on the topic is the tow hook in the same general area on my 2001 2.7t?

[Reggieroo]

Scary stuff indeed, I've been through that ford now for years but this time it caught me out. Thanks for the help guys, just need to now sort out the insurance & see what happens from there.

The main thing is we're all ok, what was really scary was some guy & his wife died last year in another ford a couple of villages away in his Volvo estate & it was the exact same situation. He was local like me, used the other ford as short cut like we all do, car cut out, current came along & swept his car into the river, turned over & they drowned. At the time I thought how did he manage to make such a mistake, now I know. It's easy to sit back & think that wouldn't happen to me & now it has.

[Vinchenzo51]

^^ hahaha..
btw while on the topic is the tow hook in the same general area on my 2001 2.7t?

Yes, pop out right passenger side fog grill and you'll see the hole

Tow hook should be in your trunk jack kit, if it's not, you should probably order one

[gbjoshe]

thanks man