Front Bumper Notchy Thing

[BBISHOPPCM]

Anyone have any idea what that thing is? It's a removable cover below the drivers' side headlight. Looks like an anchor for something, but the tow hooks are under the car...

[CodeRed]

anchor for toeing i beleave

[Demonspawn]

yes the eye bolt is in the spare wheel compartment

[KimberKenobi]

when new vehicles are transported, they are ratcheted down so tight that the bodies don't shift and bump each other and once they are unloaded to ship out they are let off so that the shocks/suspensions can "stretch" ... If you've ever seen an SUV, most of them have the loop exposed... it's basically a part of the frame that has a loop for this type of towing. On SUVs they are commonly used with winches to help get you out of places where you've gotten stuck, but on most cars they are hidden because they are not used after the initial transport.

[KimberKenobi]

I hope that was coherent...

[motoguy128]

It's the front tow hook. It's a male stud that you screw a large female eye-bolt onto in case your stuck in a ditch rear end first. The stud is welded directly to the front subframe.

It's a good concept because the front plastic makes it difficult to tow out the car without damaging something. Also is your buried in soft grass or mud, it's more accesible. THe downside is that you need to get the eye-bolt out of the tool kit in the trunk. You can use a wide screwdriver to carefully pry the cover off, or the tool used to pry off the wheel covers.

The tie down points mentioned above are located in the wheel wells just behind the front suspension.

[justmerging]

Perhaps I can shed some light on this since I used to drive a tow truck for AAA. Everybody is correct, it is used to hook a winch too to tow your versa. The versa is not equipped with conventional front hooks (towing industry standards) so the eye bolt is required to safely load your vehicle onto a flatbed, BMW and other high end cars have been using it for years. It really makes it nearly impossible to screw anything up while loading the vehicle. Once the vehicle is on the truck the tension on this bolt is supposed to be released and the wheels are supposed to be strapped down. Please do tow truck drivers everywhere a favor and do not lose the eye bolt or they cannot garauntee the safe loading of your vehicle and any damage to the vehicle (within reason of course) will not be the fault of the driver. In some cases they won't even tow it.

[eduenrique]

[QUOTE=motoguy128]You can use a wide screwdriver to carefully pry the cover off, or the tool used to pry off the wheel covers.[QUOTE]

I think it's easier to use the method describe on the manual, there is a picture, and you won't scratch your front bumper. Just use your finger.

[KimberKenobi]

The tie down points mentioned above are located in the wheel wells just behind the front suspension.

I would say I stand corrected except for the fact that it seems JustMerging seconded the front bolt being used to tie down the car for transport... Plus, if you think about it, it would be harder to tie down a suspension right near the suspension, it's easier to get a tight tie down if you're out away from the suspension. I could swear that when I removed my cover, I had an actual loop... but since I can't remove my cover anymore... I guess I can't look and verify...

(I'll trim my vinyl if it needs to be towed, but not for this...)

[BBISHOPPCM]

Thanks for the info! Yep, I looked in the toolkit and there it is... it could also double as a self-defense weapon.

[CodeRed]

Thanks for the info! Yep, I looked in the toolkit and there it is... it could also double as a self-defense weapon.

can you please go into detail on how to use this as a weapon?

[KimberKenobi]

can you please go into detail on how to use this as a weapon?

HAHA!! I second!! ;oD WITH PICTURES!!!!

[Legacy40k]

In the manual... it shows it as alittle loops that pulls out to aid in strapping large objects to the roof of the car (like a canoe)