Installed the factory hitch last nightmy opinion

james_95

Member
Installed the factory hitch last nightmy opinion

As part of my CX-5 purchase deal I got the dealer to throw in the hitch/harness/cover at no charge. Since Ive installed 2 Curt hitches on my Highlander and my Civic I figured this would be a breeze, it took a little more time than I thought it would but all and all not that hard. Btw, IMO, the Curt hitch is the best 3rd party hitch but I like factory whenever possible if its not too overpriced. Between getting the car on stands, dropping the exhaust, and getting the hitch fitted I figured about an hour which, with 2 people (which is recommended in the instructions) and cutting using their template is probably is. It took me just over 2 hours but part of that is because I spent extra time trying to get it as clean as possible. I will say this to start, if youre doing it solo and you plan to use the factory cut marks on the inside of the bumper fascia them just remove the muffler, its 2 14mm bolts, take a couple extra minutes but gives you WAY more space to work. So to start, a wanted to see if I could get the hitch installed without cutting the bumper fascia like the instructions say and with some extra force I was able to get the holes to line up but it was putting pressure against the bumper cover and slightly flexing it so I gave in and cut it. As for the cut, the instructions come with a template that has kind of a C shape and fans out at the ends (hard to describe) but if you look closely at the inside of the bumper cover you can see an imprint for the cutout an its only the C shape without the extra flare out on the sides. I figured Id just follow the lines on the cover, take less meat off, and if the hitch didnt fit then cut the section off like the template showed. To really see and trace/cut along the inner bumper lines you need to remove the muffler to get up in there. After spending a lot of time cutting, filing, and sanding (I can be a little anal with a new car) I lifted the hitch in and it fit perfectly. The kit includes some shim spacers, 1mm-3mm, for the bolt holes to remove any kind of spacing issues mine required the max, 3mm on all the holes. Im not sure why the template has those extra flare outs, maybe to get better access to the chain hook holes, but you can access them fine as-is so I dont think its necessary unless you just want to cut more bumper off . The hitch looks very clean and inconspicuous it doesnt stick out quite at far as the Curt and the chain hook rings are cleanly tucked under the bumper instead of exposed on the receiver like the Curt. With that said, the Curt is the price and if I hadnt negotiated this in the deal I probably would have bought the Curt. For those that have concerns about the looks of the wire harness connection, its very tucked away and unless you plan to put a monster lift on your CX-5, you wouldnt even notice it. I will say that I was surprised at how heavy it was for a class 2 hitch, I dont remember my Civic or even my Highlander (which is a class 3) being as heavy. All and all, Im very happy with the hitch and glad I got the factory one.

James
 
Thanks for the info. I'm planning to get the dealer hitch as well. Please post some pics when you have a chance.
 
1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg4.jpg@bobby71 - yes, it is a class I not class II
 
Rather than the class I factory hitch that requires bumper cutting, consider the Curt class II. It is completely concealed and is a no drill, bolt-on with 4 bolts. I just installed the class III Draw-Tite which appears to be the same hitch as the Hidden Hitch and the Uhaul based on the instruction sheets.


Here is a link to instructions for installing a Curt class II hitch on a CX5.
http://www.etrailer.com/instructions.aspx?pn=C12080

Get the dealer to throw in a bumper protector and a cargo mat.
 
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I opted for the Curt, which as Lando mentioned, is class II, and there is no need to cut the bumper. It does stick out a bit more than the factory hitch.

Dropping the exhaust was a must.

Did it by myself which took about 30min.

Later,
p
 
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