Just bought 2018 CX-5 GT w/premiu pkg - Beware of dealer installed hitch!

tcaron20

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2014 Mazda 6 Touring
After negotiating the purchase I got the dealer to add in the hitch for free. When I got the CX-5 a big gapping unevenly cut hole was cut into the bumper to accommodate the OEM hitch. Found out that even though the online picture on the Mazda site shows the hitch just below the bumper with a small cut out, that the hole is much higher and about 10" wide! Ugly as sin!

Wish I had waited and put an after market in. Dealer offered to replace bumper with a locally painted replacement, which I will not do, or trim the hole. They should have shown me a picture of what it would look like before installing.

Purchasers show be aware that the picture Mazda shows as the hitch install option is not the way it will look when they get the SUV.

Anyone else experience this?

Tom
 
Could you kindly take a photo of what it looks like now that way we can see how badly the dealer had installed this hitch?
 
You are not the first to have this issue. A reasonable person would make a paper templete and tape it to the bumper and carefully use a small saw to trim out the opening. Ed
 
After negotiating the purchase I got the dealer to add in the hitch for free. When I got the CX-5 a big gapping unevenly cut hole was cut into the bumper to accommodate the OEM hitch. Found out that even though the online picture on the Mazda site shows the hitch just below the bumper with a small cut out, that the hole is much higher and about 10" wide! Ugly as sin!

Wish I had waited and put an after market in. Dealer offered to replace bumper with a locally painted replacement, which I will not do, or trim the hole. They should have shown me a picture of what it would look like before installing.

Purchasers show be aware that the picture Mazda shows as the hitch install option is not the way it will look when they get the SUV.

Anyone else experience this?

Tom

Dealer should provide you with a brand new bumper free of charge then take it elsewhere to get the hitch installed
 
This sounds miserable. You should get bumper replaced. Can you share a pic? If they didn’t go into the painted part they can probably just get you a new plastic bumper cover that would cost them $25.
 
This sounds miserable. You should get bumper replaced. Can you share a pic? If they didn’t go into the painted part they can probably just get you a new plastic bumper cover that would cost them $25.

The black plastic and the painted part are all one piece.
 
After negotiating the purchase I got the dealer to add in the hitch for free. When I got the CX-5 a big gapping unevenly cut hole was cut into the bumper to accommodate the OEM hitch. Found out that even though the online picture on the Mazda site shows the hitch just below the bumper with a small cut out, that the hole is much higher and about 10" wide! Ugly as sin!

Wish I had waited and put an after market in. Dealer offered to replace bumper with a locally painted replacement, which I will not do, or trim the hole. They should have shown me a picture of what it would look like before installing.

Purchasers show be aware that the picture Mazda shows as the hitch install option is not the way it will look when they get the SUV.

Anyone else experience this?

Tom
A properly installed Mazda hitch may not look precisely like the one in the accessory brochure, but a 10" wide ragged cut hole is unquestionably a major dealer screw-up. You're going to need a new bumper cover one way or another, so why are you resisting the dealer's offer to replace it with one that's "locally painted"? Do you think you're going to get one that's factory painted? That's not how it's done. The factory replacement cover is all black and the installer has to color match the top portion.
 
If the OP is getting unsatisfactory or unreasonable response from their dealer then they can always escalate it to Mazda HQ
 
Yes. This is how all Mazda' hitches are installed. The dealer messed up and he is willing to fix it. Take the fix. Take it.
 
Why doesn't the OP want the dealer to replace the bumper? Because it is locally painted? There is no other way to get it. Mazda ships parts, not painted parts.

The locally painted bumper should be as good or better. They will paint the bumper off the car and install it - just like at the factory.

The dealer has offered the best option possible.
 
DrawTite is $180 and a Class 3 hitch. Takes about 2 hours to install, no cutting and stronger than a Class 2 hitch like Mazda's. Having a stronger hitch is better and won't hurt anything by having it.

Dealerships NEVER have their good mechanics install things like hitches. They leave it to the low tech tire busters. The master mechanics are used for more complex repairs so they don't give them these types of install jobs.

So you are always better off doing it yourself or taking the risk it will get hacked up, like it did.
 
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When your negotiation backfires... sounds like the bumper offer is the proper fix.. I am curious to see how badly they butchered it though. There is a cutting template they are supposed to use.

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I use a curt hitch that sits flush with the bottom.. no cutting.
 
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Why doesn't the OP want the dealer to replace the bumper? Because it is locally painted? There is no other way to get it. Mazda ships parts, not painted parts.

The locally painted bumper should be as good or better. They will paint the bumper off the car and install it - just like at the factory.

The dealer has offered the best option possible.
Like OP, I'd try to keep factory paint as much as I could. My experience of "locally painted" from several hail damages were always bad after longer period as I keep my vehicles as long as I could. I did 2 PDRs with higher cost on my CX-5 from 2 hail damages, although insurance was only willing to pay new sheet panels (hood and roof) and repainting. But I understand for OP there's no other way to get the ugly cut fixed unless he's willing to live with it.

Not to mention different paint material from Japan, if you'd been in an automobile assembly line watching how the vehicle got dipped and painted in a dust-free environment, you'll never say a "locally painted" job would be as good or better than "factory painted" job! ;)
 
Thanks for the responses. Dealer has been more than cooperative. The new bumper option just bothers me. They made it clear that the locally painted bumper may not be a perfect match. The frustrating part is that the Mazda accessories picture shows an under the bumper installation. I have installed a lot of hitches in the past myself but they threw it in as part of sale. The option I may choose it to have them install the Stainless Garnish part, which would cover the overdone hole. Part: KB8W-V3-300.
The dealer is open to whatever I want to fix the issue. If the dealer had shown me what the install would have looked like I would not have had them do it. The template they use is way too big for the hitch. The template they use is the one used for the Garnish installation, which has a hitch and non-hitch version.
So here it is:
Again, dealer is mortified and wants to fix to my satisfaction. Yes, I should have installed a Curt myself, I know! Lesson learned.
 

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H o l y s***!!!

You accepted your brand new CX-5 in that condition? I would have hit the ceiling after seeing that mess and I would have been VERY tempted to walk away from a dealer who would do work like this.

It appears as if they added the electrical connection as well? I'd inspect the work done for that VERY closely.

What's the name of the dealership?
 
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So here it is:
Again, dealer is mortified and wants to fix to my satisfaction. Yes, I should have installed a Curt myself, I know! Lesson learned.

Damn that is horrid it’s like someone’s first time using a jig saw. I’d just get the locally painted bumper and move on. Also there going to have to cut it again so I’d take it off. Get your money back and get a hitch that doesn’t require drilling.
 
Wow, that is more than just a sloppy job, that’s a FUBAR.

Whoever did that must have just gotten back from their weed break. The fact the dealership tried to push it off on to you makes me wonder.

I hope it gets fully resolved to your satisfaction.
 
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