Installed Trailer Hitch
Today I installed a Curt C13397 hitch on my 2026 Honda CRV hybrid.
I am hereby announcing my retirement from installing trailer hitches. I’ve installed about four of them over the years on various cars. This was the most difficult by far.
I would highly recommend taking it somewhere and paying to have it installed. I will say that the Curt hitch is pretty well designed. And the fish wires that they send along with it are key. You have to feed carriage bolts and a back up plate through small holes in the frame member to attach the hitch to. Without the fish wires it would’ve been much much harder.
You need to drop the exhaust system down a bit to get to the area where the hitch attaches to the frame member. At least on the hybrid you only have one muffler to deal with, which is nice. I really struggled with removing the exhaust mount isolators. It was much harder than I thought it would be. On the front one there really isn’t anything to pry against to push it out.
I was lucky that my wife was home and was able to help me maneuver the hitch into place to bolt it in. You really have to work to get it up behind the bumper cover and in place. And maneuver it right to left to get it over the muffler.
If you do decide to install it yourself, make careful note of how the splash guard mounts relative to the bumper cover. Have some WD-40 or soapy water to lube up the exhaust mount isolators. Cut the opening in the number facia a bit wide to give yourself some margin, it’s hidden underneath. It took me about four hours to start to finish. If anyone has done it themselves in l less time, I congratulate you.
Here’s a link to the video I used as guidance for the install: https://youtu.be/jdSKNGaBOzs?is=IGY8EqlZ3NmJhknn