TOW_HITCH

This is a well-made and heavy duty hitch. A few observations and tips to share. Hitch can be installed by one person. I used two 5 gallon buckets and a few 6 inch pieces of 2x8s to support the hitch. Most important tip - dry fit the bolts in all six holes, use a wire brush and air to clean the holes, use a light oil for lubrication, even retap lightly if necessary, but please first fit the bolts and make sure they can be started by hand and will bottom out. This will make their final install much easier. Once you have positioned the hitch, start the bolt that is closest to the front of the vehicle. Then repeat for the second and then for the bolt closest to the rear. This is bit hard to do when working alone and lying on the ground, but be patient and it will work even though you might need a few attempts at starting the bolts. You will need to lower the spare tire a bit to fully seat the final two bolts on the hitch. Unfortunately, a full size tire (about 29.5 inches in height for P245/50/R20 on Pilot Sport) will not fit in the space where the donut spare is installed. We need atleast 3 more inches clearance...c'mon "Honda-Of-America"??? So I plan to use a hitch-installed spare-tire carrier on a split hitch-extender whenever I tow a small utility trailer. Or will just place the full-size spare in a enclosed trailer if that's what I am towing. Either way it's an added inconvenience for me. Often my Retriever is lounging in the trunk area whenever I tow so placing the tire in the trunk is not always an available option. Anyway, my apologies as I have digressed/ranted/etc. Tightening the bolts to 139 Ft-Lb is not easy to do lying down. I had to use a 24 inch breaker bar to tighten the bolts first. You will have to lower the spare wheel again to tighten the one bolt that is above the exhaust pipe. Amazon did a good job on delivery, just a very small paint chip in one area. The packaging from Curt is not the best for an individual home delivery. The hitch is heavy and will likely tear through the package during handling. After reading reviews at other online retailers, I chose to get this from Amazon over others simply because (in my area) I felt their drivers would handle it more carefully than the two other prominent carriers. If you can find grade J12.9 M22 shoulder bolts use them, they will be higher rated. I plan to spray paint the bolt heads when I am done to protect them from rust. If you really enjoy DIY, or want to save some $$$ over an OEM hitch and installation, this is a fun project that can be done in 30 to 90 minutes, and it will be easier to do if you get a second person to give you a hand. Best wishes for your install and safe towing.

Good product, fits well without any issues. Looks very good too. Save yourself a headache, buy M14-1.5 taps to clean the threads. This part took the longest, but prepping and cleaning threads made the install very easy. Buy the tap!!!! It’s a must unless you want jammed or broken bolts. My pilot, 2021, has the kick sensor. Have to see if I can relocate it - i can live without it. Suggestion, see if you can relocate it before installing the hitch if you care to use it.

Perfect fit

This bolted right on to the predrilled/threaded holes on the frame of my Acura MDX 2020. I't a nice hitch and fits well.

This hitch is made of heavy duty steel and the finish appears to be good quality. It was a perfect fit for a 2016 Honda Pilot, curving around the spare tire and remaining mostly hidden behind the bumper. The holes in the hitch aligned perfectly with the factory bolt holes on the frame of the vehicle. Installation hardware (6 bolts and 6 washers) is included. Before you start the install, make sure to clean up the bolt holes on the vehicle so you don't find yourself holding the hitch trying to thread bolts into holes that they won't go into. For cleaning, you can first try a wire brush like for copper pipes but I had to use a thread chaser (size: M14x1.5). Once the vehicle is prepped, it is quite easy to install - it doesn't take long to thread and torque 6 bolts. As others have mentioned, it takes a fairly strong individual to torque the bolts to spec while lying under the vehicle, so it wouldn't hurt to enlist a 2nd person to help if you're in doubt. If you like cheap added security and aren't expecting to remove the hitch soon, consider putting some thread locker on the bolts. Overall, I would highly recommend this product.