I took my hitch off this morning so that it won't continue to corrode and rust, seeing as how I likely won't need it but perhaps once or twice in the next 5 to 10 years. It also weighs approximately 50lbs or so, so that's 50lbs less the car has to lug around. It also affects the factory design impact absorption and crush design in a rear end accident, and not in a good way. A rear end impact will go straight to the frame rails with a hitch on. This fact is supported by the owners manual which states to remove when not in use to prevent damage to the hitch in the event of a rear end accident.
So here we go.
1) Remove advanced keyless entry sensor bar from center bottom of hitch, and snip the zip-tie currently in place. (GT models only)
2) Pull the flat plug connector down off the hitch, now you will have the sensor bar (GT only) and the flat plug hanging free.
3) Using a Phillips head screwdriver, unscrew both right and left bumper straps. Then turn them backwards so the hitch can drop out.
4) Unbolt the hitch. I just used the wrench in the picture, and did not need a torque wrench, they were not crazy tight like I thought they would be.
I used a floor jack to support the hitch so that it didn't fall out and damage a bunch of stuff i.e. heat shields. You could also use another person to hold one end of the hitch while you unbolt the other side.
Hitch is out.
I initially thought it was rust free, but it has a very small amount of rust. Not bad for 08' 40k miles. I plan on scraping all the black paint off in any area with any rust, sanding it down, and re-spraying black to keep it like new. (Its pretty newish still).
I initially thought I would put the hitch bolts back in the frame rails to prevent exhaust from entering the cabin, but it is evident that the end of the frame rails are open/exposed, and there are other holes present already as well. It also appears that these hitch holes are factory drilled and threaded, so likely these holes are on all the CX-9's, so I'm just gonna keep the hitch bolts on the shelf so they don't rust.
5) Install the sensorbar onto the alternate mounting location on the bottom of the rear body panel, onto the factory welded studs, re-using the nuts that were holding the sensor bar onto the hitch. Set aside the bolts that were initially used to hold the sensor bar onto the hitch, put them on the shelf with the hitch bolts. Use a zip-tie to secure the loose sensor bar harness to the hole in the rear body panel.
6) Zip-tie the flat plug to the sensor bar harness.
That's it. Not the most attractive hole opening, I'm trying to think of something I could use, like a square plastic cover over this area or something that would make it more visually appealing.
The hitch bolts are in really good shape, no rust. They will be perfectly ok to re-use in the future.
So here we go.
1) Remove advanced keyless entry sensor bar from center bottom of hitch, and snip the zip-tie currently in place. (GT models only)
2) Pull the flat plug connector down off the hitch, now you will have the sensor bar (GT only) and the flat plug hanging free.
3) Using a Phillips head screwdriver, unscrew both right and left bumper straps. Then turn them backwards so the hitch can drop out.
4) Unbolt the hitch. I just used the wrench in the picture, and did not need a torque wrench, they were not crazy tight like I thought they would be.
I used a floor jack to support the hitch so that it didn't fall out and damage a bunch of stuff i.e. heat shields. You could also use another person to hold one end of the hitch while you unbolt the other side.
Hitch is out.
I initially thought it was rust free, but it has a very small amount of rust. Not bad for 08' 40k miles. I plan on scraping all the black paint off in any area with any rust, sanding it down, and re-spraying black to keep it like new. (Its pretty newish still).
I initially thought I would put the hitch bolts back in the frame rails to prevent exhaust from entering the cabin, but it is evident that the end of the frame rails are open/exposed, and there are other holes present already as well. It also appears that these hitch holes are factory drilled and threaded, so likely these holes are on all the CX-9's, so I'm just gonna keep the hitch bolts on the shelf so they don't rust.
5) Install the sensorbar onto the alternate mounting location on the bottom of the rear body panel, onto the factory welded studs, re-using the nuts that were holding the sensor bar onto the hitch. Set aside the bolts that were initially used to hold the sensor bar onto the hitch, put them on the shelf with the hitch bolts. Use a zip-tie to secure the loose sensor bar harness to the hole in the rear body panel.
6) Zip-tie the flat plug to the sensor bar harness.
That's it. Not the most attractive hole opening, I'm trying to think of something I could use, like a square plastic cover over this area or something that would make it more visually appealing.
The hitch bolts are in really good shape, no rust. They will be perfectly ok to re-use in the future.
