etrailer Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Matte Black Finish - Class III - 2"

by: Charles04/19/2024

A year after my installation I am quite happy with my etrailer hitch receiver. I was especially pleased with the installation. It is very well built, so that makes it pretty heavy. I wasn't sure I could get it mounted by myself. But by throwing together some supports with some old 2X4's and the car jack, I managed it quite well without putting my vehicle on a lift. Every hole matched perfectly and I know it will be there forever. My primary use is to support a bicycle rack. But if I should need to use a trailer, though, I am confident it will do just fine.1769797

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Very good quality hitch. Fast shipping. Installed in less than one hour by myself, and was installed with no lift. Great instructions!1468253

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Joe

11/14/2023

The hitch has been used heavily for one year and after going through winters salt and sand it still looks brand new. Quality hitch!

I would have given the trailer hitch receiver 5 stars, but for one fact: one of the bolt holes (slots) didn't line up with the threaded holes in my Highlander's body rails (see attached photo). Others have reported this same problem. In my case, it was the forward-most hole on the passenger side. To complete the installation I had to spend more than an hour carefully grinding away with a Dremel, widening the existing hole/slot, so I could attach the final bolt. Aside from that misaligment problem, I'm very happy with the receiver.1752023

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I have a Toyota Highlander platinum hybrid 2024, the hitch fitted perfectly, however I do recommend a 3rd helper, this is not a one man job. It’s very easy to install but very heavy. I really like that the hitch hides. Thank you etrailer

Yes it’s fits a Highlander platinum hybrid in case your wondering like me.1754108

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This is a high quality trailer hitch that utilizes factoring mounting points and is low profile. It is incredible we’ll made, entirely powder coated to prevent rust/corrosion and in total took me less than an hour to install by myself! Just for curiousity I called the dealership to see what they would quote me to install a factory trailer hitch on our vehicle; it was $1600 plus tax! I saved over $1400 by doing this myself and it was one of the easier car projects I’ve ever done. Watch the video they have on [online] if you have any issues, but anyone with basic mechanical skills can complete this job and save you a ton of money. Very impressed with this hitch and this company/product, thank you!1624823

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I found it really easy. Definitely need a second set of hands. The dealership trys to BS you and charge ridiculous amout of money selling you a tow package (V6 XLE highlanders come stock with tow package. All you need is a hitch and cable.1640339

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I only gave this 4 out of 5 stars because my first attempt at mounting it was unsuccessful due to one hitch arm being bent ~3/4" sometime between manufacture and delivery. I reached out to customer service and they noted this is a common problem and had some help documents available outlining ways to straighten it out using items you may have around your home.

I was able to straighten it out and. once straight, was able to mount it in about 20 min. I will say that the instructions have the installer cut off a lot more material off the plastic piece on the driver's side than needed. I took a bit off at a time to be able to maintain all the fastener mounting holes on the plastic cover.1768325

by: Randall 03/30/2024

Toyota Highlander

Trailer hitch was easy to install when vehicle was raised on a hitch providing access to the underside. We only use this to hold a Kuat bicycle rack, so no heavy towing, but it works well and looks very good underneath our 2023 Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV.1756593

Works just as described, but 2020 Highlanders look out of luck with the kick sensor. Turns out Toyota widened the sensor in '21 and up, but it'll need to be relocated if you want to use it in 2020. It wasnt a dealbreaker, and I'm happy with the hitch. I think it looks much better than the OEM hitch by not cutting up the bumper, and risers are available if I'm ever in a situation where the lower position of the receiver becomes an issue.1753517

The tow hitch is well made and sturdy. The description provided by etrailer is not completely accurate. That is, the hands free tail gate function no longer works after the installation. A quality tow hitch is more important but I did buy this particular model in hope that the kick functionality would be maintained.1756627

Trailer hitch has a quality build to it. It took me a DIY about 1.5 hours to install. I recommend removing the spare tire to give a little extra room if working under the vehicle, like I did.1779055

Been an etrailer customer for many years. This hitch unit is well made and heavy duty. It was very easy to install - took less than 1 hour doing it by myself using ramps and a floor jack. The unit fit perfectly to the Toyota body structure. A minor trimming modification was needed to the plastic drivers side underbody panel. Very satisfied with hitch assembly and the easy installation.1199170

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Stephen

11/11/2022

High quality heavy duty product still performing without any negative issues.

Fits perfectly in threaded holes already in frame provided by Toyota. Snugs exactly under bumper and looks great. Easy install I would recommend putting an extra plastic connector to hold passenger side rear cover underneath since the removal of the metal bracket leaves the cover loose. I did this easily. But your directions should recommend it at least as an option and include one plastic connector - not necessary but makes the cover not wiggle. I've included a photo where I put two plastic connectors in, but need only one. This photo I included is the cover on passenger side underneath showing the two extra connectors (you do need to drill the holes) also that is the Hitch bolt nearest the rear.1661408

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Just installed today on a 2024 Highlander. Everything installed smoothly. I am very pleased with the design and overall appearance. I use it primarily to haul my bike to a local bike trail.
Just one item you might consider looking into. The diagram of the plastic box that came with the screws indicating the trimming to fit around the installed hitch looked like a mirror image of the actual box when I held the actual box it in my hand. Where to cut was clear when I looked at the youtube video so no big issues. Anyways and excellent product. I will definitely recommend to others.1725404

The hitch fit perfect and looks good since you only see a small section below the bumper.1298665

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Gary M.

5/17/2023

Still working great. We only use it to hold a bike carrier but still works well and best looking one available. Five stars all the way.

Fits and looks great. I did have to grind one hole about a paper thickness bigger as the bolts didn’t exactly line up. Maybe just a slight bend on the hitch. I tried for hours different ways and finally just ground one hole on the drivers side ever so slightly… fit great. Should have done that first. But very pleased.1634549

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Great hitch, BUT, a couple issues. 1) As another reviewer said, the top bolt opening on the passenger side of the hitch had to be bored out with a dremel. The slot was about 4mm too short (meaning the passenger side bolt was in and the hitch was slid all the way towards the passenger side-the bolt opening is a horizontal slot that look plenty wide, but it’s wide in the opposite direction needed). I still had to expand the opening in order to get it to fit.
2) DO NOT follow the cut out guide provided in the instructions. You will cut out way too much material. Instead, look at one of the other reviewers posts who provided a more accurate/smaller cutout template.

Install took longer bc of the modifications. But other than that, it’s straightforward.1715910

The good: This hitch is solid and fits my 2020 Highlander perfectly. I'm completely pleased with, and recommend, the product.

The delivery and install had some challenges as follows, but nothing that was bad enough to make me regret my purchase.
1) On delivery, the box was shredded. I inspected the product, which is sturdy metal and will be almost completely under the vehicle. It was not damaged in any way so I accepted the delivery. I honestly think the issue was that this heavy and awkward shaped part was simply encased in a large cardboard box that allowed too much movement.
2) The installation video, (which BTW is super helpful) said "torque down bolts as specified". There was no mention of required torque in any of the attached paperwork or website description that I could find. I watched the video for 3 different year models of Highlander and they all were the same on this. 3) the picture included in the instructions for cutting the underbody trim was not accurate for my vehicle at all. Maybe it's a picture for a different year model Highlander? I did a check fit, trimmed a little, fit again, trimmed some more... good in the end.

I loaded up my two heavy ebikes on the rack and drove a few hundred miles this past weekend. Worked great.1716178

Hitch installed easily. Though I do not recommend such, I was able to install by myself, with the help of straps suspending the hitch in place.1609684

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All three things arrived quickly but your packaging process need improvement and could be hazardous to package handlers between here and there. The box used was bulging at both ends and the hitch was not anchored inside the box. This caused it to breakout on one end with a gapping hole and the wiring and tester box could have easily been lost during shipment. Packing could be fixed with a small reinforced cardboard anchor for the hitch receiver to sit in the center of the box and use two heavy duty tie raps to anchor receiver and reinforced cardboard anchor to box center edge. Have not installed hitch yet but did install wiring easily but it doesn’t work and assume the converter is either missing or inoperative. Getting no where with Toyota so far and will probably need etrailer technical assistance. Could not upload packaging pictures by email, but should be able to by text1715605

I was able to install the hitch by myself, using 2 floor jacks and 2 jack stands.
It took a while, but I was very deliberate about the process.
The hitch fit perfectly.
The wiring harness was easy to install as well.
I was very satisfied with my experience1542288

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Hitch went right in, You do however have to remove Exhaust Boot to slip in on top of exhaust. Definitely a 2 person job. Installed in about an hour.1636680

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Hitch arrived two days early. I’m an 80 year old man and was able to install the hitch with the help of a floor jack and two jack stands in less than an hour. Hitch fit Perfect and looks great. Wiring was simple plug and play.1727730

I’m a DIYer. I liked the fact my Toyota Highlander came with pre-drilled and tapped holes in the frame and a connector for a wiring harness. I thought “how easy this is going to be!” (I installed a hitch before on a Subaru and had to drill the holes myself). The video on this website is spot-on! The matte black finish complemented the black bumper. Everything was going well until we tried to raise the hitch and secure it with a couple of screws. The problem was the two forward most holes didn’t line up, I could only get 5 screws completely inserted. I called the etrailer customer service number to confirm I was sent the correct hitch (thank goodness they have saturday hours). The technician suggested the frame may be bowed inward and to try spreading them somehow. I finally decided on using an aluminum pipe I had to wedge in between the ends. I had to remove the spare tire and drop the muffler out of the way to accomplish this. It worked and the rest of the installation went as I had hoped. If I didn’t have the luxury of a garage and some proper tools I may have resorted to sending this hitch back and hoped the next one fit better. What should have been a one hour job turned into four hours. The hitch is exactly what I need, the finish is perfect and the price of it and the wiring harness is unbeatable. The videos are great and they even shipped it the same Saturday I ordered it! The fit on the other hand caused some stress and an excellent 5-star rating.1692181

Received order in timely fashion. Your etrailer website very helpful with pictures and YouTube video. Hitch is on my 2022 Highlander. Looks great. One improvement to your assembly regarding underbody panel. I removed much less material to relieve interference with hitch body. Your video shows too much plastic cut away weakening integrity of body panel.
Regards.
Tom1343794

Thomas

8/1/2023

Hitch is used for securing my kayak to top roof rack. Utility strap kayak rear to hitch. Kayak front is secured with front mounted straps. Secure and works great!