I was thinking about having a hitch installed on my MDX (Canadian 09 Elite). For right now I am just thinking about occasionally hauling power tools (e.g. table saw) which would be too big or heavy to put inside, but at some point I *might* use it to do something like tow a small boat or the like.

I called my dealer and they quoted me $1200 (Canadian) installed. Is this a reasonable price ? I thought the parts themselves only cost about $250. Is there a compelling reason to have Acura do it ? Would having another company do it affect my warranty ?

I'm located in Toronto, Canada.

thanks !

 

I was thinking to go non-oem, but when I saw you could have problems removing the spare tire, then I was convinced to only go with the OEM setup. My MDX is the US Advance model. I needed to get the bumper, hitch, and wiring harness.

Prices:
Bumper: $87
Hitch: $290
Wiring harness: $147

I got all my parts from http://www.dealerdirectparts.com/. They offer free shipping which is the best part. It cost me $165 to get it installed at Acura. The upgrade is worth every penny. I have used it to haul junk to the junk yard and it works great! Call your Canadian dealer and get the parts numbers for all the parts you need.

 

Remember, you'll also need the upgraded tranny and power steering oil coolers.

 

I put the Valley Hitch from eTrailer.com on my 2007. I believe this hitch also fits the 09 model. It took about an hour to put on taking my time with the car on the ground. There is a video on the site that walks through the steps.

I'm pretty sure that the 07 models and newer all come with the transmission cooler installed standard - at least in the US.

The eTrailer.com Hitch and Wiring harness were under $200 delivered and did not take long at all to install. It fits fine just under the original bumper.

Just another option if cost is a factor.

 

I got the Valley hitch with the wiring harness off e-bay for like $170 (or $190) delivered in Canada (shipped from Canada too, so no duty).
Took me an hour or so to install on my 2009 MDX.
Note that you can take out your spare tire but seems the full size tire won't fit with the hitch installed (so will have to put your flat full size tier in the cargo).

The tranny comes with the cooler in the new generation (read the manual) so no modification is needed there.

 

I got mine from Lodrco for 170 taxes in , and the wiring harness was
available at etrailer.com

 

I just wrapped up installing a hitch on my '09 MDX. I installed a Hidden Hitch and the wiring harness. The whole thing took about an hour. I paid a few buck more and was able to get a model that would accommodate a full size spare. Put everything back together and the full size spare does in fact fit well. The Hidden Hitch looks good and does not stick out much beyond the bumper.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. We called a hitch installation place and they quoted me $450 to get a Hidden hitch installed, but this would not include any cooler packages and they told me all this really included was upgraded transmission fluids. Could that be true ?

A few more questions:

1. Would installing a non-OEM hitch invalidate any part of my warranty ?
2. A few posts indicate that the 09 MDX already has the transmission cooler package, but didn't mention the power steering cooler. Is there a way to check what is already installed ? Do I need the cooler package for any (ie light) towing, or is that really only needed for heavier payloads ?
3. Would the $1200 that Acura is charging me include the cooler package(s) that may (or may not) need to be installer ?
4. Can any Hidden hitch owners comment on whether this affects access to the spare ?

thanks again everyone.

edit: oops, I see sabooba indicates that the Hidden hitch does accommodate the spare.

 

I posted in another forum and put some photos of my Hidden Hitch.


/forums/f8/mdx-hitch-89653/


There are two types, one is for a "doughnut" spare tire and another model is for a full size spare. I installed the full size spare hitch. I do believe that "07 and above models of MDX are equipped with tranny coolers.

 

I posted in another forum and put some photos of my Hidden Hitch.


/forums/f8/mdx-hitch-89653/


There are two types, one is for a "doughnut" spare tire and another model is for a full size spare. I installed the full size spare hitch. I do believe that "07 and above models of MDX are equipped with tranny coolers.

 

I guess I am not allowed to post URLs. The forum I posed hitch photos in was dot com.

 

[IMG]/forums/f8/mdx-hitch-89653/[/IMG]

I really have no ability to even edit my posts. Kinda lame. Maybe this will give you an idea of what the Hidden Hitch looks like installed.

 

Called some Acura dealers and got two different stories depending on the dealer I talked to.

One dealer told me that I definitely need to have Acura install it as they needed to install coolers, etc, and that an aftermarket hitch would definitely invalidate my warranty.

Two others told me exactly the opposite, that installing an aftermarket hitch would not invalidate my warranty as long as I did not exceed my car's rated towing capacity, and that the 09 MDX has all needed equipment to tow already.

I'm inclined to believe the latter two guys - my trust level for dealers who want to do more work rather than less is not too high - but my wife is leery that they might be wrong. Argh.

 

My 2 cents is that $1200 CDN is a major rip off.

I've never heard of "power steering coolers". Think about it: WTF does a trailer do to increase your steering effort? Do you physically find the steering wheel hard to hold? The effect is trivial.

Trailers affect: Braking, suspension, engine wear and transmission. But your MDX is already rated to tow +5000lbs, isn't it? That's one of the selling features as MDX compares to other car-based SUVs. For light towing, you don't need any improvements other than the hitch and the lights. For serious towing (say a boat for long distances, or mountainous areas) you would need the tranny to be cooled. For heavy-duty towing (say big campers with weight distributing hitches), consider a bigger truck!

I've lived in southern Ontario. Your towing is basically flat. When I was a kid there, we towed heavy boats around there with 140HP Chrysler K cars, with little problem. Now I live in California, and towing is VERY different when mountains are involved. And it sounds like your towing needs are light-weight. You could pull a small boat up to freaking Kapuskasing non stop without your MDX making a hiccup. Relax, go the cheaper route, save some money, but learn how to drive carefully with trailers. Your MDX will be just fine, but people may make fun of you when you try to back up straight at the boat ramp :-)

 

It is definitely a MAJOR rip-off.

 

sabooba - I couldn't figure out what the URL was supposed to be. Could you split it out for me, or PM me ?

I went to etrailer.com and found there were indeed two hidden hitch models, but BOTH indicated that they would not work with full size spares - in fact, all the 09 MDX hitches (Curt, HH, Valley, etc) listed on etrailer say they "will not fit on vehicles with a full size spare tire.".

If you happen to know a part # for the hitch you installed, I'd be very grateful.

Also, the local dealer was sourcing a "Valley" hitch which she said was just as good as an HH, but a little easier to get. Any comments on differences between the two ?

 

2007 and newer have transmission coolers and oversized radiators with dual fans, that's all you need. I just ordered an OEM factory hitch from dealersdirectparts (free shipping) $300, wiring harness kit $147, bumper trim $89 (allows hitch to hide more and look custom) and paid a local shop $100 to install. Works perfect.., and every now and then in the summer time I tow a tent trailer (2,900#)5x/yr) and also installed an electronic brake controller, again works perfect with all the factory set up. Bottom line is I called several dealerships, and its one price no matter what, if you need a cooler or not...they don't want your business as they charge way too much. In fact not one could even tell me what brake conroller to buy and really had no idea....lets just say towing is not their fortay. You can go factory or aftermarket, but I kept hearing about the spare tire issue and just wanted to make sure everything worked out ok, but don't go through the dealer,,,hope that helps.

 

I have been asked to give a bit more information about the hitch I installed on my '09 MDX. I ordered the hitch from hitchesonline.com and the part number is HH87429s. The hitch price was $145.95. The hitch does in fact fit my full size spare and was easy to install. When viewing the page, be carefull to read the discription of each hitch because there is a model that will not fit the full size spare.