Chewbach

Yes, definitely level. Here's another pic from the side...

mmhouse

That looks great as well. I wonder why Derek had a problem with the angle?

Thanks for posting that. It makes me much more confident of the results I can expect. I'll be installing mine in the next few days.

billyt1963

The Yakima rack I have has 3 "holding" points for the bikes so they don't swing back and forth. If you don't want anything touching the frame of your bike you can always get a rack like wbt3 has a link to in his reply. There are less elaborate models.

scheißterhöffer

I installed the Curt hitch this afternoon and would like to add to Chewbach's tips:

Use some kind of lubricant on the exhaust hangers. I know it tells you to do this, but I wasted 20 minutes trying to pry those things off without it because I didn't know where it was in the house. Finally gave up, spent 5 minutes finding it, gave them a quick schpritz, and they pulled right off.

Be VERY careful cutting and working around the heat shields. They are quite sharp and jagged and could seriously mess up your hands and arms if they snag you.

I had alot of trouble getting the hitch attached. It was very awkward doing it by myself, a couple extra hands would have been nice. I was trying to be very careful with the hitch ends because I didn't want to jerk the thing and knock the bolts back up into the rail. So I wanted to have 2 hands free to install the first end. What I ended up doing is, I was on my back (back wheels were up on ramps), I pulled my knees up into my chest and used my legs to push the hitch up against the bottom of the car, so I had both hands free to line up the bolt and get that screwed on. I would recommend this method; I had tried to strap the hitch to the car to hold it up but couldn't get that to work.

Take particular care, especially on the second outer bolt, to be sure that the square neck under the bolt head is dropped into the square opening in the metal bracket you fed into the frame tube. I felt like I was having to kind of twist stuff to get the bolt through the hole, and I suspect that in this process you could jar the bolt up a bit, and it may not seat back into the square opening because of some awkward torque on it that would prevent it from moving completely freely.

You'll need deep well sockets to get these nuts fully on. At least for the outer 11/16" ones you will. The inner ones felt like the regular sockets were starting to be too shallow, but I suspect they would have worked had I not had deeper ones.

scheißterhöffer

Chewbach, it looks like you've got some sort of rubber plug in the receiver hitch opening. Did that come with yours? I don't recall seeing that.

Thanks.

Chewbach

I bought a Curt Hitch Plug from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Curt-Manufactu...6920756&sr=8-3

Simba91102

Just some added tips that could make life easier down the road. Buy stainless steel fasteners (bolts, flat washers, lock washers, and nuts). Yes, the same size carriage bolts are available in SS (I'm thinking 7/16's, but it's been awhile). You'll most likely have to look on line (I did), but they're out there. Also, be sure to coat everything with never-seez. This is of course in aid of removing the hitch when it's time to dispose of the car. You may get lucky and attract a buyer that would actually want the hitch, but think about it........ I doubt there are too many of those (and for many it could be a deal breaker for a couple of reasons). And....I'm pretty confident that a dealer would charge you a not small amount to remove it if you were to trade it in.

mmhouse

Has anyone come up with a wiring kit for lights yet? Curt doesn't have one and won't reply to my requests about when they might. I need to tow a small trailer for landscaping supplies.

Cajun

I installed mine a few weeks ago, very easy.

For those with questions, no you do not have to trim the plastic cover under the spare tire hump. In fact you dson't even need to waste time removing it.

You do need to trim the heat shields to gain access to where the hitch bolts to the frame. Sheet metal shears would be easy to do this. I only had a dremel and it got the job done quick.

Besides that, the install was clean and straight forward.

nightbs

I'm having my hitch installed on Friday. We have a Thule Roadway 4 to go with it. In the fine print for the bike rack it says that the maximum capacity for class 1 hitches is 2 bikes. Is that accurate? I need to be able to carry 4 bikes.

Cajun

Depends on the weight of the bikes. I've put 3 road bikes on ours without an issue. I'd say as long as you're under 120 lbs (30 lbs each) you'll be fine

nightbs

That's what I'm hoping. If I can get the kids bikes on the rack we should still be at or below 120. Thanks for the input!

mrsoul55

Does modifying the heat shield to install the hitch void any warranty? We have a 2012 wagon and need a hitch for our bikes but when I read the heat shields need modifying I got a bit worried.

ceb

Any modification can cause issues and heat shields are no exception. The purpose of heat shields is to keep flammable stuff (like grass) from coming in contract with hot bits (exhaust for example) or to separate hot things from other bits on the car (brake lines or wiring for example) that might be impacted.

So, you need to figure out the specific reason for that particular shield and the area you need to remove. Will adding the hitch cover up any gap left by the trimmed shield for example or do you need to trim the shield only so that you can attach the hitch and the exhaust is then exposed.

I always ask myself "why did the manufacturer put that there" fully realizing that the manufacturer has a reason for the way absolutely everything is on the car - down to the last screw. Once I know why they did it that way, I can decide if removing or modifying that part will cause issues.

adam prat

I got the curt hitch as well. It works great for the yakima rack we have.
Now I need to figure where in the NYC area I can find somebody who knows what they are doing to install a wiring harness so I can tow a very small trailer less than 1000 lb total loaded weight.
1)ANYbody have a place that has done this for them in NYC area?
2)What wiring harness has worked.
etrailer.com and the others I have found indicate that I will have to have one cable go all the way up to the battery, and then splice into the wires in the rear brakes. Sounds like a future electrical nightmare somehow...

mmhouse

I ended up installing the wiring kit myself - the hitch shop I've used before said they couldn't do it.

I searched high and low and could not find a plug and play kit for this car. I'm guessing it's because the car has different than usual connectors because of its European heritage (based on the European Honda Accord wagon).

I used the following two items from amazon...



I also used some flexible plastic wire loom to protect the wire that runs from the back to the battery.

Yes, this kit pulls the power straight off the battery and just picks up the signal from the taillight bulbs/wires. The computers in these newer vehicles do not like sensing and the wires are not sized to handle added loads.

I did not use the ScotchLok connectors to tap into the wires - they scare me. I used small pin probe-type connectors that push into the back of the light sockets , zip tied them to the factory wires for stability and then used liquid electrical tape to seal where the pins are pushed in. It's not a perfect method but in the worst case (which I don't expect) the wires would remain fully in-tact and the sockets could be replaced.

I did finally find a guy that would install the system but not only was it very expensive but I also didn't want him cutting into my wiring.

So it can be done and it has worked fine for me for about six months now. I pull a small trailer with landscape supplies a couple of times a month.

mgutt

Hi,

I'm driving the Honda Accord Tourer and it looks very similar to your TSX Sport Wagon:
https://www.maxrev.de/29062011249-medium-bild-408981.htm

Here I found some images of the Curtis Trailer Hitch:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14961299&postcount=3

In Germany we are having only ugly ones where you need to damage the whole rear spoiler and this one looks much better.

Now my questions:
1.) Do I need to cut something out of the spoiler or "diffuser cover"?

2.) Is there a trailer hitch available that is completely hidden if not needed? Images?

tecono1

i know that this thread is quite old, but i just picked up a 2012 TSX wagon and was planning to install a hitch for bikes as well. It looks like Derek had posted pictures 3.5 years ago, but they're dead links.

Does anyone here have recent pics? Does the receiver stick out absurdly far like the hitch for the sedan did?

Thanks!

BikingDerek

Here are a couple links to the photos:

http://1drv.ms/1Cap4XB

http://1drv.ms/172xeXB

tecono1

Excellent! It looks pretty great. Receiver is about 1-2" in from the edge of the bumper? How's the clearance on your rack compared to the door? does your rack tilt?

ntrainer

I realize this thread is old, but it's the most comprehensive discussion of a hitch on the Acura TSX Sport Wagon! Is anybody out there using a hitch (it looks like it would have to be the Curt C11085) in order to transport FOUR (4) bikes on the Sport Wagon? There's so much conflicting information out there... some places say that a Class 1 hitch can't handle more than 2 bikes, and yet I'm finding a number of sites (Saris, Yakima) that have 4-bike racks which are listed as compatible with Class 1, 1.25" hitches -- which is the only one you can install on a Sport Wagon. Help!

mmhouse

I use the Curt hitch you mention on my 2011 TSX Sport Wagon with a 1up USA 2-bike carrier. According to the 1up-usa.com site their 1-1/4" carrier will only go up to 3 bikes and you would need one of the 2" models to accommodate 4 bikes. Although I'm not an expert on the subject, I'd guess that it would be the bike carrier that would determine whether or not 4 bikes would work. I can't imagine the hitch not being able to carry that amount of weight....but then again I'm just guessing.

Sheefo2k

Did someone say hitch?
Piecing my setup together, 2 in ball but with no wiring yet.

bayareatifosi

I have put hitches on several cars over the years - and the TSX wagon attached hitch seems to be the least structural - I would be hesitant to put a big rack with 4 bikes on it for fear of the tow hook area giving way. The way the hitches attach is just a little suspect with the U bolt.

On the other hand, if you have a nice light rack, and light road bikes, then I think 4 bikes would be fine. Four big enduro, or downhill mountain bikes, and a heavy rack like the Thule T2 and I would be a bit worried...

Sheefo2k

The owner's manual says 1000lb towing capacity and approx 10% of the total trailer weight is tongue load. I still think it will be fine to tow a small light weight trailer or even a jetski.

cgubbztl

just recently purchased to ebike rad power bikes. so far i only found this rack will work for them , but it states i need a 2"in hitch to be exact.
https://www.radpowerbikes.com/produc...nt=22643949505

any help on hot to ge this ste up ( hitch ) or am i better off purchasing a roof bike rack ? any help guys ?