2007 Trailer Hitch and Wiring Harness

[Pablo]

I've been looking for this for an alternative hitch for a long time. Would you mind posting more picts?

[2007X5man]

I installed the hitch and wiring harness myself. Local BMW dealer did the reprogramming of the ECU. I did not believe them when they told me this needed to be done but it does. Here is the link to Etrailer for the hitch. It says it requires cutting but it doesn,t. Hitch comes out right under the rear bumper facia. Looks very clean. http://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2007_BMW_X5.htm

[Mabuhay]

Originally Posted by 2007X5man

Local BMW dealer did the reprogramming of the ECU. I did not believe them when they told me this needed to be done but it does.

You didn't say "why"...

[2007X5man]

Here are the answers to the additional questions above.

Once your x5 detects the wiring harness it will start showing fault messages when started.

As stated in my earlier post, I purchased the wiring harness from BMW. After talking with numerous people including trailer hitch professionals and the technical people at Etrailer. I decided it was best to play it safe and get the BMW wiring harness rather than have someone hack into my wiring. There is not much good information out there on the new X5 regarding adding an aftermarket wiring harness and I was not able to find one when I did mine. Although the BMW wiring harness is expensive, I think it was $230 from the dealer, it is well made and is a custom fit with high quality grommets that fit through the body of the car and have all the necessary electronics to make it work properly. Seemed like a safe bet.

My objective was not to get the lowest cost install possible it was to get a good clean install and save a few bucks in the process. Also having done a lot of wrenching on performance cars in the past there is a part of me that likes to tinker with mechanical stuff.

[cmee330]

Well hello everyone I am new to this forum but man have I seen some comments on the lack of quality towing systems at a respectable price for our Bimmers. Well I have a 2006 X5 4.8 and my wife's has a 2007 M sport X3. I race bicycles and am now getting into track days with my Yamaha R1. I needed tow systems to tow my trailer and carry my bikes.

Every after market hitch had a hugh 2" square coming out my Bimmers rear not to mention that the wiring was not the most confident product to attach to the very complicated electronic system. And we all know how the OEM products are over priced and labor is outragous(4 hour install my a--). Well I was referred to a company that provided both my vehicles with OEM quality for nearly half the cost and this tow system came COMPLETE no ala cart or the need to purchase other items to complete the tow system.

Speaking of COMPLETE if you have a X5 with third row seating then you have no spare wheel. Well this company has a spare wheel carrier that works with the hitch system. Has anyone seen this product in the market place for the new E70 with third row seating?

What is really enjoyable and unique about my new hitch is that when I am not using it you cannot even tell or rather can't SEE I have a hitch at all!!!NO SQUARE TUBE AT THE REAR

So if anyone is looking for a great tow solution checkout this site phantomhitchesdotcom you will be impressed with this hitch.

[JCL]

Why are you posting the same spam in every towing thread?

[Quicksilver]

Because on that site there's this byline.

Affiliate Program
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So that means he's pitching the product?

Originally Posted by JCL

Why are you posting the same spam in every towing thread?

[Mabuhay]

2007x5man, thanks for this heads up... Looking at the hitch from etrailer.com, it seems like it bolts on to the same location as the OEM trailer. Aside from this one being "lower" (i.e. - about 1 foot from the ground), are there any other differences to the OEM? Although they seem to have the same 6000 lbs rating, I would think that since this is "lower" than the OEM, it would create more of a twisting force to the mounting locations than the OEM. But hey, it may not be that relevant.

Cost wise, it looks like:
Curt Receiver Class III Receiver Hitch #13077 $185
Circuit Protected Modulite 4 Pole Harness with Hardwire Kit (Includes Testers) #118176KIT $65
Ballmount 3/4" Rise or 2" Drop, 6,000 lbs. #2923 $19
TOTAL = $269

Are these the parts that you purchased?

Lastly, the instructions do state that the bumper still needs trimming "With hitch on vehicle, mark bumper fascia and trim until fascia fits back onto vehicle without interfering with hitch."

How much trimming?
Why does the dealer need to "reprogram" the ECU?

THANKS SO MUCH for calling this to our attention... The OEM hitch just looks quite ugly in comparison...

[Mabuhay]

Originally Posted by M3Armand

2007x5man, thanks for this heads up... Looking at the hitch from etrailer.com, it seems like it bolts on to the same location as the OEM trailer. Aside from this one being "lower" (i.e. - about 1 foot from the ground), are there any other differences to the OEM? Although they seem to have the same 6000 lbs rating, I would think that since this is "lower" than the OEM, it would create more of a twisting force to the mounting locations than the OEM. But hey, it may not be that relevant.

Cost wise, it looks like:
Curt Receiver Class III Receiver Hitch #13077 $185
Circuit Protected Modulite 4 Pole Harness with Hardwire Kit (Includes Testers) #118176KIT $65
Ballmount 3/4" Rise or 2" Drop, 6,000 lbs. #2923 $19
TOTAL = $269

Are these the parts that you purchased?

Lastly, the instructions do state that the bumper still needs trimming "With hitch on vehicle, mark bumper fascia and trim until fascia fits back onto vehicle without interfering with hitch."

How much trimming?
Why does the dealer need to "reprogram" the ECU?

THANKS SO MUCH for calling this to our attention... The OEM hitch just looks quite ugly in comparison...

Looking at the Curt Hitch, there are 2 main differences:
1) The obvious one...The Curt Hitch looks much better than the BMW OEM since you don't have to cut the bumper.
2) The not-so-obvious one is that the Curt Hitch ELIMINATES your ability to attach the "tow hooks" on each side of the bumper. I.e. - there is no threaded tube for the tow hooks to hook into!

I didn't like #2 and ended up getting the BMW OEM. I am just about done installing it.

[Mabuhay]

2007x5man, this is perfect! Thanks very much for your input. When I showed my wife of what the hitch would look like, she was pretty disgusted. When I showed her your pic, she says "Now, that's more like it!" I am exactly the same way in that I also want to do some mechanical stuff. I figured that if I can install a supercharger in my M3, that I should be able to install a hitch on my wife's X5!!!

So last question is... how did you mount the connector plug? The BMW instructions have it being mounted to the frame of the hitch. There's no such mounting point on the Curt trailer.