OEM trailer hitch
 

Called My local dealer while on my way to work today to ask if they have the hitch in stock and to my amaze.... they had one!! Right after the phone call, I exited the freeway and made a detour to the dealership.....by the time it was all said and done..I was already 2hours late for work. Got chewed by my boss but i didnt care as I was looking for this hitch for almost a year now :)

Are they back in stock now?

Awesome. I did the same when I found one. Hopped in the car and drove for 2h to get it. I'd suggest getting it powder coated before you install it. I didn't but I'm sure I'm going to regret it. There are a few great links for install and tips. Nice score.

Wow. Now I'm gonna have to check. Did you buy just the hitch or the wiring kit too? I have a hitch, but the PO must have removed the wiring.

I haven't opened the box so not sure if it' there. I'll check and will revert

I agree with the powder coating. They rust quickly, the paint on them is not very good. Mine looks like a rusty tumor sticking out of the bumper.

Congrats!

Mine came from a Florida junk yard. Was rusty. Had it powdercoated, looks great!

sweet deal! mine came from a wrecker, i sandblasted it and powdercoated it, looks good as new! i find i have to respray the inside of the receiver every few months, as the hitch i have seems to chew all the powdercoat off the inside of the receiver hitch! did they install a factory hitch (one that requires removal of the backing plates and support bar between the two bumper dampers?) or an aftermarket one that "fits" the X5? was the wiring included as well as the module?

How do you know if you have an oem one or not? The 4.8is I just bought came with a hitch and was just curious if it is the real deal.

Mikes123, look at the OEM installation .pdf on the first page of the long thread on installing the OEM kit to sure. The OEM is very much integrated into the rear bumper mounts so as to spread the load across the unibody. Most aftermarkets are seriously inferior bolt-on affairs. Crawl under the back and eyeball behind the bumper cover. Also, the OEM has a nice, OEM looking ;) mount for the 7 point elec. connector mounted just to the right of the hitch socket. Also - the uhaul sticker is a dead giveaway .....

Here are some pics, but looks like mine is not OEM. :(:(

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/...e5d4001a_z.jpgimage by MikeandGabby, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3883/...e1b666ea_z.jpgimage by MikeandGabby, on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5563/...f898ebff_z.jpgimage by MikeandGabby, on Flickr

Middle picture, in particular, looks aftermarket to me ..... I'd be leery about trying to tow anything close to the 'official' rating [5 or 6k lbs.] without more info. I think E30cabrio? or another regular poster had to take one similar off to mount a recovered OEM hitch.

Well I'm not towing anything now. I would like to get a boat in the future, but I'm just looking at a runabout, I think they usually weigh in around 3000 to 3500 lbs. I guess I will keep my eye open if an oem hitch comes up.

The 4.8is will provide plenty of power, but even a runabout, plus trailer weight, will test a less than OEM hitch. I expect 3500 lbs [boat/motor only] is a conservative [low] estimate of a fiberglass runabout's weight. Review the long thread on installation and posters' experience with locating OEM hitch kits. I posted a printout in December? in it a helpful dealer ran from me showing the ones in stock around the country at that time; I picked up one that had been in a dealer's inventory in Athens, GA for a long time .

it is not an OE hitch - the electrical connector is one dead give-away, and the way the receiver is designed...

here is a pic of mine - you see the massive chunk of metal...