T-One Vehicle Wiring Harness with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector

by: John W10/16/2018

2012 Subaru Forester

This harness fit my Subaru Forester 2012 perfectly. Installed just like in the video on the website illustrated. Still works fine after a year. Since it spends most of its time inside the vehicle away from the elements I've had no issues with its function - it delivers every time. The wiring on my trailer is of course another matter haha! 574788

Wasted an hour following the video installations for the 2017 and 2018 Subaru Outback models as I could not locate the cars wiring plug and it was extremely difficult and painful reaching under the panel and I have relatively small hands. Finally read some other reviews and unbolted the tie down hook which easily exposed the wiring plug. The tie down hooks bolt is exposed by popping the plastic cover in the middle of the hook with a screwdriver and removing the 10mm bolt. I think the video should be edited to show this alternate procedure. Otherwise tested and works correctly. Except for the installation frustration I am satisfied. 544041

The product is good, but the directions are terrible. I had a very difficult time finding the wiring plug on the Subaru Crosstrek with the direction included. I had to go to Subaru and look at their wiring instructions. Even theirs took a while to figure it out. 127488

The harness is still working well. I have it so the plug is inside the vehicle when not in use, so the salt does not destroy it during the winter.

Rich A - 04/26/2015

by: Richard10/17/2018

It was easy to install and does just what I wanted. 575216

Trailer plug works great , the directions not so great . Opened the rear hatch removed carpet and center storage unit removed the driver side panel as instructed trying to find the harness. It’s not in the location it’s supposed to be. It’s on the driver side rear . Remove one #2 Philips and pull side panel and it’s right there near the tail light. Unplug the cap and install the plug . Run wire down and out the bottom. Easy if you know where it is! 558893

The harness was very easy to plug in. I had to use a self-tapping screw to mount the module as the "double sided" tape that was supposed to be included was not in the box. That said, it could not have been simpler! 637132

by: Ken R09/18/2017

2017 Subaru Outback Wagon

I am very happy with the trailer wiring harness which plugged in and has worked flawlessly since I was finally able to get it connected. Because my car was new I was very cautious about the install. The directions were good and clear. The only problem I had was in "finding" the wiring from the driver's side of the rear compartment. I removed all of the loose styrofoam and other parts that were in the way. This went easily and according to the directions. Retrieving the wire from under the carpet/sound-proofing above the wheel well was the only difficult part. Because the car was new and I didn't want to damage the fabric glued to the body, I reviewed the Video and even went to my dealership to be sure I had not over-looked a step. With my big hands, I was finally able to reach and pull out the wire and plug in the harness without any damage to the sound barrier or wires. The rest was easy. Since I only use a trailer periodically, I chose to leave the trailer connector in the Tire well and not mount it permanently on the outside with the hitch. Looks and works great and I am happy to let friends know I did it myself and save probably over $100. 433695

Still very happy with it and the installation. The Wire gets compressed when I close the back door, so I am considering getting a permanent mount and running it out through the trunk liner. But Im just enjoying having all my lights work and not having to be home by dark.

Ken R - 09/19/2018

I installed this harness in my 2013 Outback. The plug in the Outback was difficult to find and pull out even with the fine instructions from etrailer.com, I blame Subaru for that. The only issue that I have with this harness is that once plugged in the fuse and controller module are very difficult to situate in such a way as to enable the replacement of the Subaru's interior panels. Both the fuse and controller could be placed closer to the middle of the harness enabling them to be stored in the spare tire well. I ended up shoving them under the side wheel panel with difficulty and running the rest of the wires around the left trunk perimeter and into the spare tire well. From there it was easy to remove the rear most rubber drain plug in the well and cut a slit in it for the harness (see picture) to run through before placing the plug back in its place. Longer zip ties would have been helpful for securing the harness to the hitch. 95565

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Very well built. Kind of a pain to get at Subaru connector. Subaru could make this more accessible. 86789

Worked well.Outback wiring is a lot harder to get at than forester wiring. Cant imagine why Subaru does that?

penoby - 06/30/2014

by: George10/16/2018

2018 Subaru Outback Wagon

WOW! George, has it been a year? That hitch is still sitting in my workshop waiting for me to install it! LOL! However, it is very near the top of my to-do list and i suspect I'll be putting it on in the next month or so. Procrastination is my specialty! Cheers... 574876

The Tekonsha wiring harness arrived without delay and was exactly as expected. Installation on my 2018 Subaru Outback went smoothly thanks to the excellent instructions and video that e-Trailer.com provides. The feedback and reviews of other customer are also very helpful. I reviewed the instruction video several times and read some of the reviews. I had absolutely no issue to install it in a few minutes. It is a little tricky getting my big fingers behind the panel to pull the connector down that is taped up with blue tape. Once you have that down, the rest is a piece of cake. I would also like to comment that I also installed the DrawTite 2" Receiver hitch. This installation went quite well, although I must say that the e-Trailer video, and instructions supplied with the hitch are not as good as the explanations of some of the reviewers. For example, it is much easier to pass the bolts and spacers from the top (inside the truck area) by enlarging the existing holes in the cargo area floor, rather than drilling a new hole in the bottom of the frame as per the instructions. I also discovered that it is possible to do this by only enlarging the two forward holes in the cargo floor, rather than all four. It is very easy to fish the rear bolts from the front hole if you pass the fish wire in from the bottom rear hole in the frame. Another trick from other reviewers that was very helpful is to mark the heat shield with a Sharpie from inside before you remove it and then drill it rather than trim it with metal shears. It gives a much nicer looking job. Finally, I discovered a trick that really helps to align the hitch when bolting it up. Take four of the M6 bolts that were removed from the heat shields and put them into their holes through the hitch. Once this is done, the hitch is perfectly aligned and you can tighten and torque the four large nuts holding the hitch in place. If you do this, your heat shield will bolt up easily without any issue of the bolts not aligning with the holes. Actually, there was one issue that is not mentioned in any of the reviews that I read, and it would be really nice if DrawTite could fix. This is that fact that the 2 forward original M6 bolts for the heat shields next to the frame that must pass through the hitch flange are too short with the spacer washer placed as per the instructions. The installation kit should include replacement bolts that are about 1/2 inch longer so that they can pass through the hitch flange and the spacer. Unfortunately, the original bolts are too short and stripped when trying to install because they were only holding with a few treads. Now I have to go an buy some longer bolts and repeat the process of lowering the mufflers and exhaust pipe to install them. It would have been nice to know before as I could have easily purchased them in advance. I am very satisfied with e-Trailer.com and their excellent website and service. It certainly is my first stop when looking for anything related to trailers. 516819

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It took me longer to remove all the foam trays and liners from my car than it did to remove the old wiring harness and install this new harness. It works fine. In my opinion, the Subaru 2009 Forester (and others I guess) has a bad system where the wires for trailer lights have to lay through the rear hatch and are pinched in the door seal. Evidently, over time, that lead to the failure of the right turn signal wire on the previous wiring harness. The installer of the previous harness had put a wire protector (split black corrugated plastic sleeve) over the wires which I think contributed to the failure. I'm going to keep the wires for the new harness "bare" and make sure they lay flat where they go through the door seal. Hopefully that will reduce the pinching of the wires. All in all a great design; nothing to do but plug it in and go. And etrailer's service was superb; I called to make sure I was ordering the correct wiring harness, got the shipping arranged to my mom's house in Ohio where I was visiting (from PA), and etrailer kept me posted on the shipping progress. No problems and I would definitely recommend etrailer. THANKS! 206824

I originally had some trouble with the new LED tailturn/stop lights working properly, and etrailer technicians asked me to check all the trailer ground wires and connections. I did that and the lights worked for awhile, but then stopped working correctly. It seemed to be an intermittent problem which are the hardest to figure out! I had the main ground wire for the trailer clamped to the trailer frame under a screw and washer, and I still wasnt sure that the ground connections were good. So I ended up drilling and tapping a hole for a 10 screw that now clamps the ground wire to the trailer frame, and makes sure there is a direction connection from the ground wire to the metal frame of the trailer. The tail/turn/stop lights now seem to work fine knock wood!. All in all etrailer supplies good products and provides great service. I definitely recommend them and will use them for my future trailer wiring and lighting needs.

Gregory K - 06/24/2016

by: Kevin09/10/2018

2017 Subaru Forester

I've had this wiring kit for about a year. The installation was very easy. One thing to note, instead of running the wire out the rear hatch of my 2017 Subaru Forester I ran it through the rubber plug that is in the bottom of the spare tire well. I simply cut a slit in the plug and slid it around the wire. I then put the plug in place and sealed it with some silicone caulk. The 4 pin connector is corrosion free thanks to the rubber cover that is molded into the plug. 563632

Product arrived on time. Installation went well once I removed the metric 10 holding the tie down. ( cover pops off to expose bolt) Some good hand scratches without gloves trying to find the connector without removing the tie down. Otherwise the video instructions were great. Took it to local trailer rental place and they checked lighting connections. All good. 547234

Your video on how to install hitch and wiring was so simple to follow and easy to understand that I did not even need the instruction sheets. This video convinced me to do it myself and save money allot of money! The only problem while installing hitch I had was in enlarging the holes in my car. This was because of the material this section was made of , aluminum. or something of the kind, very soft. A die grinder would have made short work of this task. This part took the most time, about 30 min. the rest of the job was complete in another 15 min. I am speaking about the hitch, wiring took another 30 min., you will see why when you view my pictures. The wiring harness connectors fit into my cars harness like it was manufactured a the plant which built my car. The car dealer where I bought the car tried to sell me on them installing hitch and wiring because they claimed your products would need a lot of retrofitting. This was not the case at all. Everything you supplied fit perfect without any necessary modifications, however I did make a modification to the wiring harness to fit my own needs. I did not like the idea of sticking it out the trunk, so I went to local parts store and picked up a special bracket and connector to install onto the trailer hitch, thus having connector outside car as it should be. If I did not make this mod it would have only taken 10 min. to install. You can see this connector mod in the picture I am sending you. I have recommended this site to many other people in my fishing club and at work. My brother-in law has just ordered one for his car, seeing how easy my in-stallion was. With your help and a desire to save allot of money anyone can install a hitch, even if you never did one before. The two wire feeders for the bolts worked great, I never saw this technique before. Without them the job would have been tough to say the least. As you mentioned, it is wise to have another person help when it comes time to lift the hitch into position. My brother in -law helped me, now he is buying a hitch and I shall help him lift it into position. Maybe if I was not 63 I could have done the job myself. 14565

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2014 Forester factory trailer plug location - FYI The plug is located in the upper aft corner of the drivers side cargo panel. You must remove the tail gate panel, remove the cargo hold down and one screw from the upper bag holder. Then pop the aft edge of the trim panel out. The plug is not accessible from below the panel. 141183

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The hardest part of the trailer light install is getting to the factory connector. Watch the etrailer video and remove the 10 mm bolt on the forward rear tie down as another customer advised. The instructions in the light wiring harness are too vague, but the etrailer video makes up for this. Once I got to the factory connector, finishing takes about 2 minutes. 574560

2017 Outback- 2" Hitch and Wiring Harness - I was too cheap to pay for the quicker delivery. No problem! The box arrived within the week (and that was with snow and zero degree temps throughout the nation!). Great start! I bought a step drill. Best $17.00 purchase ever. I just followed the directions from the box. That, and after watching the installation videos several times, gave me a good idea of what to expect. Exhaust came off perfectly. I had a can of silicone lube, which worked great for removing AND installing the rubbers in the exhaust hangers. Drilling the two holes - Drilling the access holes worked great with the step drill. Just drill until the fittings will go through. Wear some type of eye protection, and watch for the hot metal falling down into your shirt sleeves as you are drilling (Ask me how I know...). Thread the fishing wire in with the plate and bolt, and it does go right through the frame and into the smaller hole with no problem. I didn't think it could be that easy...but it was! Everything aligned perfectly. Don't remove the fishing line from the bolts. You'll do that AFTER the hitch is up and in place (so that the bolts are not pushed back up into the frame. They would be a bear to get back out!). At that point, I was ready to push the hitch up, and remove the fishing wires as I put on each nut. I figured that I could work out a way to do it by myself. After 30 minutes, I gave in and called my wife out to give me a hand. (I should have done that a half hour earlier...). I held up the hitch, she removed each wire from the bolts in the rear and threaded on the nuts. 2 minutes later, ALL the nuts were on. Maybe you can figure out a way to do it easy by yourself, but just a couple of minutes of help will save a lot of time! Tighten up the nuts... Heat shield back on (simple to trim it)...Spray a little more lube on the rubber hangers (never can use TOO much lube)...And look at what you just completed! 1:45 to complete the hitch install...including 30 minutes of "investigative time" until my wife saved the day. Installing the wiring harness - Yes, this can be 5 minutes...or an hour...depending on how quickly you can locate the wiring harness inside the panel. Removing all of the panels to get down to the spare tire was quick. Maybe a 6 year old could get their hand inside that drivers side panel, but that wire harness was very allusive. I finally cut a small (1/2") slit in the fabric panel right at the lower corner of the tie down hook. That way, I was able to lift the panel out away from the hook, and was able to see the famous "Blue Tape" and the white harness, right next to the left side of the tie down. I grabbed the harness, released it from that blue tape, yanked it down where I could plug in the new harness...and was very happy! Now that I know exactly where the harness is mounted, I could get to it a little easier. First time is always the hardest! I ran the wire through the bottom of the spare tire well. Just a small slit in the rubber grommet keeps a good seal, and then zip tie to the hitch (or a permanent mount), and it's ready to go! Thanks to etrailer.com for the great products, installation videos, and service! 335728

This is the 2nd time I've bought a wiring kit from etrailer that was "Plug & Play". The stock Subaru trailer connector was right where they showed to be in the video & was easy to get to. I don't care for the idea of running it over the tailgate & body seal so I chose to run it through a conveniently placed rubbed plug in the spare tire well. The tire is held up off the harness by the hard insulation in the tire well bottom. A little silicone sealant around the harness where I snipped the plug to keep the water out & we're done! 179584

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I bought the hitch, wiring harness, and window deflectors. I think the deflectors took me all of 15 minutes to install and the hitch about 45 minutes and a half hour for wire harness. The harness isn't hard to hook up it's just finding it in your car. All and all very easy installation and really like it because I had given up my pick up and this is a great alternative to having a pick up not to mention double the fuel mileage. Went back to the dealer to get a hitch and they wanted $750. . with wiring and did it myself so thank you everyone at Etrailer for helping. When I place the order I could not have ask for a nicer person to help me out and the follow up to make sure I got everything and was satisfied. My only problem now is my buddy wants me to order another one and do his car with it so that will be coming up in a week or so. Thanks again. 545901

E-trailer is very easy to work with. The website is user friendly and very easy to navigate. I easily found the products I wanted and placed my order. My order arrived in 4 days and consisted of the Draw-rite max-frame class lll trailer hitch receiver custom fit for my 2015 Subaru Outback All items were in good condition upon arrival. I followed the installation instructions as written and had the hitch completed in 1 hr and another 20 minutes for the wiring harness. I would recommend E-trailer and their products to any diy. Excellent experience. Thanks 545050

Apparently the wiring behind the trim panel is a bit different in the 2018 Outback. There was no harness to untape and pull down below the trim panel to connect the trailer harness to. The connector was solidly affixed to something behind the trim panel. What I had to do was fold the left side rear side down, unclip and fold up the floor panel, and remove the tie down bracket in the side wall just behind the rear seat. The Subaru connector was easily pushed out through that opening. Then I back fed the trailer harness connector under the side trim panel and out the same hole. Plugged the two together, pushed them back in, and the rest of the instructions were fine. 456828

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I was not at all pleased with the single sheet of installation instructions. They are not complete and the photos are not correctly labeled. I watched the etrailer installation video and it was not helpful. The connector was not easily reached in the side panel behind the left seat. The instructions are incomplete as to where the connector is actually located and how one reaches it without taking out the side panel. The video makes it look too easy. The baggage loop prevents one from reaching forward and up behind the side panel. The clearance below the side panel was too small to get my arm under its edge. I found the seat back release cable but not the electrical connection cable. 457354

Richard,Thank you for your review. I checked your account and see that you have a 2017 Subaru Outback wagon. I reviewed the installation video for your vehicle and you are looking in the correct spot. However, access to this area is limited. You will have to reach under the panel and feel around to pull the plug out. I have attached an installation video link. The installer shows the location of the plug around the 3 minute mark.

-- Heather A - 12/08/2017

Helpful Link

The only thing difficult about installing this is finding the Subaru plug on the vehicle. On my car (2017 Outback) it was of great help to remove the front most tie down ring on the driver's side. Unsnap the plastic center vertical bar on the mount using something like a screwdriver. That will expose a 10mm bolt. Remove the bolt and the assemble will pull out. You will then be able to see the plug (look for blue tape) and you will be able to get your hand behind the panel. 375146

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I kept going back to the instructional video because I thought "this can't be this easy"- but it was. 555320

Product quality looks good. Instructions are thorough and the video is worth watching. Installation requires dropping the muffler which is awkward given I had no lift. You definitely need silicon spray to lube the 3 rubber mounts for the muffler in order to get release the muffler. Soapy water might work too. 728831

by: Dirk Rodman12/02/2019

Bracket that holds 4 pin not good. It should be permanent instead of allowing 4 pin to slip out. Also optional 7 pin combination would be better for me 728799

You can install a 7-way on your 2018 Outback with our Universal Installation Kit for Trailer Brake Controllers # ETBC7
Universal Installation Kit for Trailer Brake Controller - 7-Way RV and 4-Way Flat - 10 Gauge Wires
$93.39. This kit includes all of the hardware, wiring, and 7-way connector needed to provide a functioning 7-way on your Outback. The Outback is not wired for a 7-way connector from the factory, so one would need to be hardwired in.

-- Victoria B - 12/06/2019

Helpful Link

Extremely easy install and worked great on our first use. 728016

by: Ron11/25/2019

Installation was incredibly simple and the instructions were clear and concise. I've driven about 7,000 miles with my camper without a problem. 727674

Installed today, looks great! 727212

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by: Gordon G11/21/2019

Product quality was excellent. Prompt delivery, and great instructions. 726986

Worked great. Fairly easy to install except for getting the connection out from in back of the side panel. Video could have shown process better. Needed two people and wife who had smaller hand. 725957

by: Michael Smith11/12/2019

could not have been easier installed in minutes had to look over several times as thought I must have missed something, but didn't 725316

The products were as advertised. Videos were very helpful. But most important was how Robert from etrailer took the time to put together exactly what I needed to get my project off the ground & running!! Thanks Again!! 725166

by: Robert E11/05/2019

2019 Subaru XV Crosstrek

On my 2019 Crosstrek it is much easier to install than shown on the etrailer video. No tools required. I just pulled up on the hatch threshold cover on the driver's side, stuck two fingers in and pulled out the connection. Plugged the wiring harness in and pushed the connection back under the cover. It took maybe 30 second at most. Works perfectly. 722811

My hitch was a custom fit. Dropping the muffler and modifying the heat shield were tricky and time consuming, but the hitch installation was a snap. 722475

Easy and nice 722151

Very happy with my product everything fit to the tee really easy installation thank you 721356

Excellent product. Easy plug and play i nstall. 721278

By far, the hardest part of this install was removing and replacing the rubber isolators on the exhaust. I have the 3.6 engine so I had to lower two exhausts. 2 of the 3 isolators, for each muffler, came off without a problem (with lubricant). The inboard isolator hook for each muffler was noticeably longer. When you couple that with a lack of room due to the spare tire well and muffler, these were a real challenge for me. It was especially difficult to replace those inboard isolators. It was tight when removing, but with the hitch now installed, there is zero room. After struggling for a while, I came up with an easy method. I took a length of cord and ran it through the isolator hole. Pulling the cord stretched the isolator but kept the area clear to use my other hand to guide the isolator on. 720655

Great product and well designed I installed this on my 2018 Subaru Crosstrek in the spare tire wheel well with double sided tape then ran the wire harness out next to the rear latch. 720563

by: Tom10/25/2019

Great product, fits the vehicle perfectly and works well. Installation can be even easier than the instructions indicate. There are some shortcuts such as lifting the edges of panels rather than removing them entirely, that become obvious when you are into it. 720337

I installed the hitch the same day and started moving. The family and I needed it to tow a trailer and move to our new home. Please find the attached pictures of the hitch installed and thank you so much for your help. 720044

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On time delivery, product fit well, instructions great, video very helpful, great product. 719897

really solid made hitch- good information on website- - instruction for hitch installation were good and to the point-only issue I had was with the wiring I could not find the plug so I looked and found how to take tie down off the interior and was able to pull the panel out enough to reach the plug to plug wiring in other than that it was very good- looks factory installed 718237

by: Dennis10/16/2019

I have been pleased with the wiring harness and it functions well. It has allowed me to use a trailer with my Outback rather than purchasing a pickup to perform all of my hauling requirements. I can depend on my etrailer harness to operate flawlessly every time I use it and I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a quality product. 717902

The hitch and wiring harness was delivered in a very timely manner, and the hitch is super heavy duty! Much heavier built than I expected (especially for the price) and probably stronger than I will ever need, but very impressed with it. The only complaint (very minor) is that the box had a couple large holes ripped into it probably due to whoever handled it during shipping, but the products were intact and undamaged so I'm satisfied. 717795

by: Joseph Delgado10/15/2019

Works great & has detailed instructions that are easy to follow 717643

Great product! Install was not difficult but do require some knowledge. Looks like it was put on in the factory. 715927

Thorough, fast responses and excellent service every time I've dealt with them. 713494