Video Transcript for Installing the Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver on a 2025 BMW X3

Hi, Jesse with etrailer. Today we'll be taking a look at and I'll show you how to install the CURT Custom Fit Class 3 Hitch on our 2025 BMW X3. If you're looking to add more functionality and storage space to your BMW, adding a hitch is a really good way to do it. It gives you the ability to add on extra storage, whether it be through a cargo carrier or a bike rack, or even do some light-duty towing. Here's a closer look at our hitch on the back of our BMW. You'll see the cross beams are completely hidden and the gloss black finish really matches the paint really well.

I like the way it looks. We have a standard 2 inch by 2 inch receiver opening. And then behind that, we have safety cable loops that are just fine. They'll fit either your hitch style or clevis style or any other style safety cable you might have. Then behind that, we have another standard 5/8 inch pin hole, which works just fine.

The pin and clip are not included with the hitch. However, we have many options available here at etrailer. Also, any accessory that you add on will most likely come with one included. Now for some measurements, from the ground to the inside of the top of the collar is 13-1/4 inches. Just keep that in mind.

You might wanna look for accessories with maybe a slight rise or a straight shank in them. Then from the center of the pin hole to the edge of the bumper is about 3-1/2 inches. So keep that in mind for any folding accessories that you might add on just to ensure they don't make contact with the vehicle. As for the weight capacities, we have a gross trailer weight of 5,000 pounds. That's the amount of weight that you can pull behind the vehicle.

A maximum tongue weight of 750 pounds. That's the amount of weight pushing down on the rear of the vehicle. Anytime you're talking weight capacities, always be sure to double-check your owner's manual to make sure that your X3 can handle that weight safely. All in all, if you're looking for a hitch for your X3 and you also want one that's gonna look good on the back of the vehicle, I think this is a great choice for you. As far as the install goes, we did have to remove the fascia, but it really wasn't that hard. However, if that's something that you're not looking to do yourself, maybe you don't have the time or the space to do it, feel free to check out our dealer locator. If you are looking to get this installed yourself, then feel free to follow along and I'll show you how we got ours set up. We'll start here under our lift gate. We need to pop this plastic panel out. It should just pull out. Just hold them by a couple clips and then lift up. Now we have a T15 screw here that we'll remove. (tool whirring) Now we have some screws that we need to remove on our wheel well liner here. These are 10 millimeter screws, and we don't have to take 'em all off. We just need enough to peel back. There is a Torx screw that we need to remove right here. (tool whirring) We'll get all these removed, and at this point, anything we do on one side, we will repeat on the other side. (tool whirring) So in total, there was five bolts and one nut that I removed, but once we get those popped out, I should be able to peel this back enough in order to get to this T15 screw right here. (tool whirring) Now we have some more 10 millimeter bolts to remove. I'm just gonna work my way around and remove all the ones that are attached to the fascia. (tool whirring) So I'm actually going to remove all the screws from this little middle trim panel here. (tool whirring) And we'll set that aside for now. (tool whirring) Once we have all those bolts removed, we can move to this push pin here. There will be one on each side. So just take a flathead screwdriver, pop the center out, and then the entire thing should come out with it. At this point, it's a good idea to grab an extra set of hands. I have my good friend Brad here to help me out, but we should be able to just work our way from the outside in and it should just be held in by clips at this point. It might help to grab onto the bottom, kinda wiggle it. When you get here, just pull it out from right there. Make sure you're over that rubber pad. (fascia clacking) So before we pull the fascia out too far, just check for any plugs. It looks like we do have a plug over here, and you'll just have to pull the tab back and push the pin in. And now we will set this aside. Before we get the bumper removed, we need to get this wire harness out of our way. So it should just be a push pin back here and it will pull out. We also have to remove these pins holding the wire onto this bracket. Once we have those pins removed, we can just get that wiring harness out of our way. Now we'll take an 18 millimeter socket and get a couple nuts removed on each side. (tool whirring) There's one up here and then one you'll have to hook through this hole. (tool whirring) With those removed, we should be able to pull this out. Just pull straight out away from the studs and set it aside. Now we can lift our hitch up into place. It's just going to go over those same studs, get it lined up there and let it rest. Now we can lift our bumper into place. It's just gonna rest over our hitch. Just kind of get that pushed in. We'll take that same nut we removed and then get it started. A little trick to get these bottom nuts started is to use a little piece of painter's tape or a piece of paper. That way, that nut will stay in there. And then just thread it off. Now we just have to get 'em all snug down with the same socket we used before. (tool whirring) Now we need to torque all of our hardware down. We'll just torque 'em down to the specification listed in the instructions. If you don't have your own torque wrench, we do have some available here at etrailer, or you could always get one from your local auto parts store. Let's go through all four of the nuts and get them torqued down. (tool beeping) With everything torqued down, all we'll need to do is reinstall the fascia in the reverse order of how we took everything off. If we come into any issues where we need to do any kind of trimming or anything like that, I'll come back and show you what we did. One thing we've noticed is when we're trying to get this trim piece off, it's not quite fitting. So BMW actually perforated this little piece and it just pops off. You just kinda snap each piece and it comes right off. But once that's removed, this should slide right into place. We got our fascia reinstalled. It is a tight fit, but we didn't have to do any trimming. So that's gonna do it for our look at and installation of the CURT Class 3 Hitch on our 2025 BMW X3.