Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class II - 1-1/4"

The hitch got here on time and the installer installed it in less that an hour. Thanks, I love when things go as planned!1698201

by: William 12/11/2021

2003 Subaru Forester

The order process was easy, the receiver was well packed and arrived quickly. I installed this in my driveway on a 2003 Subaru Forester with no rust. The directions were clear. The fit was perfect. On a 1-10 scale of mechanical experience I'd give myself a 5. I had no issues and completed the instal in 30 minutes. I pretreated fasteners with penetrating oil and used silicone spray on rubber. I used a channel-lock pliers to remove the rubber exhaust hangers.1222435

William

12/12/2022

The hitch receiver is in use quite often. After a 2,600 mile cross country move carrying a double bike swing-away rack in high cross winds it was as solid as the day I installed it. Altogether I have installed three Curt hitch receivers on Subaru vehicles and all the installs were quick and uncomplicated.

by: Noodle05/25/2022

Been using for a year and it's holding up great. The install video helped make it a smooth and easy process. Nice for little things like bike rack or even something bigger like a trailer with two motorcycles on it. Great product1302172

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Fast shipping, high quality construction, and very easy installation. I didn't even need to jack up my Subaru. I only needed a 1/2" drive ratchet with long extensions, torque wrench, and help from a buddy to hold up the hitch while I bolted it in place. Could not be happier. The electrical was breeze. And the Euro ball hitch helps keep trailers level. The e-trailer videos took all the guess work out, and were much simpler than a black-and-white instruction manual. 491222

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The hitch went on with no problems. A perfect fit. The wiring harness was even easier. Found the plug near the compartment where the spare tire is and just plugged it in and ran it through a hole in the bottom of the compartment. Took less than a week to receive at a very good price. Saved over 300 from having it installed at uhaul.558083

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This hitch is legit, made out of nice thick steel. The fitment is is perfect and it hides nicely under the bumper without showing to much metal.

I have an invidia catback exhaust and I had shorten the mid section by 1/2 inch so it would clear the hitch. Original hangers still work. The exhaust tip was a little close to the hitch so I put some adhesive foam just in case it would hit. 791255

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Love our trailer hitch!! Was an easy installation, we had it on for 15 minutes and was alright using it to haul our bikes to the trails! Thank you etrailer! Very happy with our purchase!806275

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So far, so good. Got it mounted on my 04 subaru forester without having an extra hand/nor dropping exhaust. Took roughly 40 mins for this B-rate home mechanic. Looking forward to pulling something!1565299

My favorite part about placing this order were the confirmation emails. George emailed; not a robot. George kept me informed throughout the whole process. Jeff installed the hitch in 30 minutes. I like the low profile. We are looking forward to using the hitch to tote our bike around. 560228

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Thanks for making buying this fast and easy! This comes with light instructions, so I highly recommend using online tutorials for the step by step process and knowing how much torque you need for the bolts.895424

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Straight out of the box and on the vehicle. The hitch fit perfectly and the only thing that slowed me down was putting the bolts back on. It took me time as I did it myself, but was a surprisingly easy piece to put in. Excellent product! The picture is not great, but the part fit wonderfully.
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I will update this according to etrailer's response and efforts to reconcile.

I will do my best to be constructive, yet the fit of this hitch is anything but. Let me explain.

First, the detail on the paperwork is barren at best. Second, it has the bolt measurements completely wrong aside from the provided bolt (for the exhaust mount?) which doesn't match up with the vehicle when the hitch is seated . The bolts that are on the vehicle are 14m and 17m. Not 12m as indicated on the install sheet. So that was a hassle when preparing to find out that I needed different tools/so much for prepping.

Also, the tear down to allow hitch access to frame is more extensive than indicated which leads me to believe your company leaves these details out in order to sell the "easy fitment" solution.

The breaking point for me though came when I removed the passenger side bolts which also secured the vehicle's EVAP system and can not be reinstalled with this hitch/will not allow the reseating of the EVAP system's mounting bracket. So, in essence, this hitch DOES NOT fit this vehicle.

After all this and full day of futile compromise I now have come to the conclusion that my plan to install the hitch, rent a trailer (already reserved) and move my 4BR household this weekend has now become a nightmare of uncertainty and an embarrassment to those counting on my decision to go this route. What do I do now? I guess it's a last minute scramble to find (hopefully) a truck rental or a moving company who specializes in exorbitant fees towards folks in my predicament, one which the hitch was a resolution away from...for naught.

While I found you professional and enjoyable to work with and the product presenting a generally acceptable quality, not fitting the vehicle renders these benefits useless and most importantly costs me dearly in both time and further expense.

I could never recommend this path to anyone, friend or foe. I wish I had a better report...more for me though than anything else, painful to say the least, rendered by etrailer.

I am an OTR driver who spends 3 months out on the road so the small window for me this week to move has been turned upside down, sideways and when I say nightmarish, I mean a complete disruption of life and a madness that no one should have to experience by the negligence of a company who seems to have put sales above reality and truth. It feels criminal. This has wrecked everything. I've been robed of so much and scrambling now to figure out what to do. I have 4 days with desperate stares in my direction as to what what we do now.

Thank you? For a huge lesson, seemingly where not to patronage, unless you or the techs have some sort of resolution for me. I expect a call from you to discuss the options in front of us. This is bad.


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Mike L.

3/28/2019

Were sorry to hear about the difficulty youre having installing your hitch. After looking over your description of the problem, it seems the major difficulty you had was the installation of the bracket that holds the charcoal canister. I did look over the installation instructions, which I must say arent very clear. The bracket for the canister should be sandwiched between the hitch and the fame member, which will allow the hitch to be installed and the canister to be reattached. If you use the link above showing the hitch being installed on a 2003 Forester, you can see an install video that should make this a little more clear. As far as the hardware goes, when Curt refers to the bolts as being M12, theyre speaking of the diameter of the threaded portion of the bolt, not the actual size wrench needed. This hitch has been around for several years, and it appears that the instructions have not been updated in awhile.

Helpful Links

tv-install-trailer-hitch-2003-subaru-forester-12038.aspx

Everything was as advertised EXCEPT installation issues (possibly pertaining only to a 1999 Suburu Forester). While production qualities of the video demonstration were questionable, nevertheless after reading its transcript in conjunction with viewing it multiple times I became clear about the essence of the install. The predicted install time (ie actual wrench work after having watched the video multiple times, etc) would have been accurate EXCEPT for a detail pertaining to re-threading of the bolts back into the car frame to secure the trailer hitch. The problem was that the nut-plates inside the frame were not held securely in place via a weld, rather Suburu chose some method that was not reliable. As a result, the very act of removing the chassis bolts tended to slightly miss-align the nut-plate lying behind the chassis-holes. This caused no end to heartache, adding something like two hours to the install! So excessive finesse and tedious adjustment of nut plate with hole using a screw driver was needed to overcome the problem. While we did succeed, nevertheless I was nearing the end of my rope, and anticipating failure in the current trend, I conceived of a solution just in case further finesse failed. Here it is if anyone finds it useful.

Obtain the appropriate length/thread/diameter metric SET SCREWS (probably Allen-head), and finesse them into the nut-plate WITHOUT the Hitch in place (a far easier proposition). Then using these protruding set-screws (with long enough length) to serve as “place holder studs” remove ONE a a time (with an Allen wrench), and replace it with its bolt counterpart; do this until all set screws are replaced with bolts.

Apart from this unfortunate occurrence (which I consider Suburu’s poor design choice, not Curt’s), service was great from eTrailer, and I am a satisfied eTrailer customer!

Dave L.
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Patrick B.

6/3/2013

Dave, we totally agree. Some of our older videos leave a little bit to be desired. We have upgraded our methods, equipment and systems to improve the quality of the videos. We choose to leave the old ones up because an older, less polished video is better than no video at all.

First of all I’m getting annoyed on how this is not fitting properly. I’m battling installing my this and hitch is off. Seems like the welding job done on this hitch for my 2005 Subaru Forester XT is trash, garbage. I have a Turbo XS exhaust and that alone won’t fit. Took it off and install my stock muffler barely fits. Stripping my bolts and exhaust hangers are not on. I had to grind off the bolt on the exhaust hanger because it wouldn’t fit. Probably have to zip tie it to the hitch. Etrailer, keep in mind most people have aftermarket exhausts and not everyone has stock exhausts. Very poor job on this hitch. 674595

Mike L.

7/26/2019

When the hitches are designed by Curt, the fit is mocked up using a stock vehicle with a factory exhaust. Due to the unknown nature of aftermarket modifications, fit cannot be guaranteed on vehicles that have had modifications made.

Nice looking hitch, hides well. Install was fairly straight forward. Took me about 1 hr to install with air tools (I'm an ASE Master Technician-this is on my own vehicle). Did not come with new bolts, wasn't advertised as such, I just missed it; other advertised hitches on etrailer.com came with hardware. Existing bolts were too short to make me comfortable towing anything near capacity-I will replace the factory bolts with longer ones soon. Hitch mounting flanges were a little bent inwards that required some persuading with a pry bar and held with a vise grip to get the bolts started. Tip to installers-once the hitch is in place, start ALL of the fasteners with a few threads; then once they are all started, then torque to specification. This will prevent fighting the hitch on subsequent bolts.
I would DEFINITELY buy from etrailer.com again, great experience.104483

Patrick B.

10/22/2013

Curt, the hitch manufacturer, specifies re-using existing hardware. One new bolt and one new nut are included for re-mounting one of the exhaust hangers to the hitch.

by: John 04/16/2023

The install was a breeze, the fit was perfect and the finish was nice.1558171

Great product and service. When I need trailer hitches etc. I will be sure to go the E trailer. It will be used to support bicycle racks.192435

Bill P.

5/12/2016

Its been working great. I use it to transport bikes.

I received the hitch in a few days. The box was in rough shape, but the hitch survived with no damage. The installation was no problem ('06 Subaru Forester) , except the rear left muffler hanger did not align perfectly with the hole. As a result, the muffler hanger is touching the hitch and causes a very annoying vibration.192382

Donot

6/14/2015

I have the same vibration noise where the left muffler hanger is hitting the top of the gap it is supposed to slide into on the new hitch. Seems like a crappy design, the hole should be higher. Looks like I am going to be bending some muffler hangers in a few minutes...

by: Seth W.04/03/2018

2001 Subaru Forester

A little tough to get installed, but, once on, the etrailer hitch receiver worked great On my Subaru Forester. I have a heavy-duty bike rack that is often tasked with carrying bikes loaded down with gear, and my hitch has never shown a sign of not working properly. It works as well as it would if the car always had a hitch. Great product. My only complaint or regret is that the hitch receiver placed the bike rack in such a way to obscure my license plate.492107

Very good fit. Didn't notice an exhaust bracket bolt was included as it was wrapped in the plastic around the hitch frame. It would of made the job easier if I had seen it or knew it was coming but none of the tutorials or packing slips mentioned it. Definitely recommend. This was for a 2008 Subaru Forester. 198308

Rob G.

5/26/2016

Great! Towed a 2k trailer 950 miles uneventful

Installed on a 98 Forester. I was impressed with how well it lined up with the holes, including allowing the charcoal canister bracket to remount in its location, etc. Would have been nice if it came with new fasteners, but there was adequate length on the stock ones. The captive nuts in the car's frame are not actually welded to the frame, but are threaded into a large steel plate that is somewhat loose inside the frame member. This means you need to use a screwdriver or similar to poke them around to get it to line up, but this has nothing to do with the trailer hitch.

I did have to remove the three rubber exhaust mounts near the muffler (two behind and one in front) in order to let the exhaust sag enough to slip the hitch receiver into place, but I did *not* need to actually undo any fasteners, which was good. The flat bar on the left of the receiver fits perfectly above the muffler, which is a place I've seen other brands foul.

The only gripe I have is that the safety chain loops are welded in such a place that they interfere with the "L" shaped part of the pin you use to secure a tow ball. Even using all Curt brand stuff, you can't rotate the pin enough to get the clip on. Cutting the L part of the pin shorter was easy work with power tools, but would suck if you were trying to use a hacksaw. Perhaps other pin designs wouldn't have the issue.

Overall very satisfied, build quality looks good and it really tucks up under the car with no reduction in clearance.154574

Overall the hitch install went well. Had to drop both rubber hangers of the exhaust to fit the hitch above it. If it weren't for my neighbors impact wrench, I might still be working to loosen the bolts so beware. I sprayed with WD40 two days in a row before attempting and I don't know how much it helped. Liquid Wrench might have worked better. The only other thing is my exhaust shakes a bunch (manual transmission) and the square hole on the left side of the hitch isn't quite in the right spot so now I get metal from the exhaust hanger hitting the hitch. I'm working on a solution for that (thinking some foam/electric tape).16181

Jc

12/9/2012

I had this same issue 2007 Forester, with the exhaust hanger hitting the hitch because the left driver side square hole seems to be too low, not high enough to keep the exhaust hanger from hitting the receiver at times. May have to grind a little arch above that area.Anyone else have a solution for this?

Patrick B.

12/11/2012

Exhaust/hitch rattle occurs from time to time. Exhaust hangers are not precisely fitted parts by nature, so there is some variance vehicle to vehicle. We have an article written up, with a video, about how to correct these rattles. These are the tips we use here in our shops to correct rattles when they come up.

Helpful Links

faq-fixing-exhaust-rattle.aspx

Curt Hitch for a 2003 Subaru Forester. No issues with fit. Product is a simple, well designed hitch receiver. The etrailer instructional video was great. The obvious worry is/was removing the bolts from an older vehicle for installation. The 50 minute estimate for installation only works for a newer vehicle.
UPS held the hitch at the local distribution center for three days before finally delivering. Claimed operational constraints!?391191

by: Andrew Pi06/02/2019

2017 Subaru Forester

As described, this hitch is supporting my bike rack for 2 mountain bikes. Installation was easy after cleaning rusted nuts welded originally to the frame of Subaru Forester 2017. Once I re-threaded them and bought proper metric bolts, installation was very easy. Will buy another one for my Subaru 2014.651849

by: Heather02/04/2018

2005 Subaru Forester

Easy to install, great fit, safe and reliable.
Installed the towbar on a 2005 Subaru Forester using the auto hobby shop on base (the vehicle lift and hefty tools-to-borrow made all the difference). Took me about 1.5 hrs to complete the install. The only "downside" is that the hitch is really low so I ended up using a tow-ball with a 2" rise and it still seemed low. But it is what it is, and that was the fix. 472851