Bending Muffler Hangers When Installing Trailer Hitch on 2015 Honda Fit

Updated 06/17/2019 | Published 06/14/2019

Question:

Hello I was looking at purchasing the Draw-Tite 24920 hitch for my 2015 honda fit. However I was a bit concerned with bending the muffler hangers/ears. Do you have any clear instructions of how to do this with pictures ? Is there an alternative way ?

asked by: Sacha

Expert Reply:

When installing the Draw-Tite Sportframe Trailer Hitch Receiver # 24920 on your 2015 Honda Fit you will indeed need to first detach the exhaust from the rubber isolators so that it can be lowered. Then after the hitch is in place Draw-Tite recommends bending the hanger spears downward just about 1/2 inch to allow for additional muffler clearance when reattaching it. This isn't necessarily a requirement as you might get sufficient clearance as is, but just something you can do if you find that the muffler rattles against the hitch.

Bending the hangers/spears on the muffler won't cause any issues at all. This is actually a fairly common practice when installing a hitch on a vehicle (not just with your Honda Fit). You will just need a pair of vice grips or some pliers to manipulate the hangers.

This process is so common that we actually have a whole help article dedicated to it, which I have attached below for your review. There are a couple of other possible methods for doing this, which are detailed in the article, but bending the hangers will be the quickest and easiest.

expert reply by: Chris R