Trailer Hitch Installation - 2010 Mini Cooper
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How to Install a Trailer Hitch on a 2010 Mini Cooper
Today on this 2010 Mini Cooper hardtop, we are going to install part number 11160 from Curt. The first step involved in this is that we need to remove the entire bumper cover to the vehicle. We will open up the hatch and there are two screws here that we need to remove. What we are going to do next is take off the rear tires, you do not have to do this, but it makes it easier to see what is going on. Next thing we need to do is get behind the fender liner here, because there are some fasteners for the bumper cover. There is one, two, three fasteners that we need to remove to gain access. :46
This wire harness going to the running lights here, this needs to come apart, push down this little button and it comes apart. Then we need to get access to this fastener right here, it is a little plastic rivet, just split it apart. You can see how the bumper cover is now separated from the rear arch. We will repeat that back over on the driver side. Still working on the fender well here, what we need to do next is unsnap this trim piece from the bumper cover. You have to push that way, and away. Then we have one screw right here that we need to undo. 1:3
On some models, like the Cooper S we will have two screws. On this regular model here, the Mini Cooper, it looks like it only has one bolt to remove right here. Now that we have all the fasteners removed, we can now remove our bumper cover. Now, we will remove this part of the bumper structure right here. Before I take the bumper structure off, we are going to release the clips that are holding the wiring to the bumper structure. This foam here has a little electrical component that fits inside here. I believe it is going to come off with the bumper structure so we will remove this component. Lets give the hitch a test fit now. It looks like the hitch sits a little high due to the heat shield here, but this bends so we can push it down as needed. At this point we need to install the hitch and the bumper cover at the same time. It is defiantly a good idea to have an extra set of hands for this. We are going to zip-tie the two pieces together to hold them in place until we get our bolts in, and then we will remove the zip ties. We have the two pieces tied together, you can see where we need to cut our foam so everything sits nicely. Lets go ahead and reinstall the bumper structure and hitch, you will need an extra set of hands to help you hold it and put everything together. 3:29
Now that we have our bumper structure loosely installed with the hitch, just by one factory bolt, we will go ahead and install the rest of the hardware. We will use a factory bolt and a conical tooth washer supplied with the hitch. Once we have the bolts snugged down, we can torque them down as specified in the instructions. We will take our wire harness and push it back into place. Take the module and put it in this little slot. Before we put our bumper cover into place we are going to show you that this senter section has to be removed for you to use the draw bar and the hitch. Now we will show you how to remove it, it is pretty simple. There are two clips here and here. You can push those in and then pop off the center section. Now we are good to go. At this point, we can reassemble the bumper cover itself. 4:25
Now that we have the vehicle off the lift, we will give you a couple measurements that will help in ing accessories for your hitch. From the ground to the top of the receiver opening is about 16 inches. From the center of the hitch pin hole, to the outside edge of the bumper is about 6 inches. With that, that will finish our install of part number 11160 from Curt on this 2010 Mini Cooper.
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Video Edited:
Zack K
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