curt hitch

[npeckio]

i have the new hitch, i just got a cert letter frm them, i havent picked it up yet, but i hope i dont need a 3rd hitch! we will see?

[bonzai_can]

If any of you EX 35 Infiniti Owners have the old 11500 hitch on your vehicle please contact me or Curt Manufacturing.

I got a call from the dealer last week that there was a recall & I should come in to get a new hitch installed. I am wondering now if they have intalled the new one correctly in terms of re-attaching the exhaust as the tail pipes are now 3-4 inches lower than they were before ie. the gap between the top of the arched cutout in the bumper and the top of the tail pipe is about 4.5 inches (it used to be only about 1/2-1 inch or so clearance before). It doesn't seem right as the clearance between the exhaust and the road is drastically reduced and the tail pipes are now pointing down ... so it also looks wierd.

Any way I've sent Curt an email but just wanted to check also with anyone else on here who has had the new one installed if they had the same issue with the install.

[bonzai_can]

I think after crawling under the car again I've answered my own question ;-)

The rubber isolator thingies have not been inverted (ie. they are the wrong way round) and so this means the exhaust is hanging lower than it should. As a result of this, an isolator brachet which looks like it is supposed to hold the rear of the main exhaust chamber in place is not attached at all which presumably isn't good.

I will be going back to the dealer to get them to do it correctly this time

[BROUDIE]

I think after crawling under the car again I've answered my own question ;-)

The rubber isolator thingies have not been inverted (ie. they are the wrong way round) and so this means the exhaust is hanging lower than it should. As a result of this, an isolator brachet which looks like it is supposed to hold the rear of the main exhaust chamber in place is not attached at all which presumably isn't good.

I will be going back to the dealer to get them to do it correctly this time

Wow, the neverending adventures of the Curt hitch. Please let us know how this works out. I would like a good hitch for my EX to carry bikes around, and this seems a better idea than throwing a bike up my roof.

[npeckio]

i do have the new hitch and there isnt a noticeble difference in tailpipes and the distance from the body;nick

[bonzai_can]

Thanks ... I just got an email from Curt QA saying that according to the photos I sent (which clearly show the huge gap between the bumper & the tail pipes) it looks as if it is installed incorrectly ... I will be going back to the dealer with a print-out of the installation instructions from the Curt website to show them what they did wrong (basically they missed step 4 which was to INVERT the isolators). Amazing they got this wrong when it took them almost 3hrs to do the job.

Another 160km round trip (3rd time) to get this thing done right!! Hopefully my next post will be to confirm this is resolved.

Incidentally, when I am referring to "dealer" I am talking about the rack & hitch dealer in Vancouver and not the Infiniti dealer.
Modified by bonzai_can at 7:37 AM 9/1/2009

[bonzai_can]

Decided to save myself the trip to the city ... and glad I did. In 20 mins a local mechanic fixed the mistakes of the last place; the isolator brackets were the wrong way up, which also meant that the 3rd isolator was not attached at all. Also one of the bolts attaching the hitch to the vehicle was not inserted all the way so would have worked its way loose & the others had to be tightened as I guess they didn't have a torque wrench available the day I went in. All in my granny could probably have done a better job & she's been 6 feet under for 15 years.

The actual hitch itself is great and the instructions are very clear (assuming you read them of course). Browny points to Curt for at least contacting owners to have the new version installed ... and for the speedy response to my email.

So the moral of the story for me is don't go to a rack & hitch specialist store / installer if you want the job done right ... go to your local mechanic or failing that see if you're granny has 20 mins free

By the way, the "specialist" dealer in Vancouver was Rack Attack. Enough said ;-)

FYI: If anyone wants to see what it looks like after install with the bike rack attached then I can email pics or send to someone who can post here.

[alfanut]

I have a 2" hitch from my old Envoy and a great 2" bike rack. Any leads on a 2" hitch for the EX35?

Thanks.

[hitch guy]

You will have to use an adapter..There are no plans for a 2" receiver tube at this time.