non-Honda hitch and warranty?

[AM617]

Hi everyone, I've searched through all the posts about hitches and haven't found an answer to some questions we have. We have an 07 CRV and want to add a trailer hitch, mostly for a bike rack but possibly for towing a trailer if the need ever arises. I was warned by someone that installing a hitch that wasn't a Honda brand, by the dealer, would void the warranty (and no, it wasn't someone at the dealership.) From what I gather from the other posts, many other CRV owners have hitches that they purchased elsewhere & installed themselves. I would like to have a hitch installed by a place like Fleet Farm (midwest store) which quoted around $300 for parts & labor, including the electrical, versus the nearly $1000 quote from the Honda dealer. The labor price is worth it to us--we don't have the time or expertise to do it ourselves. Does anyone have any insight into the warranty issue? The only supporting evidence I was able to find online was regarding towing a certain weight with a Pilot, and the powertrain warranty was voided because a cooler wasn't also installed to handle the extra strain on the transmission.

[06whtcrv]

if you can turn a wrench you can install it yourself - check e-trailer for what is available. Curt and Valley are 2 that are widely mentioned. The Curt seems to be a tighter fit to the vehicle - the valley hangs a bit lower.
I installed my own on my 06 in about a 1/2 hour- and I believe the 07 is even easier, although I have not done it.

[2RedV's]

Hi everyone, I've searched through all the posts about hitches and haven't found an answer to some questions we have. We have an 07 CRV and want to add a trailer hitch, mostly for a bike rack but possibly for towing a trailer if the need ever arises. I was warned by someone that installing a hitch that wasn't a Honda brand, by the dealer, would void the warranty (and no, it wasn't someone at the dealership.) From what I gather from the other posts, many other CRV owners have hitches that they purchased elsewhere & installed themselves. I would like to have a hitch installed by a place like Fleet Farm (midwest store) which quoted around $300 for parts & labor, including the electrical, versus the nearly $1000 quote from the Honda dealer. The labor price is worth it to us--we don't have the time or expertise to do it ourselves. Does anyone have any insight into the warranty issue? The only supporting evidence I was able to find online was regarding towing a certain weight with a Pilot, and the powertrain warranty was voided because a cooler wasn't also installed to handle the extra strain on the transmission.

Welcome to the forum! :)

There is no warranty issue with adding an aftermarket part. The only thing that could happen is if a failure can be directly attributed to that aftermarket part. In that case, the only part of the warranty that can be voided is on the parts directly affected by the aftermarket part.

Purchase a real Honda wiring kit for your hitch install. It plugs in. It does require removal of several of the interior panels in the back. The factory kit also has the proper resistors to prevent wiring damage. Do not let someone from Farm and Fleet hack into the wiring harness.

As to the hitch itself, do not get the Honda hitch if you ever think you may be towing a trailer or boat or put more than 2 bikes on it. Get a proper hitch like the Curt or Valley brand with a 2 inch receiver. The factory hitch has only a 1.25 inch receiver and is not very heavy duty. Again, get the factory wiring kit, from the dealer.

[Steel Cranium]

I installed a hidden hitch 2" receiver on a 2008 CR-V over the weekend. Total job took 30 mins. Most time was spent locating where everything should go and removing the two rubber muffler brackets. Spraying them with a little WD-40 or PB blaster makes the job easy. The hardest part is holding the rack in place before attaching it to the frame if doing the job by yourself. Once the hitch is installed, the rubber brackets pop back on to hold the muffler in place. The 'inner' one doesn't look like it will fit back on, but can be forced back in without too much effort.