So that about says it. I want a trailer hitch. I have been very happy in the past dealing with Etrailer.com and would like to do so again. Their website says the wiring unit they have is a fit for the 2016 Sorento WITH towing package.
Does anyone know if there is an easy way for me to tell if my Sorento has the towing package? Mine is a 2016 SXL AWD V6. I will call my dealer if needed but I have been given wrong information going that route in the past so I tend to rely more on enthusiasts like myself on forums like this.
I very much appreciate the help. Thank you.
I was curious as well with my 2015. To me, it would make since that kia made all the sorento wiring trailer ready. There should be plugs for the trailer wiring. Only for 4 pin though. 7 pin would require extra work. Also does anyone know if sorentos come with a auxiliary transmission cooler with trailer package. The dealer removed my window sicker before I picked it up but I know I don't have a Transmission cooler. Just the factory warmer/cooler.
Excellent recommendation but the window sticker shows nothing about it. So....that either means it doesn't have it OR it just doesn't go on the window sticker. Not a definitive answer.
From pictures on 14/15 models there should be two connectors on drivers side area of rear bumper. I assume 2016 should be similar. I have not looked under mine yet for wiring. Last time I was under it, I forgot to check out the wiring. If you just need 4 pin, don't need trailer brakes, then wiring should be easy.
I purchased my 2016 Sorento LX V6 AWD on Monday, March 30. I had the same concern about the wiring. I do not have the factory tow package and my window sticker says nothing about it being prepped for the tow package.
I installed a hitch (Curt model #13195 ) on Friday but had not ordered the wiring harness since I wasn't sure if the T-Connector version would work. After removing the plastic cover behind the rear wheel on the driver's side to install the hitch, I see there are two plugs there, so the Curt model #56151 T-Connector will work in my case. I would assume all V6 models would be pre-wired in this fashion.
Install looks good. Looks exactly like the Sorento on the showroom floor. I'm guessing Curt makes the OEM hitch (or they reverse engineered the OEM hitch). I'll get a picture tonight.
...Also... I am thinking of powder coating the hitch silver to match the silver on the lower half of the bumper cover before I install it.
What do you guys think of that idea?
I'm thinking it might blend it in nicely so it is less noticeable.
I wasn't thinking of doing it myself, seems like you would need two sets of hands as I imagine it's not light, and I don't have the torque wrenches to get it right. You'll get a laugh out of this though: I stopped by a rack specialist today in San Jose and was quoted fair price for curt parts but 300 for hitch install and 75 for the wire install - 600+ total
The uhaul site says the product they install is a curt (link to down load the manual), I'll take a closer look at that option.
Install was very easy, I did it all by myself. It is a little on the heavy side but I was able to rest the right side on top of the muffler while I bolted up the left side. I was taking my time and total install time was about 90 minutes.
I also received the wiring harness on Friday and put that on over the weekend, total install time was about 15 minutes (which included a lot of looking and trying to decide exactly where to route the wires and mount the converter box).
Those are pretty high install prices. A professional should be able to get the hitch and wiring on in one hour. For that kind of money you could buy a torque wrench and still be money ahead.
Well I ordered mine. Etrailer called me and said there was a problem with my order as the hitch was back-ordered. They would not be able to have it to ship out to me until Monday morning. (this was Saturday morning that they called). I just laughed and said that is just such a long time to wait I don't think I can handle it. LOL They are a great company for making such a phone call! I honestly didn't expect it to ship until Monday anyway since I only ordered Friday night. Anyway.... Maybe I will be able to post a picture of mine after install if Jim doesn't have one of his.
bevmo - I notice you said about having it installed..... If you have never done one yourself I just wanted to mention that it is extremely easy. I have done several (granted not on this auto) and never had one that was not really really easy. Just mentioning it.
Also... I am thinking of powder coating the hitch silver to match the silver on the lower half of the bumper cover before I install it.
What do you guys think of that idea?
I'm thinking it might blend it in nicely so it is less noticeable.
I wasn't thinking of doing it myself, seems like you would need two sets of hands as I imagine it's not light, and I don't have the torque wrenches to get it right. You'll get a laugh out of this though: I stopped by a rack specialist today in San Jose and was quoted fair price for curt parts but 300 for hitch install and 75 for the wire install - 600+ total
The uhaul site says the product they install is a curt (link to down load the manual), I'll take a closer look at that option.
Thanks Jim. U-Haul hitch install charge is about $90 at their 'hitch super centers' which is within sanity levels vs $300 but their wiring install charge is $125, so maybe the best answer is I do the wiring as that seems to be the easier part.
I don't know if I even need the wiring, I can just do it later when I actually have a need beyond bike rack...
$90 seems very reasonable for the hitch install. Definitely do the wiring yourself (if you ever need it). I'm assuming the $125 is them assuming they have to identify all the wires and splice in connectors. Yours should be set up with the plugs just like mine.
I see more clearly it's not symmetrical because of the muffler. Much as I would have liked to have have look of a more 'built in hitch', like jeep grand cherokee, I understand that's not the really demographic for this car.
It looks like a solid option from Curt to get my bike racks up, that's the main thing.
Hey guys. I installed mine this weekend. I did the hitch and the wiring. It was very very easy. I used the muffler to hold up the pass side while I put a bolt in the driver side and then one in the pass side. Then I lowered the muffler and bolted the whole thing up. The whole job took about an hour from beginning to end. This said..... bevmo I feel like $90 is a perfectly reasonable install price just simply so you don't have to spend the time to do it and get a shower after from laying on the ground. I would be completely willing to pay that.
You may want to go ahead and purchase the wiring and when you have the hitch installed just hand it to them and ask them to please "snap it in place while they are at it". Don't use the word install as that is associated with money. Just ask them for a "favor". Honestly the wiring adds minutes to the install when you are already doing the hitch. Literally all you have to do is remove 4 plastic screws and pull the plastic to the side, snap in the 2 connectors, and zip tie the wires up so they don't drag on the ground. Then replace the 4 screws. It is so quick and easy once you are already in there I would lose sleep if I charged someone extra to do it.
Hitch installed, I think U-Haul (Santa Clara, CA) did a good job for a fair price, and the Curt looks really solid. It was about 290 total after tax, install, and a lifetime warranty.
I am very interested in doing this myself in the near future. Couple questions after reading the install instructions online:
1) Do you absolutely need a torque wrench or can you use your best judgement when tightening? I will only use this for a bike rack anyway, but curious. Not even sure how much a torque wrench costs--could be a cheap tool.
2) Did you need to cut away any metal on the vehicle? I've seen some install guides/videos that mention cutting away some overhang to get the bolt seated properly. I would be much less likely to do this myself if this were involved.
And just so you know, I told the dealer upfront I wanted a trailer hitch (the port installed one is $400, I think). After checking, my salesman said the job would be close to $2,000 with labor, but he got me a deal" to do it for $780 (which is just the dealership cost, or some such nonsense). I obviously declined.
Which hitch make?
No metal cutting as far as I know, just remove the rubber bungs in the threaded holes, at least for the Curt.
I could not find a cheap torque wrench, hence paying for the install at u-haul, it was reasonable. I thought u-hauls were all over? Maybe you know someone who has the tools to borrow? There is also a tool to help unhook the muffler hanger that was handy.
I do think the bolts need to be torqued to spec. Not tight enough and they will loosen over time, too tight they could be weakened. Although I just use mine for bike rack too, 4 bikes and platform rack is heavy, it's all tongue weight directly on the hitch maybe 220lb, and the limit is 350lb, so I would not risk it my 2c.
Harbor Freight has nice enough torque wrenches for 20 bucks.
No You def don't need one. I have installed more than 10 of these on various vehicles and never used one. (including this sorento). Torque specs are listed on trailer hitches because of liability. Meaning so you can't come back and say well you didn't tell me I had to make them tight!
No cutting of any type is required for this install.
I'm looking at putting a hitch on my 2017 Kia Sorento V6 AWD to pull a travel trailer (about 4000 lbs.). Since the trailer has electric brakes, I assume I'll not only need the 4-way wiring harness, but also, the brake controller (with a 7 way port?). Anybody have recommendations on the right part number for this?
I did get a quote to have a shop provide the Curt hitch and all the wiring for about $700 + tax. Based on some videos for doing brake controller wiring, maybe that isn't too bad? From the video for brake controller installation on a Highlander (I didn't see a video for brake controller on a Sorento) it looks like they mount the brake controller box on the firewall below the steering wheel - right about where my left knee will bang into it. :-(
I'm looking at putting a hitch on my 2017 Kia Sorento V6 AWD to pull a travel trailer (about 4000 lbs.). Since the trailer has electric brakes, I assume I'll not only need the 4-way wiring harness, but also, the brake controller (with a 7 way port?). Anybody have recommendations on the right part number for this?
I did get a quote to have a shop provide the Curt hitch and all the wiring for about $700 + tax. Based on some videos for doing brake controller wiring, maybe that isn't too bad? From the video for brake controller installation on a Highlander (I didn't see a video for brake controller on a Sorento) it looks like they mount the brake controller box on the firewall below the steering wheel - right about where my left knee will bang into it. :-(
If you're looking to avoid a brake controller that invades your foot well and knee area, have a look at the inertial brake control unit; Tow Pro Elite from Redarc. I picked one up on eBay and installed it with the control knob sticking out of my fuse panel door. The actual module can be mounted in any orientation within 10 feet of the control knob. I haven't had a chance to test it out yet, but it's very unobtrusive as far as changing your cabin goes.
Thanks JaeO. The REDARC TOW PRO ELITE looks pretty slick, but even on eBay I'd have to have to wait a couple weeks while it ships from Australia. I didn't see any US sellers.
Thanks JaeO. The REDARC TOW PRO ELITE looks pretty slick, but even on eBay I'd have to have to wait a couple weeks while it ships from Australia. I didn't see any US sellers.
I didn't install it myself. There isn't (or at least wasn't at the time) a wiring harness available for sale for a brake controller in the '16/'17 Sorento, so I had a local shop do it. I don't think it was anything too exotic though; just tapping the appropriate wires.
I was already wired in with the 4-pin OEM hitch/wiring, so they ran the extra lines back, removed the bracket and connector for the 4-pin and installed the 7-pin using an adapter from draw-tite.
Excuse the salty mess; were in the midst of our great Canadian winter.
Any new 2017 Sorento SXL owner in WA want a free tow hitch?
Hey Kia Forum members,
I was trying to find the perfect hitch for my brand new 2017 Sorento SXL and came across the "Hidden Hitch" from Torklift Central.
They have one set up for the 2016 Sorento and it looks great in the photos. You really can only see the hitch sticking out and not all the tubes.
I reached out to them about getting a hitch for my rig and they said they had not had a customer come in with a new 2017 Sorento yet so they were not sure if it would fit.
They told me by phone that if someone brings in a car they don't have a hitch for, they will fabricate a new one for free so that they have a model for a new product. The "Hitch" is that you have to be local so they can keep your car for long enough to fabricate the hitch. I live in California so I can't take them up on it without a serious roadtrip.
If you live near them, can you please call and take them up on the offer so I can buy their nice looking hitch?
315 Central Ave N
Kent, WA 98032
Call Us (877) 343-6933
I was trying to find the perfect hitch for my brand new 2017 Sorento SXL and came across the "Hidden Hitch" from Torklift Central.
They have one set up for the 2016 Sorento and it looks great in the photos. You really can only see the hitch sticking out and not all the tubes.
I reached out to them about getting a hitch for my rig and they said they had not had a customer come in with a new 2017 Sorento yet so they were not sure if it would fit.
They told me by phone that if someone brings in a car they don't have a hitch for, they will fabricate a new one for free so that they have a model for a new product. The "Hitch" is that you have to be local so they can keep your car for long enough to fabricate the hitch. I live in California so I can't take them up on it without a serious roadtrip.
If you live near them, can you please call and take them up on the offer so I can buy their nice looking hitch?
315 Central Ave N
Kent, WA 98032
Call Us (877) 343-6933
If you have an 2017 SXL, that would mean you have a V6 engine. Do you have AWD? The hitch from torklift is limited to 3500 lbs while the AWD V6 sorento can tow up to 5000 lbs. So you would be limiting yourself with a torklift hitch if you have AWD.
the chassis (yes i know, unibody) on the 2016 and 2017 models are the same. So if they have a 2016 model hitch, it will fit the 2017 without a hitch (yes, pun intended).
put in my Curt hitch in today, it was not as easy as some of the videos make it look like and thank got I got to a place with a lift otherwise it would have been impossible to do it by myself.
I had 2 main issues with the install:
First issue was that fact that the 2016 Canadian LX seems to have some extra heat shielding bolted to the body above the muffler, that made fitting lining up the hitch on the passenger side a bitch
The hardware kit if got did not have the screws with the one flat side for the passenger side, which made threading the screw in and aligning it properly a major pain.
Anyone looking to attempt this I have a few suggestions:
when removing the muffler off the hangers, remove the hanger from the car (rather than the muffler) on the passenger side above the muffler, much easier
There is an additional hanger in past the muffler that is also handy to remove it lowers the muffler another inch or so (make sure the muffler is properly supported)
Bungie cords were a godsend if you do this alone. I used them to carry the width of the hitch while freeing both my hands to do the alignment.
The spare tire will not come up as easy as before as it tends to catch on the hitch on the was up, you need to angle it a bit to get it to fit.
Also, the Canadian LX is not prewired for a trailer, so if you need to tow the OEM connector will not work for you.
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