I just DIY installed the EcoHitch on my 2022 Sienna. I'm no gearhead but I do have experience working on cars (e.g. brake jobs, replace struts/shocks, installed hitch on Chevy Volt, etc). I also do quite a bit of work on the house so I own quite a few tools. Needless to say, I don't recommend DIY install of this unit for those who don't have experience doing hands-on work.
Thoughts on the design:
- Initially worried about replacing stock aluminum bumper, as the original is designed to deform and absorb impact. The EcoHitch is unlikely to deform much and will instead transfer the load to the chassis of the car. That said, I don't think it's a safety issue. If anything, you might get some chassis damage if you get rear ended very hard.
- The fit is very tight. The designed-in clearances are insufficient given manufacturing tolerances. Some amount of creativity may be required but YMMV.
- Initially worried about having to cut off a part of the original wiring support bracket but it's a VERY tiny 2-wire run that really doesn't need that level of support to begin with.
- I like that this unit uses the factory hitch mount points. There are several beefy threaded holes with plastic covers that were meant for exactly this use case. Torqued to 65 ft-lbs, which is similar to lug nut torque.
Tips:
- Before you start, I recommend access to an angle grinder or something that can trim metal. Tin snips are great for cutting the thin wire support bracket and plastic bumper but it's not enough to remediate interference. The plastic can be cut with heavy shears.
- A torque wrench is a must! I experienced some interference and I had to keep torquing as the part on the car slightly deformed to allow the unit to mate well with the chassis.
- Don't overcut plastic, as it will deform and it's easy enough to trim more as needed -- i.e. you cannot add back something you already cut.
- Get a medium and small flat head screwdriver to help remove the plastic clips without breaking them. No big deal if you break them but it's just cleaner to release them the right way.
- Don't tighten any nuts until the very end. You may spend a non-trivial amount of time just roughing the unit in.
- Don't cut any of the plastic per EcoHitch instructions if you want a tight fit. I prefer minimal gaps between the unit and plastic sheathing. Just eyeball it and cut incrementally after the unit has been roughed in.
- I was missing a total of 3 lock washers. I had to run out an buy them. I got some hardened steel ones that are zinc-plated. Perhaps stainless would have been better but it seems that the ones provided with the kit are NOT stainless.
When removing the bumper, it's handy to have a small flathead to remove the clips properly (Google search how to do it without breaking them). Instead of yanking the bumper off, just slip in the flat head and deflect the black plastic to release it without any force at all. If you pull hard enough at an odd angle, you can actually break them and it's part of a larger assembly so they can't be replaced like other standalone clips. Just do it the right way, as it's so much easier and gentle.
Nice beefy factory threaded mount points for the support brackets. These bolts get torqued to 65 ft-lbs. Nice!
I had to grind down a part of the pinch welded sheet metal on the van to remove interference. If I didn't do this, I don't think I would have gotten the bottom bolt in. And if I barely managed to get it in without grinding, I would have had to deform that piece while torquing down. An impact wrench alone would result in over-torquing or not mating the support bracket adequately to the chassis. Trust me, just remove the tiny bit that is interfering and everything else will be MUCH easier. What's shown in the picture is before torquing down -- after torquing down, the support bracket nestled all the way into the notch that I cut with my angle grinder. It's too thick for snips.
Just keep snipping plastic until the clip holes line up again. Don't be afraid to cut less and deform the plastic for a tighter fit. I left a little flap on the bottom to cover the bottom of the bracket.
Here is a view of the finished cut. Notice the little flap I left -- if I could redo, I'd leave a bit more of a flap. Also, notice how I cut the plastic stiffening "fin" to allow it to clear the nut (left circle). I could have cut that off all the way but simply cutting it and pushing it down flat did the trick.
The hitch is exactly 8cm wide. Conveniently, there are two holes that are 24cm apart, so one cut at 8cm and another at 16cm. The arrow points the the center line of the bumper. Again, before you cut too much, try to cut within 8cm and trim later as needed for the best fit, as the hitch will not be perfectly centered.
Here is what it looked like after I cut around the hitch. Notice that I left the flap -- there's no need to cut it off as it will just fold up right against the hitch and help block dust/water. Also, notice that I cut beyond the 8cm width to remove interference with welds (see two circled areas). I didn't measure anything. I did the initial 8cm cut and pushed it in until some part of the unit interfered -- just cut incrementally to tailor fit. Lastly, I found that you can just cut all the way to the line created by a valley where the plastic angle changes. In other words, just cut the flat part of the plastic and not past the valley where it starts to angle up.
No detail here. Just a zoomed out view halfway through install.
Finished install
Close up of gap between hitch and plastic. I could have done even better but I wasn't shooting for a perfect fit. I just wanted to minimize dust and water intrusion. I live in CA so this is good enough for now. I can always go back and add a soft material to conform perfectly.