I was on the fence about getting a hitch for the car. Really not a fan of the diaper looking generic U-haul hitches, or just the look of a hitch in general when it’s not in use.

Enter the Stealth Hitch via Stealth Hitch Website. Wasn’t planning on posting about it, so unfortunately don’t have any photos of how it came in the box. As soon as I opened it I was really impressed by the quality and simplicity of the design.

It replaces the rear bumper behind the bumper cover using the existing factory mounting points. If you don’t have the kick wand option for the trunk then there’s no trimming required, in my case there was but it’s fairly straightforward because the instructions are really well documented. You essentially get photos of each step which eliminates the need to decode verbal instructions. A hard copy came in the box, with PDF’s available online. One lesson I learned the hard way was to make sure I had all of the necessary tools PRIOR to beginning taking the car apart( a 10mm hollow shafted nut driver and working torque wrench really slowed me down) but all of the tools required are depicted in the instructions.

I would say the most difficult part of the whole process is getting the courage to separate(pry) the bumper cover off and away from the body of the car. If you got anxiety reading that, bring it to a body shop. They will have all of the tools and hopefully not charge a small fortune for a job that(with trimming) shouldn’t take more than about 2.5 hours.

Before taking the plunge…


No additional “during” photos, but here are some after with it installed:





The hitch mounts into a heavy duty metal block, which has a lock and key, with a spring-tensioned lever that makes attachment super easy. And when it’s not in used there’s a rubber cover that keeps the elements out of the hollow attachment point. There’s also a cover for the lock to keep it from getting all gross from the road.

The receiver itself at first looked like something that belongs on an f-150, but once installed it mated with my Thule bike rack with ease. They have both 1.25” and 2” receivers available, I went with the latter:



Here are some photos with the rack installed. You can see in the first photo that the height or drop of the receiver is a rather precise fitment to the rear diffuser:



And finally just a few pictures of the car:





If you’re on the fence about getting one of these, don’t be. Worth triple their weight in steel. And entirely more affordable than getting into an Estate/SUV. And beats hearing your pano-roof creaking and popping from the stress of a roof rack.

Feel free to reach out if you need more convincing..

Mike

 

Good job, it looks better than roof rails as well . Not to mention ,it's a cool name too

 

Very awesome - wish i had seen this a few years ago...looks great and now u dont!.
Good deal!

 

phew, it looks close to the ground... I'd probably be taking big divots out of my driveway every time I enter or leave my house.

 

Nice pictures The car looks great!

 

I purchased a 2016 E250 last summer and have been looking at equipping a stealth hitch on it ever since as I want to carry my bikes, and tow my boat with it.

I have been looking into the factory OEM versionversion he Dealership in germany sells from ORIS., but finding this here or importing that is nearly impossible I've found.
I came across StealthHitches a few months back but never really thought about it as its aftermarket and I wanted OEM.

I have some questions about it.

• Is your W212 equipped with the AMG styling and lowering package? (I was told by many companies that it would not fit those)
• Do you know if it'll fit my E250? (Since I have the AdBlue Tank instead of the spare tire compartment)
• And did you code your car to have the Trailer recognition system enabled? (So that when plugging in a trailer connector it detects a trailer and adjust transmission and braking) *(This is something that they have in Europe and can be activated, I have the hardware to do so just wondering if they helped with that)

Really curious about it. I would really like to add a stealth hitch to my 2016 E250.

 

I would reach out directly to Stealth Hitch customer service. I’ve found them to be very responsive. I don’t believe the Adblue tank will interfere with the installation unless the rear bumper mounting points are different, which I highly doubt. I do have the AMG styling package, and the car is lowered on KW coilovers - I have no clearance issues. I don’t have the tow package installed(trailer light wiring) but I don’t see the wiring kit being significantly different to others on the market which would prevent it from being compatible/recognized by MB software. I’m certain they will be able to confirm any outstanding questions that you might have.

Best of luck!

 

W212 is the 1st sedan we own in last 20 years, who doesn't have hitch. I also own GLE, so it is not a priority, but could be useful.
From what I gather over the years
-no US model E-class ever come with trailer plug.
-for US trailers you need to use light converter with independent power supply to avoid lights warnings.
-for older E-class the US hitches would bolt to trunk floor, but from the pictures I see this one mounts to subframe only,
Our W212 is diesel with DEF tank, .like Leon has, so I would like to see confirmation the hitch will fit.

 

would this hitch work on a station wagon?

 

Question:

Did you have to remove and discard the absorption bar? (from what I understand an EPS - Expanded Polystyrene pre-bumper?)

I thought i had read in the instructions that it was needed, and i lost interest in this because i had literally just paid an independent to replace that piece for $1000 (Had i known i would have just have them install this instead) but i had done it because i purchased mine as a salvage (already fixed), and since i plan on having the kids in the rear facing seats, i did not want to compromise on safety.

However I looked at the instructions again, and cannot see that step , so can you confirm if you had to remove that?

Thanks!

 

I just purchased this suv and want to have a Stelth hitch put on for transporting our bikes. Has anyone done this on a 2026? Thx.

 

2016 was the last year for the W212, which was an E class sedan or estate/wagon, and not an SUV. You'd better ask in whatever section applies to 2026 GLC SUVs.

ah, I think thats there? https://mbworld.org/forums/glc-class-x254-280/

 

Although a zombie thread, looks like this question went unanswered. I installed (well, paid someone to do it) a Curt hitch on our S212 to carry a bike rack. Works great and doesn't cost as much. Did obtain a rubber receiver cover off Amazon since it didn't come with one.

 

and ooops, Curt 11413 is DISCONTINUED.
https://www.curtmfg.com/part/11413

 

Damn :-( That's going to be a familiar story for our beloved 212's.