Installation of accessory towing hitch
 

Hello all,

I own a 2017 GLC300 and would like to install the towing hitch so I can use it for attachments, such as a bicycle carrier. My vehicle is equipped with the Keyless Go system where you can wave your foot under the rear bumper to open the hatch. The dealer is giving me information that according to the MB the towing hitch installation would be conflicting with this feature.

It appears that they are not really familiar with the details and have not done any hitch installations on this car.

Does anybody know if that would be a problem in practice?

The accessory hitch is more valuable to me than the "waving of the foot" business. I am prepared to disconnect the bumper sensor if necessary to install the towing hitch.

The whole situation is a bit bizarre, the dealer is trying to find more info from MB and not calling me back for weeks. There is already aftermarket hitch for this vehicle made by Curt.

Did anybody run into this issue before?

Sure.... go to U-Haul and ask them "how much" - Curt I believe is a 2" receiver - the MB factory hitch is smaller size receiver....

My GLC came with the Class II hitch and has no foot wave feature. If you try to configure the car on MB website if you pick the trailer hitch it will say it conflicts with this feature. A someone said on another post it's probably because the hitch will take up the same space as that is used for the kick/open feature.
They will need to figure out if it can be disconnected or not without causing problems I suppose.
The tow package was a must for me to carry my bike rack too so good luck to you...

Right, what I am trying to find out if there are any physical obstacles to the installation given the Keyless Go. For example if the sensor is using the same physical space in the bumper cover that a hitch would use and so would be in the way. The OEM hitch part list price is $720. Curt is listed at $350, but you can actually buy it for ~$170. I am guessing that install would take roughly 4 hours.

The size of the receiver does not matter that much. Most attachments are 1.5", but there are adapters for 2" receivers.

At this point dealers are not helpful at all. I don't want to go to an aftermarket shop before I know myself what issue they will run into when they remove the bumper cover. Unfortunately I could not configure the car 100% when I was buying. There was a 5 months wait for custom models. I could only pick from something that was a close approximation of my wish list.

The job shouldn't be more than 2 hours. It is very straight forward and start to finish is probably only a 45 minute job based off others I have done before. Now, if there are items to remove/disconnect it could be more of an issue, but I don't think it would ever creep up to 4 hours.

As far as the access goes, do you have your vehicle yet? would it be possible to photograph under the rear bumper to see the sensor? Removal probably wouldn't be advisable as you might end up with a constant message in the info display (but maybe not).

Got an appointment for next Friday 3/31 at U-haul. The hitch was $159.95 + $80.00 for install. Tax and discount all in for $249. The hitch appears to be a Curt hitch with a U-haul sticker.

I just want it for a bike rack but wanted a 2" as it is far sturdier than the 1.25" with a nice Kuat or 1up bike rack.

Would be interested in seeing some pics after the install