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I installed on our new to us G2017 GLE350 with airmatic a Curt hitch and a Curt HD wiring solution (4 pole).
I did this alone, but you are better of doing this with 2 people. It was easy enough to follow the instructions from Curt (these are very clear and complete).
Mind you that for the 2016 and up the Curt hitch no longer has the extra bar that connects the hitch to the rear subframe. It just bolts (wedges) between the car body and the existing bumper bar that sits behind the bumper skin.
I has the car up on car ramps. I lifted the hitch with the help of a floor jack. And had to work hard to get the hitch to go between the car body and the bumper bar using a wrecking bar, a piece of wood and a rubber mallet.
All and all that took 3 hours easy. I am sure that with 2 persons this can be done under 2 hours.
Reinstalling the heat shield after al was done (including the electric wiring) was fairly easy, no cutting required, just a little bending so it stays away from the new hitch.
Second part of the install was the electric wiring. I used a kit from Curt.
I mounted the module close to the right tail light, there is a bolt sticking out there and using that and the provided double sided tape keeps it nicely in place.
The ground wire is connected to the ground pole that is close to the right side nuts of the bumper.
The 12Volt supply wire (the black wire of the Curt module) was routed below the carpet of the spare wheel well, then just left of the "hinge" of the trunk floor panel, under the carpet below the rear passenger seat. I used a standard fish pole for electric wiring to push it through. Putting my hand under the carpet from the fuse box side under the right passenger seat, I found the pole and pulled it through. I used the supplied fuse holder, 10Amp fuse and connected it to the main 12Volt post in that fuse box.
The 2017 GLE has standard LED tail lights, it is a multiplexed system (signals and brake lights combined).
The wires of the Curt module are connected as follows:
Red (brake wire): connected to the ground post.
Brown (tail lights): connected to the right tail light wire: white with blue tracer.
Green (Right signal): connected to the right brake/signal light wire: gray with black tracer.
Yellow (Left signal): connected to the left brake/signal light wire: white with black tracer
White (ground): connected to the ground post.
I had cut the 4pole wire as such that the butt connectors would be in the car. I used the grommet that sits in the middle of the wheel well (and central above the exhaust) to run the wire to the hitch.
I pierced a small whole in that grommet to run the wires through (I split the flat 4 wire as seen in the picture).
Only after I ran all wires, I put the heat shield back.
Figuring this all out was another 3 hours.
This is what I ordered:
13294 Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class III - 2"
59496 Curt Upgraded Circuit Protected Powered Tail Light Converter w Hardwire Kit and Tester - 4-Pole Flat
22272 Curt Rubber Tube Cover - 2"
38095 Mag-Flat (TM) 4-Pole Mounting Magnet
Ground post on right side of car in the trunk, behind the carpet. The grommet below the spare tire. Grommet, above the exhaust. Added the grommet to the wiring loom.
Thanks. I also noticed the difference in how many people will make updates or repairs to their car themselves from generation (W163) to generation (W166).
I owned a 2000 ML320 (W163) and then people were very active in reporting what they did.
With the 2008 ML350 (W164) that became less.
And now with the GLE it is again less.
But there are still some real home mechanics out there that do work on the car that I do not dare to take on!
Very happy with my hitch install, not sure what else I would need and can do myself.
I looked for a while to find one with the LED lighting package, there are not many out there (less then 10%?).
If I would not have found the right one, I would for sure do the upgrade from the Halogen lights to the Xenon (HIDs).
EJ
This is very timely. I have been looking at doing the same to my 2016 GLE400. Was there any cutting of rear trim panels required? How about a couple pictures of the the final install showing the rear bumper area.
Thanks!
The Curt instructions (via Curt or eTrailer) are good. There is no cutting of the bumper or exhaust heat shield involved at all.
The hitch sits just below the bumper skin, which is a little lower than the factory hitch (then the bumper has a little cutout).
Curt does not provide any info about the electric hookup.
Good information on the wiring. Glad to know that there is a way to connect a four wire plug to the multiplexed LED rear lights. Have you towed anything yet with your new hitch? I wondered if the additional lights on your trailer would create a fault that would be illuminated in the message center.
I am in the process of updating my 2013 ML 350 to a 2016 GLE 350 and of course the new vehicle does not have a trailer hitch. I installed a factory trailer hitch kit on my 2013 ML and it was very involved. I had to remove most of the interior on the right side of the vehicle to run a harness that went from to the trailer hitch up over the drivers feet with several stops along the way to make connections with fuse boxes and modules. I just got off the phone with the dealer and the price on the new "kit" is almost $1800. Ouch! I tow my race car and gear that weighs about 5000 pounds so I need the OEM hitch with the inserts that go inside the rear frame rails to strengthen it. The wiring is the nightmare I would like to eliminate if I could. I can get by with a four wire connector for the lights because my car trailer has surge brakes and I don't need a brake controller. I would assume you can purchase the wiring kit by itself from Curt?
Thanks, Gil
I have not used it yet to tow a trailer, but I have tested the new hitch with trailerlights and it does not throw any error.
The factory hitch does no longer have (like on the W164 models) the inserts that go inside the rear frame. It sits exactly where the current rear impact protection bar is. The Curt trailer hitch gets wedged between te body and the impact bar, using the same bolts. Towing capacity is also the same. You could buy a used OEM trailer hitch, but installing it involves taking of the rear bumper and modifying the bumper (a cut out to make room for the hitch as it sits a little bit higher).
The Curt or Modulite wiring modules that support LED (and PWM) lights should just work fine. They can be bought from several sources, I got mine from eTrailer.
Good luck!
EJ
How is the quality and reliability of Curt compared to a Tekonsha Prodigy P3 Trailer Brake Controller I'm looking at? I'm seeing similar reviews to where people tend to like what they bought, but what I am favoring the Tekonsha for is the vehicle specific harness that has connectors on both ends for SUVs like my '16 GLE 350 with a factory installed hitch.
It's nice to see detailed installs as done here since locations to connect or install to should be similar between some model years.
As a side request for those following this thread, I'm hoping to hear from anyone mounting towing mirrors (posted on a new thread) as well to see what works best when towing campers.
Thanks for posting this. I'll be doing something similar later this summer. My last couple electrical harnesses have been Curt and have been flawless.
One question: Did you consider just running the wiring within the cabin into the spare tire well and then flopping the connector out through the tailgate and seal gasket when needed? I've done this my past few cars and it works well as long as you stay away from the latching mechanism.
I did consider leaving the wire in the trunk. But once everything is taken apart to mount the hitch, it is little work to run the wire to the hitch.
EJ
The Curt instructions (via Curt or eTrailer) are good. There is no cutting of the bumper or exhaust heat shield involved at all.
The hitch sits just below the bumper skin, which is a little lower than the factory hitch (then the bumper has a little cutout).
Curt does not provide any info about the electric hookup.
Great job, do you have a side view picture?
how far does it protrude?
Just for reference, here's the OEM hitch receiver. As you'll notice, it's very recessed. It's barely noticeable when viewed from the rear at a level angel. You can also see the electrical hook-up. You can't see this at all from the rear. I had to get partially under the car to take that pic.
So here are your choices:
Best concealment plus electrical hook-up = factory installation
Most economical = eTrailer do-it-yourself installation
Best of both worlds = Buy the OEM hitch receiver from an online MB parts dealer and install it yourself
I installed a hitch receiver from eTrailer on my last vehicle. It was just for a bike carrier, so I didn't need the electrical hook-up. I watched their video and it installed without any problems. That model was concealed just as well as the factory install, so I figured why pay the dealer to do what I can do myself. With the GLE, there's an obvious difference in how inconspicuous it is. I hate the way hitch receivers look on some vehicles. It's like having a huge pimple on your nose. People see that and don't even notice the rest of your face. When you look at the rear of your car, it should be the last thing you notice, not the first.
Last edited by GLE43_Sube; 04-10-2019 at 01:16 PM.
Hi-
Glad to see someone else tried to use this hitch with success. I tried, but even using pry bars I could not get the bumper to push back far enough to slip the hitch between it and the chassis. It was really pushing the bumper cover out and I was afraid it was going to leave dents from the inside out. I was also a bit worried that once I did slip it in, the nuts would not engage the studs up to the lock tabs. Were you able to get the lock nuts fully engaged over the stud? Also, since the bumper bar is now sitting about 3/8" further back, did the heat shield mounting holes line up?
Has anyone removed/replaced the rear bumper on a GLE350? How hard is it to get the locking tabs to sit flush on the body joints on the reinstall.
I had to push the bumper a little out. I think if you do it with 2 persons (1 pulling on the bumper cover a bit), that it will work fine. But making enough space is a challenge for sure (I also used the pry bar).
Thanks. I decided to follow the instructions Stealth Hitch provide for their hitch and it was so much easier. Taking off the bumper cover is not that hard and then you have access to all the mounts, plus it is easier to align the hitch and bumper bar.
Thanks for the info. I just picked up a new to me, 2018 GLE43 w/o trailer hitch and trying to decide on which way to go between the Curt or OEM Impact bar hitch assy. There are several used oem impact hitches on EBay, but I didn’t know if there would be additional parts needed to complete the install.
If I were doing it again (and I may still) I would go OEM all the way. Fit's perfect, much better quality, engineered for the car, and not designed to fit where it was never intended to be, ie, sandwiched between the bumper mount and the body/frame. The stud length on the original bumper is marginal at best for the additional 3/8" plus that the Curt hitch needs to fit between them. This results in the locking portion of the OEM lock nuts not engaging. I used loctite to be safe. You will need a few extra parts, but I was able to find all but one on ebay as well. The two alternate brackets needed to replace the single center bracket for the fascia was the only part I could not find, but they were only $22 ea from the dealer. I don't want to bore you with all this, but if you want additional info let me know.
02-17-2019, 10:19 AM
