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niro EV trailer hitch

32K views 53 replies 26 participants last post by  fiehlsport 
#1 ·
is there a trailer hitch receiver available for the kia niro EV? is the rear of chassis, where a trailer hitch would mount the same on a normal niro, different than on the EV?
 
#39 ·
I have a 2020 PHEV Kia Niro Plug in hybrid. I called my Kia dealership warranty department. After researching it for several hours she came back to me and said that whether I had the hitch installed at my Kia dealership, she and those she emailed agreed that there was nothing in the warranty that indicated the installation would void any part of the warrunty unless it was caused directly by them drilling any holes into the Niro for installation. The reason I called was because I am looking at installing a trailer hitch to hold a hitch mounted bike rack. Information was received last week.
 
#4 ·
Curt Class III hitch for PHEV

I have a 2018 Niro PHEV. It appears to be the same as my neighbor's 2019 PHEV. I mounted a Curt Class III hitch for a bike rack. There is a problem in that there is a piece welded to the frame on the passenger side which interferes with the hitch. The solution is to notch the vertical plate on the hitch so it fits around it. It can be done with a hacksaw blade on sawmill or cutting blade on grinder, a very simple modification of the hitch. It does not appear to affect the strength of the hitch, which is secured by 6 bolts. There is a small plastic piece under the car that needs to be trimmed too. I know the Curt works well and it easy to install. etrailer.com has some videos for the Curt hitch (perhaps for earlier model Niros or non-PHEV) which are 95% accurate (except for the notching). Of course none of this might apply to the EV. Robert
 
#7 ·
I have a 2018 Niro PHEV. It appears to be the same as my neighbor's 2019 PHEV. I mounted a Curt Class III hitch for a bike rack. There is a problem in that there is a piece welded to the frame on the passenger side which interferes with the hitch. The solution is to notch the vertical plate on the hitch so it fits around it. It can be done with a hacksaw blade on sawmill or cutting blade on grinder, a very simple modification of the hitch. It does not appear to affect the strength of the hitch, which is secured by 6 bolts. There is a small plastic piece under the car that needs to be trimmed too. I know the Curt works well and it easy to install. etrailer.com has some videos for the Curt hitch (perhaps for earlier model Niros or non-PHEV) which are 95% accurate (except for the notching). Of course none of this might apply to the EV. Robert
I just bought a 2019 Niro Plugin and was told by my local trucksmart that there is no hitch for it, what is the part number you ordered and what all did you have to do to get it to fit?
 
#5 ·
Good deal of INFO has been posted time back (Hybrid NIRO) about trailer hitches.

They are not rated to tow I did call Customer Service and reported the results of that on a post at that time).

Seems the answer about warranty was - having a trailer hitch would not void warranty (unless there was evidence of too much load on the vehicle). Sort of a vague answer.

Anyway, I did not mount one on my 2017 EX Hybrid. How would you convince them if they wanted and out that you only mounted bicycles or a light load?
 
#28 ·
I too am contemplating of installing a hitch on my 2019 Niro EV. When 'I' contacted Curt, they said; "Wedon't make one for the 'EV' model". So, you can see, I'm a bit confused. I'm a retarded
retired Mekanix, so "slight" modifications won't pose a problem. What part number (from Curt) did you use? Any 'other' glitch's I need to be aware of? Again, THANX for ANY info you can offer.
 
#9 ·
I’m happy to report that the shop “Rack Attack” in Vancouver BC was able to order and install the Curt 13329 on our 2019 Niro EV. It took them longer than expected, having to enlarge / grind the holes on the hitch, and they completely removed the plastic mud guard. The install looks beautiful overall. 2” receiver! See pictures attached.

Thanks to those above who posted that it can be done on the Niro EV. It helped to know that it is possible.
 

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#10 ·
Nice

So, the shop just removed the mud guard, and made some little mods to the hitch itself, nothing else was done to the NIRO-EV?

I'm planning on doing this to my EV as well, so I'm just making sure of what is involved.

If you can take a few more pictures, I want to compare to my own car before the mod and after as well.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to having a hitch for a bike rack rather than putting them on the roof!

S
 
#11 ·
muffler heat shield modification

I did some modifications to the muffler heat shield which the Curt hitch instructions say to remove when mounting the C13329 trailer hitch. Number 1 because I'd like to have the heat shield, but more importantly because it kinda looked like crap and "unfinished" from behind without the flat black head shield on there :p ..here's before -- progress and after pics.
 

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#12 ·
The shield is there to protect the plastic bumper from heat inside the muffler. But as soon as you installed the hitch, the big massive chunk of steel in the hitch becomes a big heat sink for the muffler in it distributes the heat away from a concentrated area in the muffer and along the whole of the hitch that will cool off easier as it has a larger surface area.
 
#14 ·
I guess it all comes down to user preference. Most cars don't have any heat shield and you see the muffler and tailpipes coming out the back. It is an esthetic sort of thing and I am glad that you took the time to show everyone what and how you did the modification so that others know it can be done and how to go about doing it.


I had a bit of a puzzled look on my face when I originally read your post as this is part of the Hitch for a Niro EV, and I had the question on why would you have a heat shield for a muffler on an electric-only vehicle, but I quickly gathered it was more for the hybrid versions. I would ask if your car is a Plug in or just the regular HEV?
 
#17 ·
Hey everyone,

New to the forum. I recently bought a 2019 Kia Niro EV and installed the Curt Class III hitch for it. And I WILL be towing with it, so look forward to details on that (reliability, range drop, stability, towing modifications, etc).

That being said, I made a video of the install on a fully electric Niro (not gas or PHEV). The video goes over the problems that you will have to address when installing. Unfortunately it seems that I cannot post the link until I have made more posts on the forum, but look up my YouTube channel "Ecobrap". It was uploaded 09/25/19. Enjoy!
 
#18 ·
Hey everyone,

New to the forum. I recently bought a 2019 Kia Niro EV and installed the Curt Class III hitch for it. And I WILL be towing with it, so look forward to details on that (reliability, range drop, stability, towing modifications, etc).

you are hardcore tower? curious how well it will do with an EV and how much range you will lose with complete removal of whole aero piece in the back. looks like you can trim the end pieces to seat between the hitch and the bumper and preserve some of the aerodynamics?
 
#20 ·
The Fast Lane Car on YouTube has done a lot of towing with their Tesla model X and have seen that while it has plenty of power to tow, range drops drastically. Hopefully you don’t have any hills to go over. I’ll be anxiously awaiting your report of how it goes.
 
#21 ·
Oh, and one more thing. Towing is going to REALLY increase power draw. This in turn is going to raise the temperatures of various components from the electric motor to the inverter to even the battery pack. If possible, get something to monitor these temps. Otherwise, if things overheat and trigger a check engine light, it will be really easy for KIA to pull up the code history and potentially void your warranty.
 
#23 ·
Active fluid cooling. Temperature gets too high, systems will shut down. However, they are going to be pulling about twice the car's rated towing capacity. I'm not sure that will be a problem with their stated parameters, low drag trailer, speed limited - except for hills or high headwind. Possibly even inclement weather could get the cooling system too hot.
 
#24 ·
FYI everything was wired up yesterday, and we did our first towing test last night, 300lbs of tongue weight and the full 3100lb trailer. Unfortunately we were limited by a trailer issue (one brake drum got to 250 degrees after a 20 mile around-town trip at no more than 40mph), so I am in the process of investigating that before I do a highway test run. It is a 40-50 year old trailer with welded on backing plates, no parts available, so it is a challenge to retrofit new parts, but I think I found the issue and will try again this weekend. The trailer is just a placeholder until I figure out if the concept will work, then I will buy a new superlight 650lb aluminum car hauler.

Won't say too much yet about my testing, but as a sneak peak, the regen braking was impressive, and under normal driving conditions, my useless trailer brakes did not matter at all, the car was fully capable of stopping the trailer on its own, even on my very steep route that I took. I am a racing instructor at Laguna Seca, so when I get the occasional chance I rip the Niro around the track to test thermal capacities, and it has been very impressive so far. More impressive than that, is I have been monitoring the KW trace on the EV interface, and I have seen a full 150KW of regen braking at high speed. Very curious to know how efficient it is at putting that 150KW back into the battery? Does anyone have any numbers on regen efficiency for the Niro?



To respond to some others:

Yes TFL videos are interesting with their Model X, but they tow brick-like horse trailers and do 70MPH in the process lol. So we are hoping we can do better than that. Fortunately the speed limit for towing in California is 55mph so we are limited by that anyways, and being that we are towing with a small vehicle, we are going to be sensible and stick to that speed anyways. We should be able to achieve higher efficiency than the Model X given all equal variables, the Niro is a smaller car with a higher MPGe rating in the first place.

As for temperatures, yes this should be interesting. The car is supposed to enter a "limp mode" when things get too hot. I will continue my testing at Laguna Seca and see if I will hit that threshold. I would love to monitor battery/motor/inverter temps, so let me know if someone knows how? OBD2?
 
#25 ·
Nice report! Obviously you do know what you are doing and are using trailer brakes. I've not customized my OBD app yet, but there are a ton of PIDs available with a quick Google. There are a few possibilities to use off the shelf PID collections, I've heard of a Kia Soul BEV app that works. If you use Android, Torque is your best bet. Here is the best page I know of for PIDs:
https://github.com/JejuSoul/OBD-PIDs-for-HKMC-EVs/tree/master/Kia Niro HEV
 
#26 ·
Off topic reply coming.


Laguna Seca is my second favorite track in the world(the ‘Ring is my favorite). I’ve been to Laguna Seca a couple of decades ago and it was amazing to see the corkscrew in person. My racing days are over for now but one day I might slide back into a car for fun.
 
#29 ·
Not sure on an EV -- here's some detailed instructions on changes for a PHEV

 
#31 ·
Is there any official word on why Kia does not want people to tow with the 2018 Touring hybrid ? I'm curious because it seems from discussions here that small modifications make it possible to attach hitches, but there isn't a Curt or something that you can buy ready to fit on. What do Kia and Curt know that we don't? Local dealer is no help.

Another way to ask: Kia sells a hitch for the 2020. What did they change to make that possible?
 
#32 ·
Usually a vehicle that is rated for towing has brakes and cooling (engine and transmission) that are improved over a non-tow version. We don't know if the US market receives slightly different configurations than other locations. Sometimes it's strictly up to the legal department, depending on the liability laws in a particular location. Our cars may be mechanically identical to the EU versions that allow towing, but the liability laws differ enough between the two locations.

Why does the 2020 have a tow rating when prior years did not? Only Kia can answer that question. There are some differences with the 2020, so perhaps there's something underneath that differs as well.
 
#34 ·
The speculations from atc98092 have a good chance of being correct, as do the earlier discussions of load on the drive and brake systems. However, I am interested to hear from Kia. I presume they monitor this forum.
Ytcolev: who drives 80 mph with a trailer on any car? I don't want to meet that person on the road.
 
#35 ·
The speculations from atc98092 have a good chance of being correct, as do the earlier discussions of load on the drive and brake systems. However, I am interested to hear from Kia. I presume they monitor this forum.
Ytcolev: who drives 80 mph with a trailer on any car? I don't want to meet that person on the road.
This forum is not associated with Kia in any way. Might they monitor it? I have no idea. But if you want to hear from Kia, you should contact them directly. Doesn't mean you'll get a clear answer, though. :D
 
#42 ·
Hypothetically speaking, if I installed a Curt 13329 hitch (for bike rack obviously) I would most likely have done the following: Drill out two side holes in new locations to match a 2020 Niro EV then mount it up perfectly. It hypothetically takes 3 hours. The hitch at 12" high would need a 4-5" rise hitch to get to normal hitch levels.

Here are some computer renders of what that could look like:
Camera accessory Bumper Cameras & optics Gadget Camera
 

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#45 ·
Eco Hitch is a brand from a company in Kent, WA called Torklift Central. They are currently offering two models for 2019-2022 Niro EV, the x7440 and the x7442, on their web site. I called them yesterday and they will also install these hitches; their web site also lists authorized resellers/installers in various locations.

If you have a 2022 Niro EV, I also noticed that Curt has come out with a model #13497 that is advertised to fit the 2022 Hybrid, PHEV, and EV models with "no drilling". The Curt model mentioned above in this forum is the #13329, which they say will fit 2017-2022 but excluding PHEV and EV models (which seems to fit with the experience of others trying to install it on their Niro EV).

All of the Eco Hitch and Curt Hitch models have a 2" receiver. The Curt is considerably less expensive, especially if you get it on etrailer.com. I might try it... if so I'll report back on this forum.
 
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