not a lot of fun, but everything fits as planned. Honda made it difficult to get to the wiring loom and I bet their mechanics hate this installation!! It does require torque wrenches and a power screw driver is a godsend. You must be very careful removing panels since they are all plastic and can easily be damaged. Although the instructions tell you to disconnect the negative post of the battery right away, this is not necessary. I did all the installation EXCEPT connecting the various connectors and fuse installation and THEN disconnected the battery. You are disconnected for a much shorter period this way and it is not necessary to do the PCM idle learn procedure as a result. Instead of being disconnected for about 3 1/2 hours, it was only for 20 minutes. :wink:

How long did the installation take you? I just received my hitch today from H and A (Excellent Service) and plan on doing it myself this weekend. I was also wondering if you could use just a regular 4 wire strand and tap into it old school style.

and it took about 3 1/2 hours altogether. If Honda had made a small, removable panel cover for the hitch wiring, it would have cut the time in half. Not sure about tapping it in the old way.........that's what I have done on the last 3 installations, plus installing a converter, but you would still have to remove the panels to get to the wire loom anyway, so you may as well use the existing wiring and just plug the new harness in.

[quote:e3dc2a81a0="utahrex"]not a lot of fun, but everything fits as planned. Honda made it difficult to get to the wiring loom and I bet their mechanics hate this installation!! It does require torque wrenches and a power screw driver is a godsend. You must be very careful removing panels since they are all plastic and can easily be damaged. Although the instructions tell you to disconnect the negative post of the battery right away, this is not necessary. I did all the installation EXCEPT connecting the various connectors and fuse installation and THEN disconnected the battery. You are disconnected for a much shorter period this way and it is not necessary to do the PCM idle learn procedure as a result. Instead of being disconnected for about 3 1/2 hours, it was only for 20 minutes. :wink:[/quote:e3dc2a81a0]



I was wondering if there is only one type hitch available for the Element. I have a flat steel tray that inserts in the hitch that carries cargo ( like a cooler and stuff). Problem is the the receptical was a class 3 ( largest opening ). Looks like honda's receptical opening is very small ( 2 inch maybe ?)

Looks pretty small if you always had 2" receivers in the past, but it is rated for the load. I did find it hard to find 1 1/4 plug-ins locally, but I needed a different drop than the one that came with the Honda hitch and finally found a dealer that had what I wanted. :roll:

For you folks who have installed hitches: so how does it tow? Am I ill advised to try to tow a flats skiff (actual weight including trailer 1500 lbs) with an E?

My owners manuel pg 194 shows a hook up located behind right side panel.
Is this where you made the connection?

Check Camping World for adaptors of Class Size hitches.

That 1500# flats boat should tow fine. Adjust trailer axle so that you have
about 100# of tongue weight when trailer/fuel/motor/etc is loaded.