Great video Rick. I watched it several times before attempting this on my limited 2023. I found the instructions on a Reddit link. I can share if anyone needs them. After doing entire install all went as expected thanks to this great video. What I found is that the trailer lights didn’t work. Dealership told me I needed the relay PT725-48200 but it didn’t mention that anywhere in the instructions. Finally after a lot of searching I found where this converter goes. Once I installed it trailer lights worked perfect. I have all that info if anyone needs it I’m happy to help.
Rick - thanks for your earlier reply of 3 weeks ago. My 2023 Highlander is an LE hybrid model, while yours is a 2023 Limited hybrid model. Perhaps the issue here may be that your Limited model is pre-wired for a trailer hitch install, meaning that the available wiring has already been run to the computer, while on my cheaper LE model there was no such wiring to the computer as it came from the factory. I chose to add on the Toyota factory hardware as did you. And I took the advice of the Toyota Techs and had the wiring routed to the computer in the front of the vehicle. This added a lot of labor cost, as portions of the interior of the vehicle had to be disassembled , and relays added, in order to match the OEM requirements. I was advised that had the trailer wires been simply spliced into the rear tail lamps all of the rear lights, vehicle and trailer, would have been sharing a very low (LED adequate) voltage. Therefore, all of the lights would have been greatly dimmed. And it is likely that the computer would sense something was wrong, and issue a warning. So, I was able to complain my way to a reduced total install price of $1500. (The first estimate was $2500.) And now all seems well. My 20 year old utility trailer is equipped with 20 year old incandescent lamps, not with LED's. Power is being drawn directly off the computer, and not from the existing tail lamp and brake lamp circuits at the rear of the vehicle. A high price to pay. I fault Toyota for advertising my vehicle as a 3500 pound capable tow vehicle (so listed on the window sticker.), while failing to disclose in writing the rediculous price required to finish their job and make it tow worthy. And, I am told, in this tight market for hybrids, you can not custom order a vehicle with a tow package at the factory any longer. You can only get in line for one that has already been built and ultimately on the boat for delivery. Love my Toyotas, but it is very disappointing to have this huge bill sprung on me after I already bought the vehicle. One Toyota rep said that Toyota was not going to approve any tow rating for future Highlander Hybrids. We shall see.
thank you for this! can you please share the parts list and the installation pdf? i have a 2023 hybrid xle and want the oem tow hitch as well for the bike rack.
Can I please ask a big favor? what is the distance (space) between the sway bar and the OEM hitch? Finally a video for this DIY! Thank you! Anyway, i'm planning on installing an OEM too because the Curt Hitch I installed won't let me store a full size spare tire without any clearance between the rear sway bar and Curt hitch. I think the OEM gives me more space than Curt. Plus if someone has a flat tire and use the the donut, the flat tire will have an issue fitting into the spare tire location when using the Curt Hitch Receiver. Thank you again.
this is great Rick, thanks! i have a bronze edition picked up last january and been wanting to tackle this project to carry my mountain bikes. i had installed many aftermarket hitches in the past, mostly hondas and this is a little trickier. what i’ve been wondering is how easy is it to pull that lower cover ? you said it’s only held by two of those white clips? and the rest are just tabs? many had said you really don’t need to pull the whole bumper and i could see why in this video. TIA
Rick, thanks for sharing this process with us. What new parts did you have to buy besides the hitch? I saw 1) a bumper with cutout and 2) LH and RH underbody covers with cutouts. Did I hear you say you had to get a new kick sensor, too? I agree with that this version looks much nicer than the underbody hitches though it is a more complex installation process (and likely more expensive).
It definitely needs a new kick sensor. The old one won't fit on the new bumper cover. I think it's possible to buy it as a kit, however I just bought the individual pieces. Part of the problem was that every dealer had a different story about what I needed and whether the kit would work or not. Here are the parts I used: PT228-48200 - Hitch PT228-48212 - Underbody cover PT228-48213 - Underbody cover PT83P-48200 - Kick Sensor PT413-48201-02 - Kick Sensor Bracket PT228-48206-01 - Bumper cover
@@rickdebruhl7959 Thanks again, Rick. This is really helpful. Nothing worse than getting halfway done and finding out you need something with a weeks-long lead time.
Rick - I didn't see any wiring in your video. Did you simply wire the flat 4 prong electrical connector to the tail lights and brake lights? If so....Did you not get warning messages from the car computer indicating high electrical draw? This is a very timely video. I too bought a new 2023 Highlander Hybrid just 3 days ago. I never intended to do a DIY install. I asked the salesman to price out a Toyota OEM dealer install, and figured I would order parts and then pay for Toyota install out of pocket. The salesman was reluctant to do the research, though I asked him twice. As was another Toyota salesman at another dealership. Now I know why they were both so evasive. The cost for parts was quoted as $911 and labor was $1640 - for a total of $2551 installed. WOW. The Toyota service tech explained that wiring had to be run all the way to the front of the vehicle and connected to the computer. My experience with newer LED motorcycles indicates that the computer program had to be modified to allow this extra electrical draw. So.... I called U-haul and was quoted $463 installed for their proprietary hitch. Big difference. I found that (1) their hitch install would hang below the existing bumper and would not be a cut in the existing bumper, a bit unsightly. (I think you may have left out that bumper cutting process in your video.) And (2) they simply spliced directly into the tail lights and brake lights at the rear. No running wire forward to the computer. I noted that I did not want to void my new car warranty by inducing all sorts of electrical gremlins into the computer. And the U-haul guy said he did not want to touch the vehicle if it would void the warranty. But they had no problem with old fashioned splicing into the rear wiring and ignoring the computer. Can you confirm that?
The only wiring was connecting two plugs. The first is shown in the video (or at least in the very corner!) when the kick sensor is connected. The second is a plug that I show at 12:57 on the video. It originally had a cap that I removed and it then plugs into the the wiring for the trailer. Interestingly, I was also told by one dealer that it would have to be wired to the front of the vehicle, but the instructions (Toyota OEM) didn't mention anything about doing that. It seems that there is a dedicated plug in place for that exact purpose. There is no bumper cutting because you buy a new lower bumper cover (PT228-48206-01). That can be seen at 8:06.
Great video! This may seem like a dumb question, but on these parts is Left Hand equal to drivers side and right hand equal to passenger side? Or vice-versa?
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Great video Rick. I watched it several times before attempting this on my limited 2023. I found the instructions on a Reddit link. I can share if anyone needs them.
After doing entire install all went as expected thanks to this great video. What I found is that the trailer lights didn’t work. Dealership told me I needed the relay PT725-48200 but it didn’t mention that anywhere in the instructions. Finally after a lot of searching I found where this converter goes. Once I installed it trailer lights worked perfect. I have all that info if anyone needs it I’m happy to help.
The BEST VIDEO I have seen so far on the hitch installation for 2023 Toyota Highlander Limited . Good job. Thanks.
This is great. I'd probably won't do it myself after watching the video but great to know the process.
Great job 👏 thanks for the video. Can you please share the parts list ?
Just did this by myself on my 2021 Highlander - 2 people better but I rigged up a jack, creeper, a 2x4 and some zip ties - worked like a charm.
Rick - thanks for your earlier reply of 3 weeks ago. My 2023 Highlander is an LE hybrid model, while yours is a 2023 Limited hybrid model. Perhaps the issue here may be that your Limited model is pre-wired for a trailer hitch install, meaning that the available wiring has already been run to the computer, while on my cheaper LE model there was no such wiring to the computer as it came from the factory. I chose to add on the Toyota factory hardware as did you. And I took the advice of the Toyota Techs and had the wiring routed to the computer in the front of the vehicle. This added a lot of labor cost, as portions of the interior of the vehicle had to be disassembled , and relays added, in order to match the OEM requirements. I was advised that had the trailer wires been simply spliced into the rear tail lamps all of the rear lights, vehicle and trailer, would have been sharing a very low (LED adequate) voltage. Therefore, all of the lights would have been greatly dimmed. And it is likely that the computer would sense something was wrong, and issue a warning. So, I was able to complain my way to a reduced total install price of $1500. (The first estimate was $2500.) And now all seems well. My 20 year old utility trailer is equipped with 20 year old incandescent lamps, not with LED's. Power is being drawn directly off the computer, and not from the existing tail lamp and brake lamp circuits at the rear of the vehicle. A high price to pay. I fault Toyota for advertising my vehicle as a 3500 pound capable tow vehicle (so listed on the window sticker.), while failing to disclose in writing the rediculous price required to finish their job and make it tow worthy. And, I am told, in this tight market for hybrids, you can not custom order a vehicle with a tow package at the factory any longer. You can only get in line for one that has already been built and ultimately on the boat for delivery. Love my Toyotas, but it is very disappointing to have this huge bill sprung on me after I already bought the vehicle. One Toyota rep said that Toyota was not going to approve any tow rating for future Highlander Hybrids. We shall see.
What is the chance that this could be done correctly without removing the rear bumper cover?
thank you for this! can you please share the parts list and the installation pdf? i have a 2023 hybrid xle and want the oem tow hitch as well for the bike rack.
can u add the parts # used?
Rick, thanks for sharing. Can you share the link to print the instructions?
Can I please ask a big favor? what is the distance (space) between the sway bar and the OEM hitch?
Finally a video for this DIY! Thank you!
Anyway, i'm planning on installing an OEM too because the Curt Hitch I installed won't let me store a full size spare tire without any clearance between the rear sway bar and Curt hitch. I think the OEM gives me more space than Curt. Plus if someone has a flat tire and use the the donut, the flat tire will have an issue fitting into the spare tire location when using the Curt Hitch Receiver. Thank you again.
this is great Rick, thanks! i have a bronze edition picked up last january and been wanting to tackle this project to carry my mountain bikes. i had installed many aftermarket hitches in the past, mostly hondas and this is a little trickier. what i’ve been wondering is how easy is it to pull that lower cover ? you said it’s only held by two of those white clips? and the rest are just tabs? many had said you really don’t need to pull the whole bumper and i could see why in this video. TIA
Rick, do you know where I can get the pdf installation instructions you were using?
did your towing lights work? i think you still need a converter box for the lights to work.
Rick, thanks for sharing this process with us. What new parts did you have to buy besides the hitch? I saw 1) a bumper with cutout and 2) LH and RH underbody covers with cutouts. Did I hear you say you had to get a new kick sensor, too? I agree with that this version looks much nicer than the underbody hitches though it is a more complex installation process (and likely more expensive).
It definitely needs a new kick sensor. The old one won't fit on the new bumper cover.
I think it's possible to buy it as a kit, however I just bought the individual pieces. Part of the problem was that every dealer had a different story about what I needed and whether the kit would work or not. Here are the parts I used:
PT228-48200 - Hitch
PT228-48212 - Underbody cover
PT228-48213 - Underbody cover
PT83P-48200 - Kick Sensor
PT413-48201-02 - Kick Sensor Bracket
PT228-48206-01 - Bumper cover
@@rickdebruhl7959 Thanks again, Rick. This is really helpful. Nothing worse than getting halfway done and finding out you need something with a weeks-long lead time.
Can u put what needed parts for the install so I can order it.
Can you put what parts I needed
Rick - I didn't see any wiring in your video. Did you simply wire the flat 4 prong electrical connector to the tail lights and brake lights? If so....Did you not get warning messages from the car computer indicating high electrical draw? This is a very timely video. I too bought a new 2023 Highlander Hybrid just 3 days ago. I never intended to do a DIY install. I asked the salesman to price out a Toyota OEM dealer install, and figured I would order parts and then pay for Toyota install out of pocket. The salesman was reluctant to do the research, though I asked him twice. As was another Toyota salesman at another dealership. Now I know why they were both so evasive. The cost for parts was quoted as $911 and labor was $1640 - for a total of $2551 installed. WOW. The Toyota service tech explained that wiring had to be run all the way to the front of the vehicle and connected to the computer. My experience with newer LED motorcycles indicates that the computer program had to be modified to allow this extra electrical draw. So.... I called U-haul and was quoted $463 installed for their proprietary hitch. Big difference. I found that (1) their hitch install would hang below the existing bumper and would not be a cut in the existing bumper, a bit unsightly. (I think you may have left out that bumper cutting process in your video.) And (2) they simply spliced directly into the tail lights and brake lights at the rear. No running wire forward to the computer. I noted that I did not want to void my new car warranty by inducing all sorts of electrical gremlins into the computer. And the U-haul guy said he did not want to touch the vehicle if it would void the warranty. But they had no problem with old fashioned splicing into the rear wiring and ignoring the computer. Can you confirm that?
The only wiring was connecting two plugs. The first is shown in the video (or at least in the very corner!) when the kick sensor is connected. The second is a plug that I show at 12:57 on the video. It originally had a cap that I removed and it then plugs into the the wiring for the trailer. Interestingly, I was also told by one dealer that it would have to be wired to the front of the vehicle, but the instructions (Toyota OEM) didn't mention anything about doing that. It seems that there is a dedicated plug in place for that exact purpose. There is no bumper cutting because you buy a new lower bumper cover (PT228-48206-01). That can be seen at 8:06.
Great video! This may seem like a dumb question, but on these parts is Left Hand equal to drivers side and right hand equal to passenger side? Or vice-versa?
Where did you get the install instructions? I just opened the box and there is none inside. Thanks for the video and parts list.