Hi Everyone. I just installed a hitch on my 2019 Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid this weekend and it looks awesome! It took less than two hours between me and another mechanically inclined friend and a couple of modifications, but nothing that was too difficult.
I called a few local places and the estimates I got were from $450 for a custom fabricated hitch from a muffler shop to ‘can’t do it.’ Thanks to this forum I found the drawtite 24963 but wasn’t entirely convinced by one random answer from eTrailer that contradicted their own site as well as drawtite’s (which was that it only fit the hybrid and NOT the PHEV or EV models). I called drawtite and spoke to a rep there who confirmed the 24963 fit the 2017 PHEV. I decided to take a chance and ordered the drawtite 24963 from eTrailer for about $140.
Prior to ordering I watched a video from eTrailer on the Curt model (it's my first post so it won't let me post the link) and installation was essentially the same on the PHEV with the drawtite model, minus that car lift. We used a corded angle grinder to cut out a small notch from the hitch on the passenger side to account for a frame rail brace (see the picture), but it fit perfectly on the drivers side. We also removed and modified the panel on the driver side. Just to make moving the hitch around under the vehicle a little easier, we temporarily detached the muffler from one pin/bolt thing on the passenger side that we easily reconnected once we were done.
One more note about the notch we cut from the hitch; we did spray paint the cut portion to cover up the exposed metal. Here in Southern California, rust isn’t a big concern, but if you live somewhere that it is, you will definitely want to make sure you don’t have any exposed metal.
All and all it was a pretty straightforward process, we actually spent the most time getting the cutout on the panel just right. Both of us are pretty handy and used to doing things ourselves. The angle grinder is really the only specialized tool needed; there’s no way my little dremel would have cut that hitch. Other than that, just a flathead screwdriver and a ratchet. Probably doable with only one person, but was nice to have a second person since we were lying on the ground under the car rather than having it lifted up in the air. I only intend to use this with a hitch mounted bike rack, I’ve got a small SUV that I can use if I ever needed to tow anything. I attached a few pictures to clarify, feel free to ask questions if I missed anything.
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