[atoyf]

[QUOTE=B1nary;21713375]

Originally Posted by B1nary

I used the pictures and advice in this series of posts on the 2016 M235 to have the the new Curt 11367 hitch installed on my M240i. There have been a few changes (good ones) that M2 owners should be aware of if you are considering installing the Curt hitch on the 2017. I also need to add trailer lights to the car and the following is what I did.

Since I did not want to splice into the original wiring (I wasn't sure how much power draw the car would accept before throwing an error). Instead I used an external module - Tekonsha ZCI interface - see pictures. This unit gets its power direct from the battery and uses the current sensor modules for each light function (Turn, Brake etc.) to trigger the trailer light functions. Some things to watch for:
1. You do not need to remove or access anything outside the car. All connections are made in the trunk (see pictures).
2. You will need to remove the right side (Passenger) trunk liner (3 push plugs) and the bottom trunk floor liner as well as the back vertical plastic piece where the trunk lock mechanism is (4 push plugs). The rear seats will need to be folded down to access a single push plug right behind the seats.
3. Once inside - on the right side of the car you will see a big wiring bundle by the right rear tail light (inside the trunk). This bundle is actually 2 bundles. You need to remove a big strip of the wire loom wrap as shown.
4. Here are the wire colours you need to access (note the format is as follows -- the first colour is the main colour of the wire and the second colour is the minor colour. For example Grey/Purple is a Grey wire with a smaller Purple stripe. Don't mix these colours up as there are a lot of wires that look similar:
a. Grey wire/Purple stripe -- Tail lights
b. Black wire/White stripe -- Left Tail Light
c. Yellow wire/Black stripe -- Stop Lights (Brake)
d. Black wire/Grey stripe -- Right Tail light

The Tekonsha modules are attached with the arrow pointing to the light side of the connections (in this case all modules will point toward the back of the car. If you hook them up wrong, they just won't work. When you are done wrapping everything you will note that there is a small rectangular opening in the foam insert right in front of the wiring harness. I tucked the module in there.

Once all the modules are snapped together simply re-wrap all the wires together with high quality electrical tape (it is more flexible and sticks better).

I hope this saves someone all the extra work I went through before I figured out where all the wires were to make this work.

Thanks much for this post! Very helpful!

[murkul]

Originally Posted by gmorrell

Thanks for posting this.
It looks to me like the hitch goes behind the steel bumper, and pushes it back about 1/4". Does this cause any trouble with the fit of the plastic fender/bumper cover? Does it still line up correctly with other body panels?
It looks like you had to trim a little off of the back end of the heat shield. Did you have to trim anything else that is not shown in the photos?
My car is a 2016 M235i XDrive convertible. I wonder if there is any difference in the back end of my car compared to yours that would cause this hitch to not fit.
Sorry to see the broken tab. That kind of thing drives me nuts.
Thanks for taking the plunge. It's very helpful and encouraging to people like me looking for a hitch for this car.

Hi - I'm the new owner of an M235i Convertible and also looking to install a hitch for a bike rack. Has anyone had this done on their Convertible? If so, what was your experience? Any different from what this thread describes for the Coupes? And if anyone has any recommendations for installation in the SF Bay Area? Thanks!

[x7289155]

Originally Posted by murkul

Hi - I'm the new owner of an M235i Convertible and also looking to install a hitch for a bike rack. Has anyone had this done on their Convertible? If so, what was your experience? Any different from what this thread describes for the Coupes? And if anyone has any recommendations for installation in the SF Bay Area? Thanks!

that's much easier

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1549734

[Cabrio330]

Originally Posted by x7289155

that's much easier

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1549734

There is nothing in the thread you posted that discusses convertibles.

[Razzback]

Not to resurrect this thread from the dead, but what do you think to load capacity is for these hitches? I would love to have the ability to trailer my motorcycle to the track. Was thinking something like this for my 430 lb s1000rr:

[horsepower_and_hounds]

I am pretty sure they call out a safe tongue weight on their site.

[chief1richard]

Originally Posted by Razzback

Not to resurrect this thread from the dead, but what do you think to load capacity is for these hitches? I would love to have the ability to trailer my motorcycle to the track. Was thinking something like this for my 430 lb s1000rr:

The load carrying capacity of the Curt 11367 hitch is 2000LB trailer weight and 200 LB tongue weight.

[martinknutson]

Originally Posted by JDinWestCO

After 34 yrs with a 318i, I've just bought a 2016 M235i xDrive convertible. Very sweet car! I would like to be able to do road trips with it, and often that means my girlfriend and I would like to have our mountain bikes with us. We have a 1UP rack with 2 trays and 2" receiver for our 4Runner.

I found this thread and read thru it, plus tried to do a lot of other research, too.

Here's what I think I've learned. Tell me if I have this right:

1) There are only two hitch receiver arrangements on the market that will work on my car-- one from Curt, model 11367, which takes 1-1/4" insert (and 1Up will sell me the appropriate conversion for the rack $80) Class I with a 200lb tongue weight/2000lb towing weight. ~$120 from eTrailer.

The other is made by/sold thru BMW, and it hides further up under the bumper but attaches behind the bumper beam the same way. This is Class II, tongue weight 300lb/3500lb towing weight. Has removable, snap-in tow balls, or 2"receiver. Rear Transport crossbeam - $330 + 2" Receiver Tube - $194. (If I want to tow a trailer with lights, then wiring etc. would add ~$730 more in parts alone.) Link: https://parts.bmwnorthwest.com/p/BMW...712349499.html

I'm assuming the reason you are all going to so much trouble is partly to save money, and partly to do it yourself, correct?

2) I'm somewhat concerned about being to close to the load rating of the Class I from Curt. Our bikes are in the mid-30 pound range, and the 1Up rack is 40 pounds (total 100lbs+). It looks to me like static weight is not likely to be relevant, but the torque/leverage on the tongue is. And if the center of mass of the bikes/rack combination is twice as far from the mounting bolts, 100 pounds produces about the same leverage as 200 pounds at the ball of a standard hitch. Therefore, my 1Up with 2 mountain bikes would be right at load capacity.

3) As for installation, it's pretty straightforward, and your instructions show lots of detail, which is great!!! Thank you!!! For the M235, as opposed to the 228, a little modification is needed. The bumper trim of the rear diffuser needs to be trimmed a little (different trimming for different diffusers), and the heat shield needs to be cut some or left off, but otherwise installation looks great!

Does that pretty well summarize what it takes to carry 2 bikes on my new beauty?

So, sadly it appears that the "factory" option is not actually an option. I called several actual dealerships' parts departments, and it appears that these online configurators are in error, and this part will not fit any 2 series in the United States. These BMW parts web sites are only loosely related to the parts departments they link to, and their configurators are rife with errors, as per the parts desks I called. All in all pretty disappointing.

[2breezy]

Convertible install, took about 3 hours, easy day, no issues.

I like my bikes to ride a bit higher, and also have an existing 2" rack. Just had to drill a second hole in the riser as shown. Riser comes off, don't leave it on. I have a steep driveway dip, plenty of clearance, not even close.

[ossombob]

Thank you horsepower_and_hounds!

Bought and installed the Curt 11367 from etrailer. A couple comments:
Jacking up the car like you show would make things easier but I didn't and all went fine.
I did not unbolt/lower the exhaust nor remove the heat shield.
The hitch fit perfectly without enlarging the bolt holes, it could move right to left about 3/8". Just centered it and torqued the bolts.
Trim the heat shield with tin snips at the right and left corners for clearance. In hindsight maybe reforming the heat shield corners (hammer and dolly) would be better. I left the heat shield touching the back of the receiver (at the center), it doesn't rattle.
There is a lot of clearance to the muffler... no concerns.
I have the stock diffuser, it did not need trimming.

Sorry the picture rotates when posted. In this picture the hitch is pushed all the way to the drivers side. Note where I cut the hea tshield.

Thanks again!

[GoldfishRT]

Any problems with the 11367 fitting with the bumpers on a 228 with M Sport? I'd imagine the bumper drops down about the same as a normal M235. Don't mind the cutting. Just don't want surprises.

[vivavava]

Great thread! it was exactly what I was looking for.
I'm going to be using this hitch to tow my motorcycle on a trailer for track days.
The hitch is rated for 2,000 lbs. gross trailer weight but there's no specifications from BMW regarding the M235i. Has anyone successfully towed a trailer on an M235i? Just want to make sure that it's not going to damage the car. Most of the thread seems to be about installing bike racks and hence this question.

[aerobod]

In Europe, most F22 2-series are rated up to 715kg unbraked and 1500kg braked trailer towing capacity.

[TrboMike]

Originally Posted by B1nary

Since I did not want to splice into the original wiring (I wasn't sure how much power draw the car would accept before throwing an error). Instead I used an external module - Tekonsha ZCI interface - see pictures. This unit gets its power direct from the battery and uses the current sensor modules for each light function (Turn, Brake etc.) to trigger the trailer light functions. Some things to watch for:
1. You do not need to remove or access anything outside the car. All connections are made in the trunk (see pictures).
2. You will need to remove the right side (Passenger) trunk liner (3 push plugs) and the bottom trunk floor liner as well as the back vertical plastic piece where the trunk lock mechanism is (4 push plugs). The rear seats will need to be folded down to access a single push plug right behind the seats.
3. Once inside - on the right side of the car you will see a big wiring bundle by the right rear tail light (inside the trunk). This bundle is actually 2 bundles. You need to remove a big strip of the wire loom wrap as shown.
4. Here are the wire colours you need to access (note the format is as follows -- the first colour is the main colour of the wire and the second colour is the minor colour. For example Grey/Purple is a Grey wire with a smaller Purple stripe. Don't mix these colours up as there are a lot of wires that look similar:
a. Grey wire/Purple stripe -- Tail lights
b. Black wire/White stripe -- Left Tail Light
c. Yellow wire/Black stripe -- Stop Lights (Brake)
d. Black wire/Grey stripe -- Right Tail light

I'm a convertible F23 and my inside harness looks nothing like that. I would ass-u-me the colors would be the same but sometimes when you assume your ass hurts. Anyone wire trailer wiring to F23? Somewhere on the forum I saw people post to online shop manuals but I think they have been disabled. If anyone could point me to those (and they still work) I can look it up myself.