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Hitch for Sport


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Anyone out there ever add a hitch to a 2016 Edge Sport? Does it interfear with the foot sensor for opening the hatch?  What about the brand of hitch and model number? Hopefully I can add something that doesn’t look too bad - as close to factory installed as possible (even though there is no factory option for the 2016 Sport).  I’d like to not have to see the crossbar if possible.  

 

Pictures wuold be great.

 

Thanks.

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I added a hidden hitch to our 2016 MKX.  It tucks up nicely so you can only see the receiver itself not the cross bars and it does not interfere with the sensor at all.    But I’ve heard of other brands that have blocked the sensor.  So it’s hard to say for sure.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello, new member here. 1st post !!

I actually just finished installing the OEM trailer hitch on my 2015 edge sport..

The hitch is 300$ at your local ford,The ford trailer wire module was 60$.

I was lucky enough to have a family member that works for ford parts, so I saved a bit from those prices..

I removed the bumper along with the impact bar. I slid the OEM hitch into the frame tubing which is held in by six

M14 X 40MM bolts with flat and lock washers for each. The frame already has holes that line up with the threaded bungs welded on the oem hitch..The Mechanic at ford said the hitch and steel tubing is now my impact bar. Which is great. 

The lift gate sensor was not an issue.

It is 2 long flexible probes, kinda like coaxial cable. The probes are about 4” apart and are simply wedged into four grooves that run along the bottom and behind the valance. So I unwedged the bottom probe and curved it up and over, sort of a hump.

I used a friend and held up the bumper where it would originaly go and made my mark with a sharpie around the receiver.

I removed the bumper and proceeded with my dremel. All went smooth with cutting my hole. Be sure to cut on low speed to prevent melting globs of hot rubber that stick to your skin and burn!!

Everything works just fine. Compromised nothing.. The clean factory look was worth the 3 hours of installation. For all the ford dealers that told me it was not possible, 

IN YO FACE!! 

Good luck to all !!

Anything is possible..

Here are the parts you need.

SIX- M14 x 40mm bolts and lock washers

FT4Z-19D520-AA  hitch

FT1Z-15A416-A   harness

9565BBD6-6225-45D3-886A-A58F76A8187E.thumb.jpeg.314e7a46438d72760c2c314b5e240af0.jpeg6234E8FA-B370-45D3-B4C4-D0B54F9A0067.thumb.jpeg.8f28d03d5d1178948c8963c8b7382e30.jpeg

 

 

439CAD72-81C3-4B6C-8546-E41433E03055.jpeg

Edited by Sivicsi420
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Old thread, but felt like updating this for anyone searching in the future curious for answers.  I have a 2015 Edge Sport, and I used the Uhaul trailer hitch, which is just a rebadged Curt C13234, with a few more gussets welded in for some added strength(uhaul rates theirs higher).  Install was a breeze.  I did it by myself, with no jacks, and did NOT have to remove the rear bumper, or the heat-shield above the rear muffler.  Just dropped the muffler, took off and cut the two plastic trim panels as shown in the install video for the Curt trailer hitch on youtube, fish the bolts through with the provided hardware, bolt it up, torque it to spec, reinstall plastic covers, done.  Wiring was as easy as using a straightened coat hanger, tying the harness around it, and fishing it up the bumper/through the tail-lights, etc.  

 

 

DID NOT lose my rear lift gate function at all with this trailer hitch.  It IS however, a little more specific of an area now.  I can provide a youtube recording later if interested, but basically just put the tip of my foot on top of the hitch where the chains hook into(it's a convenient little "step" for your foot), and pull it back...viola.  Lift gate opens! 

 

 

So, cliff notes, didn't need to remove the rear bumper, super easy to install by myself, and my rear lift gate "foot swipe to open" still works, just a little smaller of an area.  NOT a hidden hitch or a tucked hitch at all.  I think it looks pretty good! 

 

edge 1.jpg

edge 2.jpg

edge 3.jpg

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Just updating the old thread for future readers...

 

I just did this factory tow hitch install on our 2017 Sport last weekend.  It took me a lot longer than the 3 hours it took Sivicsi420, but I was doing it without a helper.  I also ordered the factory wiring harness, but havent installed that yet.  That part didn't come with any instructions so I ordered the factory Ford wiring book and am waiting for it to arrive. And it isnt anything like the other aftermarket quick attach harness kits.  After seeing both, I recommend the aftermarket kit for the ease of installation only. I cant vouch if it will eventually burn up the BCM without the use of external relays.

 

To answer dweiss22 's question, yes, you absolutely have to remove the rear bumper cover. Not hard but very cumbersome doing it alone.

 

The factory Ford kit comes with all the hardware needed, and mine came with a pre-molded bumper cover insert that can be used on other Edge models OTHER THAN the sport.  By replacing the insert with the included cover, non Sport owners will not have to carve out their bumper cover. The factory Ford kit also came with some very basic instructions that will get a person started.

 

As far as price, I found a coupon from a dealer for 15% off counter part orders.  My local dealer matched it, so for the factory wiring harness and the trailer hitch I was around $400 out the door.  I used the factory part numbers from Sivicsi420 above post.

 

As far as the kick to open, I didnt have the split sensors so I just doubled them up on the right side with zip ties.  Now I have to kick to the right of the hitch...and be within 12 inches of the right side. Since I doubled it up, it doesnt work on the left any more,  not too big of a deal, but I wish I had ordered the split sensors like others have done.

 

I will post some pictures later after I reduce the size, to meet the upload limits, for those that are contemplating this vs the after market hitches.  I will say this one is built very heavy duty since it replaces the rear crash bar, and it doesnt sit low like the aftermarket hitch kits.  Were using it for our bike rack so I wanted it as high as possible.... and of course I wanted the factory look as well.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
On 3/15/2021 at 11:27 PM, SidneyAks said:

@Sivicsi420 or @TheTurboEdge, I'm looking at adding a hitch to my new-to-me 2017 sport using your instructions. Any suggestions on doing the OE wiring harness? Also, of I do get the harness, do you know if I'll need an ecu flash?

 

Thank you for the writeups you've provided this far!

Do a search and find my write-up of installing the factory trailer wiring. Can be done fairly cheap, especially if you purchase the trailer light module from a junk yard or ebay. Any Ford trailer wiring module will work, it's just the mounting brackets that are different, which easily pop off. Only have to run a power wire to the under dash fuse box to make it work, all other parts and wiring are factory parts and plug right in.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/15/2021 at 8:23 PM, TheTurboEdge said:

 

 

Just updating the old thread for future readers...

 

I just did this factory tow hitch install on our 2017 Sport last weekend.  It took me a lot longer than the 3 hours it took Sivicsi420, but I was doing it without a helper.  I also ordered the factory wiring harness, but havent installed that yet.  That part didn't come with any instructions so I ordered the factory Ford wiring book and am waiting for it to arrive. And it isnt anything like the other aftermarket quick attach harness kits.  After seeing both, I recommend the aftermarket kit for the ease of installation only. I cant vouch if it will eventually burn up the BCM without the use of external relays.

 

To answer dweiss22 's question, yes, you absolutely have to remove the rear bumper cover. Not hard but very cumbersome doing it alone.

 

The factory Ford kit comes with all the hardware needed, and mine came with a pre-molded bumper cover insert that can be used on other Edge models OTHER THAN the sport.  By replacing the insert with the included cover, non Sport owners will not have to carve out their bumper cover. The factory Ford kit also came with some very basic instructions that will get a person started.

 

As far as price, I found a coupon from a dealer for 15% off counter part orders.  My local dealer matched it, so for the factory wiring harness and the trailer hitch I was around $400 out the door.  I used the factory part numbers from Sivicsi420 above post.

 

As far as the kick to open, I didnt have the split sensors so I just doubled them up on the right side with zip ties.  Now I have to kick to the right of the hitch...and be within 12 inches of the right side. Since I doubled it up, it doesnt work on the left any more,  not too big of a deal, but I wish I had ordered the split sensors like others have done.

 

I will post some pictures later after I reduce the size, to meet the upload limits, for those that are contemplating this vs the after market hitches.  I will say this one is built very heavy duty since it replaces the rear crash bar, and it doesnt sit low like the aftermarket hitch kits.  Were using it for our bike rack so I wanted it as high as possible.... and of course I wanted the factory look as well.

 

 

Thanks for all the info.  I'm looking to do exactly what you did and for all the same reasons.  Did you use the included bumper cover insert to determine where to cut the bumper cover?  Also, do you know the part number of the split sensor?  Thanks again for the detailed write-up.

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@Livewire The parts you're looking for are EM2Z-14F680-A and EM2Z-14F680-B. Please be aware that while the part ending in -A will be a direct fit, the part ending in -B will require some creative mounting, as the mount points aren't there for the flat style ribbon sensor (at least they weren't on my '17 sport). After thoroughly cleaning the surface I used double sided 3m molding tape and a crap ton of carefully applied electrical tape. Concerning the cutout for the hitch -- I wasn't able to figure out a great way to use the included bumper insert, I just started out really slowly. There are some marks on the interior of the bumper that are good for tracing and give you a not half bad cutout.

For anyone who's looking into this; it's a really easy job, but figuring out how to actually get the bumper cover OFF can be a little tricky -- You'll do the 10 bolts on the bottom, then 4 (5?) bolts per wheel well for the bumper. After that, there are clips around the wheel well and seems below the tail lights (pictured). I started by gently prying at the seam nearest the wheel well, then up around the tail light -- I'm not sure if you actually have to take out the tail lights, but it's a whole lot easier if you do; but then you've gotta get a kid/neighbor wife to hold the taillight so it doesn't fall and strain it's wires or scratch your paint.

Once you've got these bolts and clips undone, there are two more christmas-tree pins on either side. They can be pretty easily popped out by grabbing the bottom of the bumper near the exhaust hole and gently pulling out from the car, for my car all the wiring went through a pigtail on the drivers side, and while it's pretty beefy, be careful not to strain it too much either.

WideAngleSmall.jpg

EdgeClipsSmall.jpg

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  • 11 months later...

Installed used ford factory hitch I picked up for $200 cad. Took me much longer than originally anticipated… 6 hours total. That was with no help. Cutting out the bumper with the dremel was the most time consuming part for sure. Big thanks to everybody on this forum make the install process that much easier. ? My son and I are pretty pumped to finally have our bike rack installed and ready for the upcoming season. 

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6AE9EB85-8EAA-43A0-B306-0A9AE40B0188.jpeg

Edited by Jamesdg6
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  • 1 year later...

Old post I know but I'm getting ready to add a hitch to my 2015 Sport and I'm going the factory route.  I'm finding much better pricing on the 2019 and up hitch KT4Z-19D520-AA.  Do any of you know if this part will work for 2015-2018?  Nearly identical part number to FT4Z-19D520-AA for my car and more readily available...so far anybody with a decent price on the older part has come back with on 'national backorder'.

 

Any help appreciated

 

 

 

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Just put a Draw-Tite 75234 on my '18 Edge Sport. You just remove the heat shield and you're ok...hatch sensor works fine and no need to remove the bumper. The bar itself is invisible from the rear of the car and the hitch opening sits just below the rear valence, no need to trim that. They say to just leave the heat shield off the car, but I just trimmed a little off the wings to clear the hitch but still allow for the nuts to attach, then removed 4" from the middle to straddle the hitch, making it two pieces instead of one. I then used a stainless steel sheet metal screw and large washer to secure the upper part of the shield to the metal heat shield just below the floor in order to keep the piece from flapping around. I did it solo and was a little tough to get the bolts to go through even with the car on ramps and the hitch on jack stands. It'd be MUCH easier with another set of hands. I only use it for a bike hitch, so I've not added any wiring for a trailer.

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