CURT13453 Class 3 Trailer Hitch, 2-Inch Receiver, Fits Select Toyota Highlander,Black

This is our third or fourth vehicle hitch install and Curt products are our go to. Fit our 2023 Highlander hybrid perfectly. Directions were easy to understand. All the hole aligned. Great value too.

fits my 2023 Highlander (XSE) no issues on installing and it arrived quick

The Curt hitch fit perfectly, bolt holes aligned perfectly with the frame welded nuts. I installed by myself, not having readily available help. This would take 2 people to hold in place to get the bolts started. I saw a You Tube video in which a gentleman was nice enough to show his method of using a floor jack. I did the same, using 2 vice grips to secure the new hitch to the floor jack turn/table. I also used a small C-clamp for added safety. After removing the 2" ball from my truck's ball mount. The flat portion of the ball mount fit perfectly in the circular turn/table of my floor jack. Making it easy to use the 2 vice grips to secure. I only had to move the floor jack sideways once to perfectly align the 6 bolt holes. Once the floor jack was raised (don't be in a rush) with just the slightest move of the muffler the hitch cleared the muffler and was raised enough to start and hand tighten the 3 bolts on the passenger side. Note: do not over tighten the bolts at this point. This allowed me to move the hitch a fraction of an inch while still attached to the floor jack. To start the final bolt (furthest front) on the driver's side. Once all the bolts were hand tightended the floor jack was removed. All bolts were than tightened to the 86 ft. pounds per the instructions. The clearance for the spare tire and all other frame structures was perfect, great engineering & construction by Curt! The only thing I would do different is leave a section of the altered driver's side under body cover. The instructions noted the suggested cut out portions were "general" and in fact they will provide more than adequate clearance to re-install the underbody cover. As noted in the photo attached. We could get by at least with the 2021 model to leave uncut the entire front facing portion of the molded/circular factory cutout and the underbody would still have ample clearance to be re-installed. Not a big deal. This would provide a little bit of extra structure strenght to the plastic underbody cover. Being the molded circular factory cutout uncut to the existing cross rib would add stability. However, the "suggested" cutout sections of the underbody cover will easily provide clearance for re-installment. I also like the fact the end of the hitch receiver extends out 3/4" from the bumper and with a purchased "Toyota" receiver plug through Amazon, it will exend out 1" total. I've had a young lady at a lighted turn lane bump our Avalon once while on the phone! Luckily there was no damage to our vehicle. But it is nice to know if someone isn't paying attention and bumps the rear of this Highlander, they'll hit the metal structure if hit straight on prior to the plastic bumper. Even though this hitch was installed to accommodate a bike rack, with no trailer pulling intended. I just may leave a ball mount inserted & locked into the receiver for added rear bumper protection?? Lastly, I wouldn't hesitate in purchasing a Curt hitch in the future after confirming it's fit for the vehicle model & year at purchase. This is a quality hitch and the fit was engineered perfectly!

My son and I put the Highlander Hybrid on jack stands, followed the instructions, used the proper torque settings, trimmed the plastic shield, put everything back together and slid the bike rack in. Took us about two hours from unboxing to using. Perfect fit on our Highlander. All of the holes aligned. It is unobtrusive when not in use. The Highlander Hybrid doesn’t have a ton of space inside and hitch is great option for adding utility to vehicle. Installation is easier with two people but you can watch some videos to see how to do it solo.

Great product. Fits perfectly. A bit tricky to install own your own. I used a floor jack to lift the entire hitch into position. Since the center of balance was about 3” behind the main receiver, I put a 2”x 2” x 12” piece of wood through the receiver and balanced the hitch on the floor jack 3” behind the receiver. This allowed me to position and align the hitch with the frame rails and install the bolts. Took about an hour to install hitch after the other parts were removed.

For my 2021 use, I only had to notch the panel slightly. I hate Drexel cutting wheels - they are a pain to use, grab suddenly and screw up what your cutting, make a mess ; what I used were tin snips and they worked perfectly. Overall the installation was good, the mounting flanges are flared slightly so I had to force them inward for the front holes to line up, I did the install alone and opted to use a floor jack to lift it up in place

Fit vehicle and looks good on car.

I have a 2021 Highlander Limited with the lift gate kick sensor. A lot of the research I did suggested that the kick sensor would have to be removed, or relocated. This hitch required neither. It fit just fine and the kick sensor still functions well.The plastic cover on the driver’s side rear will have to be cut a bit to be able to slide back into position once the hitch is installed. I didn’t have to cut very much, and no where near what the instructions suggested.I just slid it close to where it goes, made a couple of marks where the cuts needed to be made, and cut it with a Dremel. Easy peasy.