That's how most hitch installs are. On older ford trucks you have to drill out the frame for the hitch. I thought it was pretty easy, the ford truck hitches are much more difficult. Mirage hitch took about 30 minutes, only have to drill out the driver side I think
2014 ES F5MBD aka 5MT. I am a full time Uber driver, if you want to drive for uber DO not sign up without my referral code for a bonus .
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 44.8 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)
Alex1a1f (04-27-2017)
Anyone else have concerns on how this could affect the warranty in the USA?
Might effect warranty because the mirage is "not for towing" but I'd ask a dealer and just say it's for a bike rack. A bike rack shouldn't void warranty.
I'm looking at buying a hitch for mine in the near future for towing a 4x8 trailer that will probably get loaded to 1500 pounds or so. I've removed the rear seats in my 2015 and have had over 800 pounds of gear with the addition of two people so a total coming to around 1200 pounds with no issues. It's also a manual so I use engine braking. Rides fairly stiff with the weight but doesn't bottom out even on the crappy roads around hear.
Curt hitch took me about an hour to install including free store pickup at The Homely Creepo. (it was cheaper there at about $115US) running the bolts was annoying but installation was pretty smooth. I had friends around when doing it and it was quick enough that they didn't get bored and leave. My only slight annoyance with the Curt is that it doesn't clear the bottom of my bumper very well, and it's therefore hard to get the pin in and out. This may be due to the previous owner backing into something though, as my lower bumper tabs are broken off so it's not fully supported as from the factory. I chose the curt because it's design looked more robust than the draw-tite and installation doesn't require dropping the exhaust. Very happy so far.
Last edited by bzacon; 10-26-2017 at 09:02 AM. Reason: Pic related
2014 Mirage GLX 5MT Plasma Purple
2004 Accord EX 5MT Graphite Pearl RIP
No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. -- That's why Ford outsells Mitsu in the US
Add me as another very happy Curt 11394 hitch owner. The actual install time minus self imposed issues was only 10 minutes. The passenger sides bolts pulled in under a minute each, the ubolt was a no-brainer and the driver's side took some fiddling but then went as smoothly as the passenger side. I lost the install sheet so just torqued them all at 900 ft/lbs. Two things I need to do before I can sign off on the job.
I forgot to nu-finish the hitch first. No big deal, I'll just drop a side at a time or something.
I need grease (help me on this one, I'm clueless) the receiver bar and the inside of the receiver tube, & the pin/spring.
The quality and fit of the hitch is perfect. The welds are great, visually, and the paint (baked epoxy?) is fantastic. I have installed hitches rated for more weight than the 11394 and yet there's only 1/3 of the metal in those hitches!!! Lol. Worst case, the Mirage can be picked up by the hitch and airlifted out of dodgy scenarios!! HAHA. Truly though, I'm not concerned AT ALL with the hitch or attachment points failing. Both Mitsu and Curt have thought this out and it's about as safe as can be short of 3x the work and 2x the metal. For $170 CDN., including the receiver, my opinion is that this is a great hitch for this car.
PS. I just checked the US site. $105 for the bare hitch FREE SHIPPING w/Prime. Amazon.CA is $199, FREE SHIPPING. 45014 BALL EXTENDER IS $30, 5" rise. Still overall a good deal.
Now, my good friend also owns a Mirage, I can't convince her to join here but I can still find help for her here, I hope. She bought the same hitch and it installed the same time as mine. She attached her (my) modified camper trailer and all looked OK. Then we loaded her Burgman onto it. It's a 400cc model, weight about 450lbs. The tongue is too low but that's an easy fix. What concerned us both was how far the rear wheels are pushed into the wells. I'll attach a pic later but from what I guess is a tongue weight of about ~125-150 lbs. the drop in the rear end is quite severe.
She (and I also) plan to swap out the Mitsu springs for a set that will keep the car level with a 125-150 lb. tongue wgt. and hopefully these springs won't make our handsome little car sit high in the rear end like a John Force funny car. Ideas?
TL;DR
Added a hitch and need spring advice
Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.
Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!
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View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)