[Comeakei]

After waiting 2 1/2 weeks for the arrival of my new trailer hitch my dealer informed me that my wait will be extended. They confirmed that there is a recall on the hitch with no date as to when it will be rectified and new hitches shipped to all customers.

Has anyone else received the same news? Any time line on the delivery of new hitches?

 

[zulater]

I've had a hitch from day 1 of ownership and have not heard anything. Nothing on mysubaru.com either

 

[Rgashton]

I've had a hitch from day 1 of ownership and have not heard anything. Nothing on mysubaru.com either

Ditto. Nothing on our app either.

 

[jmh]

After waiting 2 1/2 weeks for the arrival of my new trailer hitch my dealer informed me that my wait will be extended. They confirmed that there is a recall on the hitch with no date as to when it will be rectified and new hitches shipped to all customers.

Has anyone else received the same news? Any time line on the delivery of new hitches?

Do you me the ball mount that goes into the receiver/hitch, or the actual entire hitch assembly?

 

[jakenorton]

I can confirm there is a hitch recall, although the details seem sketchy still.

I bought an Ascent about 10 days ago, and was to have a hitch installed Wednesday. Got a call Tuesday night from the dealership saying that Subaru had contacted them asking for all hitches to be sent back, VIN numbers for any they had installed/sold, and put an indefinite hold on selling any Ascents with hitches installed. As noted on another post, there's now a new product number for the hitch, presumably a fixed one, but no one has it. I checked to confirm with several other dealers in Colorado, and got the same response from them all: recall, few details, no hitches, period.

Sounds like it'll be until at least October before the new hitches are being sent out and ready for install. Frustrating. If you have one installed, I'd call your dealer to find out the deal.

Also, no aftermarket hitches are available yet from my research. Earliest from what I'm hearing is October for those as well.

 

[CentralMASubie]

I just called my dealer to check. I had my hitch installed a week after I bought it last month. No recall for my part number. Doesn't mean there won't be, but good to know it's not universal as of now.

 

[jakenorton]

Interesting... Will be good to hear more from others as well. Everything I heard said it was a recall on all the hitches, but if your dealer said no problem, then maybe it's only certain batches?

Would love to hear more, and has anyone heard of an aftermarket/3rd party hitch being available yet?

 

[Comeakei]

Do you me the ball mount that goes into the receiver/hitch, or the actual entire hitch assembly?

I mean the entire hitch assembly

 

[lkram]

I have a factory-installed hitch assembly - no recall on mysubaru or phone calls from my dealer. Very strange.

 

[Gueromeister]

I can confirm there is a hitch recall, although the details seem sketchy still.

I bought an Ascent about 10 days ago, and was to have a hitch installed Wednesday. Got a call Tuesday night from the dealership saying that Subaru had contacted them asking for all hitches to be sent back, VIN numbers for any they had installed/sold, and put an indefinite hold on selling any Ascents with hitches installed. As noted on another post, there's now a new product number for the hitch, presumably a fixed one, but no one has it. I checked to confirm with several other dealers in Colorado, and got the same response from them all: recall, few details, no hitches, period.

Sounds like it'll be until at least October before the new hitches are being sent out and ready for install. Frustrating. If you have one installed, I'd call your dealer to find out the deal.

Also, no aftermarket hitches are available yet from my research. Earliest from what I'm hearing is October for those as well.

This vaguely sounds like maybe vaguely it might vaguely be related to dealer installed hitches, maybe.?

 

[Stillmotion]

Interesting... Will be good to hear more from others as well. Everything I heard said it was a recall on all the hitches, but if your dealer said no problem, then maybe it's only certain batches?

Would love to hear more, and has anyone heard of an aftermarket/3rd party hitch being available yet?

Just got an email from Torklift Central that their Eco Hitch is almost available. Pre-orders open.

 

[Brian McAtee]

As others have stated, there is an issue with the safety chains (from any device you are towing) rubbing the bumper. I don’t have my ascent yet, but this is a concern.

 

[pilot1226]

I just heard from a friend that pre-ordered his Ascent. He said he's getting the hitch installed at the service department for the same price it would have been at the factory, except something was going on at the factory related to port install and it would have delayed the pre-order an additional 1-2 months. I told him that the port install is separate from the factory, maybe the service department wanted a little extra income, but it could be plausible something was going on with the supply parts themselves.

 

[Stillmotion]

As others have stated, there is an issue with the safety chains (from any device you are towing) rubbing the bumper. I don’t have my ascent yet, but this is a concern.

Odd. The chains on the trailer I have don’t rub the bumper.

 

[Leon Braginski]

I just heard from a friend that pre-ordered his Ascent. He said he's getting the hitch installed at the service department for the same price it would have been at the factory, except something was going on at the factory related to port install and it would have delayed the pre-order an additional 1-2 months. I told him that the port install is separate from the factory, maybe the service department wanted a little extra income, but it could be plausible something was going on with the supply parts themselves.

My dealer told me port install has no labor costs, only price of the hitch (whatever price you negotiated).

If your friend pays part price only and no labor to the dealer, he gets the same deal as port installed.

 

[pilot1226]

That seems legit.

In other news, I like the hitch on my family's Highlander they have. It looks like it's a combination step and hitch built out of the bumper like most SUV's... my wife's Honda Pilot does not have this step feature, but it would be cool to have it built-in. I know Weathertech makes an aftermarket "step" you can mount. Part of me wants to just leave a hitch ball on there for impact protection from idiot drivers.

 

[kathytn]

I just called this morning for an ETA update on my Touring that has a factory installed Hitch. The ETA is still the same - FRIDAY!!!!!!! Hooray. So maybe the recalls mentioned are all for dealer installed hitches?

 

[lafos]

My dealer installed the Subaru hitch about a week after I took delivery. I'll give them a call about this.

Called my service department. According to them, it is not a hitch issue, but 293 vehicles are missing spot welds on the frame that would affect the hitch strength. Mine is not one of the 293, thankfully.

 

[Nemesis099]

Hmm a hitch recall happened on my '05 Xterra after I bought it. Ended up some of the welds were not painted properly and rust was a worry so they recalled them. I wonder if something similar is happening with the Ascent?

 

[Jimmy D]

After waiting 2 1/2 weeks for the arrival of my new trailer hitch my dealer informed me that my wait will be extended. They confirmed that there is a recall on the hitch with no date as to when it will be rectified and new hitches shipped to all customers.

Has anyone else received the same news? Any time line on the delivery of new hitches?

I alerted Subaru Customer Service about the problem with the hitch chain connections. I went to two dealers and each sent a report to Subaru along with pictures. I just got back from a 2 week Canada trip and had a reply suggesting I wrap the chain clips in a piece of hose until they can develop a fix. I suspect that has something to do with the delay in getting hitches.