Review on CURT 11377 Class 1 Trailer Hitch: 1-1/4-Inch Receiver for Mazda 3 - Black by Brett Robinson

Mazda 3 2014 5-Door 6-Speed I just installed it myself in my driveway in exactly 1 hour. I'm not a mechanic, but an enthusiastic DIY enthusiast. I don't see any problems with the gap in the exhaust pipe and twisted the muffler as hard as I could without hitting anything. Maybe another reviewer used the wrong holes (?). A pulling tool can be handy, but it's definitely not essential. It only took me a few minutes for each of the channels. Use pliers to pry the rubber through the bulge on the nipple and then it can be removed relatively easily by hand. I found the top brackets to be easier to remove so I removed them and then wiggled and pulled to dislodge them from the exhaust. Use dish soap and they'll come back almost automatically. I could use a second person to lift and secure the hitch, but I didn't have one. You can brace the hitch on the exhaust hangars and that gets you very close to the studs. From there you can just lift each side and install the nuts. I used Loctite Red for a little extra insurance. In general I am very satisfied. The instructions were more than adequate as there isn't much to rotate and you can only install in one place. It fits (and looks) really good; It fits exactly under the bumper and adapts almost perfectly to the contour. On my standard height car, the top of the hitch tube is 11 inches, for those who need to know how much raise/lower you need. ;)*** UPDATE * **Jeffrey Thompson is right. I don't know if it was caused by hotter weather or something else, but my exhaust rattles occasionally now. This is not constant and only occurs when towing with heavy load (frequent engine judders, especially with manual transmission) or cornering and accelerating (big crossings), sometimes when accelerating hard in a straight line, but not as much. I don't know what will be the solution, I think I'll stick a broom inside and bend the exhaust pipe down a little. Maybe the exhaust shop can bend or twist them a bit. I deduct 1 star for that. Btw I had to do some big tipping with my 5x8 trailer and had no problems (except rumble. One load was 940 pounds! I was shocked when I got the receipt. ch and a little dingy bumper. The body shop put my hitch through exactly replaced the same model. Now it doesn't rattle anymore. General! I can only assume it was slightly crooked when installed. If anyone has rattle issues I would suggest loosening the mounting bolts and tapping them with a hammer. I always do still runs with 600-800 pounds of blades/gear/wood and it works great.Add a star.