I installed a Curt Tow Hitch after reading posts here. After the install, I now hear a "tinny" sound coming from the engine area when driving at a crawl speed of around 5 mph or less. The sound doesn't have a rhythm, i.e., pattern. I was wondering if it has something to do with the muffler as it was unsupported for a time during the install.

I am at 15% (Minder) so I haven't taken the 2015 EX CVT in yet. The stealership wants me to charge me $133 for analysis.

Any thoughts on what it might be?

 

In the engine bay, no idea. The heat shield of the muffler will rattle if the hitch isn't installed properly. I don't trust CVT's to tow anything period. At least with the 6MT you got actual metal gears between the motor and wheels.

 

I installed the tow hitch just to transport landscape clippings to the refuse area with the HOA trailer. Nothing major - real light use.
I'm talking ferns and flower petals. I made sure the muffler guards in the back end weren't touching the hitch (as advised by previous posters).

In a perfect world I would have a floor jack and lift up the front end and engage the Drive to isolate the noise. Just hoping it had happened to someone else. I know it is something pertaining to the hitch installation because the noise was not present pre-installation.

 

Yeah i got nothing. Hitch on the rear of the car and noise in the front, dont make sense to me.

 

If it's an exhaust heat shield, it probably would rattle when you rev the engine slightly in neutral/park. If so, you might be able to locate it with another person by having one rev the engine and the other figure out where the sound is coming from. I would suggest trying that when everything is cool, particularly if you're about to poke around the exhaust system. It also wouldn't be a terrible idea to chock the wheels.

 

I put mine on about a month ago, I would check the rubber grommets on the rear muffler, make sure they are seated, I siliconed mined so they slide on better, give the whole exhaust a good pull push, I put mine up on jack stands on the rear for the install.

 

Did you ever figure out why your car rattled after installing the Curt Hitch?

 

Maybe it is the mufler heat shield, and the exhaust pipe is just transmitting the sound to the engine bay, like a telephone wire.