jondoe888

Needed a tow hitch for my 07 rx350. The prices ranged from $165 to $260, free shipping (but 11-16 day delivery!). Other posters said Lexus was $330 + 300 install!
I called Lexus, and the hitch was $300, with receiver. All I needed was the ball. (receiver was NOT included- dope). My thought was – when you’re on your back, struggling to start a bolt, that extra money would seem minor, so I went to the dealer – plus I didn’t want to wait 2 weeks.
(I once helped my son install a hitch on his 4runner, and it was awful. The bolts wouldn’t catch, for some reason, and he had to take it to the place he bought the hitch to install it. They charged him $25 – not $300!)

The directions weren’t great. They showed that you had to pull everything from the cargo area! Someone wrote that it took 2 hours to get to the plug!

In reality - the install was simple and took less than an hour. But… there was that plug. It wasn’t the one I was looking at. The pan for the jack and tools pulls out easily – without removing the flooring covers. Just lift the lid and remove the pan. <but hold off on this>

I wound up taking the tray out on the left (aft left corner), which included removing the left cover (4 – 7/16 nuts and a few plastic pins) and center pan – just to get to the plug. Dumb! Japanese engineers are just as cruel as Americans… But it only took an extra 20 minutes. And I guess I didn’t need to remove the jack tray, but I was looking for the wiring jack and thought that was where the plug was. The directions are ambiguous, and maybe they meant pull the parts for the non-tow model. But no where did it show just removing the left side pan.

For the hitch, all work is done on the outside. You only need to go inside the car for the plug. If you want to install yourself, it is VERY simple. (Just don't read the directions too closely)

Again, my directions === remove the L+R tow plates. Install hitch as directed. I did it myself, and used a floor jack to lift the left side while I started the bolts on the right side. You first install a RH plate to the frame. I then jacked up the left side (stacked bricks or wood would work, or tying it up in place. It doesn’t need to be close – just level enough to start a bolt), then started a bolt on the right hanger piece. 1 bolt on the left side evens everything out, and you can install the remaining bolts. Takes a leisurely hour at most.
I torqued everything down after it was all done, and torqued to 45 or 50 FP, as 37 seemed low. It looks like the bolts have some kind of sealer on them, to lock them in place.

Feed wire harness through the hole in the floor. Mine plug looked upside down, and I had to push the rubber plug through the hole to the inside, then seat it in place. They may all come like this.
Remove 4 nuts from aft left cargo lid, and remove. Remove aft center tray and smaller left tray (mostly held in with plastic pins, which are easily pried out. The plastic nut in the tray screws out). This part takes ~20 minutes total.
(if you are ever worried about the order of panel reinstall, take pictures with camera or cell phone)

The plug you need will be the one right in front of the small tray. I had taken the fwd tool tray out, and it made it easier to get to the plug, but I’m not sure if that was necessary or not. It takes a minute to remove, if you have to. Enjoy!
When not using the receiver, your RX will look great sporting a set of Truck Nuts! haha