Steve Minshall 19/03/2018
Fitting a Hayman Reese #3156RW towbar to a Hyundai Santa Fe
Fits models: Hyundai Santa Fe October 2015 onwards
Time for experienced fitter: Approx. 3 hours
Fitting difficulty: 6/10
Today we fitted a Hayman Reese 3156RW towbar to a current model Hyundai Santa Fe. This bar fits models built from 10/2015 onwards and is still current at the time of writing.
The Bar:
For current specs and fitted price please see our Hyundai Santa Fe tow bar page.
Rating 2500kg max trailer, 100kg max ball weight.
The Hayman Reese tow bar for this fitting is a Class 4 hitch making it a heavy duty unit with a 50mm square receiver socket for the tow ball mount. The bar replaces the vehicle impact beam and is mostly hidden behind the bumper. This bar is a neat fit with a discreet bumper cut.
The Kit:
Towbar #3156RW, trailer socket #4817
The Hayman Reese kit comes with a vehicle specific wiring loom, tow ball mount, ball and rated shackles. The only additional parts required are a tail piece which attaches a trailer socket to the vehicle specific loom. We would typically install a Hayman Reese #4817 tail, which is a 7-pin flat socket with an appropriate length of cable to complete the hook up.
Fitting:
Physically bolting the bar to the car is relatively straight forward. The impact beam is removed and the bar attaches to the chassis rails with 4 bolts each side. There are also a few additional brackets that need fixing to secure the bumper to and attach the vehicle's rear proximity sensor. To allow access the tail lights and bumper need to be removed.
Electrics:
The tow bar comes with a vehicle specific loom that plugs into the cars lighting system. There is however, a fair amount of work involved in removing interior paneling to access the connection points and to connect to a power supply which involves running a cable to the dash mounted fuse box on some models. The wiring loom does not require a separate ECU but has built in relays to provide protection to the cars circuitry.
Bumper cut:
A bumper cut is required for this vehicle. Details are given in the instructions but care does need to be taken because bumper designs can be modified over time and change across the vehicles range.
Additional:
This job could be done by the competent DIY mechanic who takes appropriate caution when removing, refitting and cutting the bumper. Issues to watch for are carefully marking and checking for the bumper cut before actually cutting. Treat the instruction measurements as a guide only and offer the bumper to the vehicle to confirm before cutting. On some vehicles the tow bar can require a bit of 'persuasion' to locate over the mounting studs.
Our current fitted price for this bar is available here or we can supply the bar to customers in Australia for you to install yourself:
Current supply only price for kit including: #3156RW towbar and #4817 tail is $945 including freight. The kit is usually available for dispatch within 1 to 5 days.
