2003 Lx 470 Factory Tow Hitch Receiver

[pepls]

The owners manual for my '03 LX 470 shows a factory tow hitch receiver that mounts in the rear bumper. I went to my dealer and asked to purchase one. The parts manager acted like I was crazy, no such part existed. I showed him the owners manuel and he said that I was mistaken, the bumper was not designed for a trailer hitch.

So, according to my dealer, Lexus designed a fake tow hitch reciever for the '03 LX 470 and put a diagram of it in the owners manuel just to fool ignorant owners like me.

What is the story of the mystery hitch. My LX has a plaxtic cap over a porthole in the center of the rear bumper. The owners manuel shows a hitch reciever that installs in the porthole. Where do I get one? Why isn't the part available at my dealer?

Sincerely

Bakersfield CA Lexus Owner

[Jim_Chow]

The owners manual for my '03 LX 470 shows a factory tow hitch receiver that mounts in the rear bumper. I went to my dealer and asked to purchase one. The parts manager acted like I was crazy, no such part existed. I showed him the owners manuel and he said that I was mistaken, the bumper was not designed for a trailer hitch.

So, according to my dealer, Lexus designed a fake tow hitch reciever for the '03 LX 470 and put a diagram of it in the owners manuel just to fool ignorant owners like me.

What is the story of the mystery hitch. My LX has a plaxtic cap over a porthole in the center of the rear bumper. The owners manuel shows a hitch reciever that installs in the porthole. Where do I get one? Why isn't the part available at my dealer?

Sincerely

Bakersfield CA Lexus Owner

I'm pretty sure my '03 has one, plus it has an extra one bolted below the bumper to the chassis. Mine's an Arizona vehicle, so I don't know if the CA ones came equipped differently.

[Jim_Chow]

Okay, I checked last night and found there is a receptacle there (a square opening) in the steel behind that plate, but there are also 4 bolt holes surrounding that opening, suggesting something needs to be bolted on to use it. My vehicle came w/ the "tow package," which has an exterior tow bar fitted underneath the rear bumper bolted to the chassis and large transmission fluid cooler in front of the AC condenser coils. I'm not sure if the ATF cooler is standard on LX's w/o tow packages, as usually "tow package" implies tranny cooler and tow bar are added beyond stock equipment for most cars.

[Jim_Chow]

As a followup, I was looking at the rear bumper parts in my factory service manual and it indicates a separate part that bolts into that receiver in the bumper. It fastens with 4 bolts and has two hoops, one on either side, I guess for attaching the chains. So this part does exist and is listed in the North American '03 LX factory manual, vol 2 (body section).

[pepls]

Thank You Jim. I will take it up with my dealer again.

[Jim_Chow]

Thank You Jim. I will take it up with my dealer again.

Or try a different dealer if your parts guy is still clueless.