BlackOnBlack987

So I just ordered a Curt trailer hitch off Amazon and purchased the trailer plug harness and light adapter kit from Suncoast.

My question is regarding something local dealer told me. I asked if there was any electronic / programming necessary after physical installation of the hitch. My concern was that the vehicle may not shift properly with a load on it since there is no tow button (that I found). Stealership told me after I get it installed, bring it to them and they'd charge $600 to $700 to program it.

If that's the case, so be it. But I've read numerous posts about people installing aftermarket hitches and I've yet to find one person mention this step / cost.

For a bike rack or utility trailer, not worried. But I'd be concerned if I buy a 20' boat to haul around. Last thing I need is a blown tranny.

jrbkarter

ECS Tuning has excellent product pictures on their website so kudos to them. Here is everything you receive if you order the complete hitch kit from Suncoast, ECS, whomever:



You mentioned you ordered the Curt hitch, the wiring harness, and the "light adapter kit". The three major components (and 4th ridiculous should be included piece which we'll discuss later) you need if you're going to install a non factory hitch onto the Cayenne, AND utilize the factory prewiring/trailer programming are the hitch (you got it), the wiring harness (you got it, it's clipped to the OE hitch in that picture) and the trailer module (this is the grey area- is that what you meant by the "light adapter kit")? Close up of the required module here:



You can even read the part number off of it right there (though I believe there may be a supercession to G now instead of F- see the last digit of the part number). Assuming you did order those three items, once installed, there is absolutely 100% one more step required in order to make everything play nice- Coding, aka programming. If your dealer quoted you $600-$700 just for the coding, I strongly suggest running away and finding a different dealer, or independent shop, with access to the Porsche diagnostic/programming tool (PIWIS). Any reasonable dealer will quote you no more than an hour to code the trailer module into the truck, which also requires coding ALL of the modules in the truck to know the trailer module is now installed. This process is literally a 5-10 minute job if you're at all familiar with the PIWIS and it's functions, but plan to pay for a full billable hour regardless. You'll be able to quickly confirm the trailer module has been properly coded by plugging in any US standard 7 Pin trailer connector into your new hitch/receptacle...wait...what...why can't I plug my trailer in???

Remember that silly 4th thing I mentioned you'd need? Yep...here it is discussed in detail in this thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...universal.html

If you're using the factory wiring harness, which it sounds like you are, you'll still need a Pollack 11-893P adapter to convert the factory harness terminal plug into something you can actually plug a US built trailer into. Aka this:



So make sure you've also ordered on of those as well (available from Suncoast, Amazon, local travel trailer sales, etc). Assuming you have and it's installed, plug the trailer into the the truck and then flip on the turn signals, or 4 ways, etc. If the special trailer turn signal indicator- looks like this <-1-> (see image below) comes on, you're good to go and the coding worked. If it doesn't, tell them to redo it and ProTip- tell them to select "Code all modules" after setting the trailer module to the correct US package. Image below shows the trailer turn indicator:



It's directly to the left of the tach need rotation point, to the right of the red airbag light, and above and to the right of the CEL. Another way to confirm if the coding of the module was completed correctly- if your Cayenne has Lane Change Assist (lights in the mirror for blind spot detection), you'll receive a notification message once the trailer is plugged in that LCA is deactivated in trailer mode. Just hit the LCA button over by the mirror fold in button with the trailer plugged in and you should see the warning message pop up.

And to answer your question- yes- the module/coding changes the shifting behavior of the transmission etc. As you mentioned- if you're only using the hitch as a mount for bikes, etc, I wouldn't worry about it. However, if you ever plan to tow any decent sized trailers, aka, anything with it's own braking system (other than a uhaul trailer with surge brakes), you'll absolutely want to have the trailer mode working properly.

BlackOnBlack987

Thanks for all of that information! That now makes sense why the trailer package on Suncoast was so much more than the aftermarket Curt hitch. The Curt hitch can be had for $150 on Amazon, but it doesn't come with anything except the hitch itself. Unfortunately, the dealer told me to buy an aftermarket Curt hitch, as they said it was a lot more affordable (did not mention I wouldn't be receiving a lot of what I need). What I bought from Suncoast was parts 3 and 4 you list below. I never received (nor did I see) the control module in your second picture. That sounds to be the important part that needs to be programmed. I'm guessing that may be why the dealership quoted me so high (the cost included the labor and module).

I'll confirm that to be correct, as that wouldn't be too bad of a price all-in. $150 for the hitch, $50 for the trailer wiring harness / US adapter, $700 for module / programming. So all-in, I'm at roughly $900, which is substantially less than the kit itself (minus any installation costs).

jrbkarter

That makes way more sense then. $700 for the module and installation/coding is much more reasonable than if they were quoting just the coding labor. The module installation itself isn't particularly difficult if you have experience with vehicle interior panel removal, it's just somewhat time consuming. However, if you don't (aka you've never removed a door panel, etc) then paying the dealer to do it all in one pass is still going to be cheaper than replacing a broken panel.

Eskimo1

I was digging around behind the trim panels last night, and noticed that my 2016 had a part number with the "F" suffix, so it's probably not mandatory to get the "G" one

BlackOnBlack987

Update: So I realized I didn't but the necessary wiring harness. I only bought the parts listed on suncoast which were specific to the trailer lights. So I need to buy the module and wiring harness to get everything hooked up.

Local porsche dealer has horrible service and took 5 days to get back. Prefaces that they don't install a lot of hitches... quotes 4.5 hours of labor for $807. Seemed excessive but that wasnt all. Told me the price for the module was $341 (Part 7P0907383J) (so the last letter is now a J per your above response).

Then he tells me wiring harness costs $2266! I said that cant be right. I ask for product number and he gives me 95872200400. When I look that up, it's the ENTIRE TRAILER HITCH PACKAGE. Call him back and says he made a mistake, but he tells me I'm wrong. When I did my research it appears wiring harness i need is 958-612-506-00, which can be bought for roughly $175. But dealer told me that wouldn't fit my car, but I'm 99% sure he's wrong.


So he claims it would cost $3400 to install module, wiring harness, and program (after hitch itself is already on car). Im calling a different dealer tomorrow.

I guess I wish I would have bought bought the Porsche hitch kit instead of the aftermarket because of the hassle even if I do save a few bucks when it's all said and done.

I guess my only last question is I'm confused on the full Porsche Trailer Kit. ECS Tuning and Suncoast sell a kit with a number: 95804480131 which can be bought for $1075 - $1225.

But that kit that the dealer referenced (incorrectly as the wiring harness) 95872200400 is double the cost, anywhere from $1750 to $2300. The diagram looks the same as what ECS and Suncoast kits include.

why the different product numbers and crazy price difference?

pvgolfer

Hi - I considered installing the tow hitch kit (with module/harness) myself when I was looking at buying a Cayenne diesel without the kit. During my research I found a the technical guide for installing the full kit. Look at post #7 of this thread and download the guide to review for yourself.

https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...958-right.html

The guide shows all the parts required and indicates that it should take 290 mins for a tech to complete the entire installation. You can use the guide yourself or perhaps take it to your dealer and show them that it's a straightforward process which should take no more than 5 hours of labor.

Hope this helps... I'm glad I found a trailer that already had the factory hitch. These mods/upgrades after purchase are never as easy as they seem. Good luck!

User 52121

Can you just return the Curt stuff you bought, and buy the proper Porsche hitch setup from Suncoast?

Sounds to me like dealing with the hodge-podge of individual pieces is just going to be a nightmare.

For the record, my 2014 didn't come from the factory with a hitch. Dealer told me "buy the kit from Suncoast and we'll install it".

IIRC they charged me ~$600 to do the install (or in that ballpark... If you search my posts here from late 2016 I know I posted it.)

BlackOnBlack987

Thanks for the input. That's exactly what I did actually. I bought the Curt hitch from Amazon, so they took the return and didn't even charge me for the return shipping...

Called another dealer in my area and they were way more knowlegable. They quoted me $1285 for the hitch package and 6 hours of labor for $900ish. However, I told them I could get it from Suncoast for $999 + $75 shipping, so they offered to price match. So all-in, I'll be at $2100, which is right what I anticipated when I bought the car in January. I'll be ready to haul by next Friday.

Just put on drilled and slotted rotors with dustless ceramic pads last weekend. While I had it all apart, I cleaned and painted the stock calipers to yellow. Wanted to give the illusion of the Porsche Composite braking system. For a do-it-yourself project, turned out very well. I've got these 22" Lexani's coming next week, to complete the summer look.

User 52121

That's awesome that your dealer matched Suncoast!

My dealer literally said, "We won't come close to price matching Suncoast. Just buy it from them, bring it here, have us put it on."

BenCD

I was going to suggest just going with factory stuff and a dealer install. In this day and age, what with all us high-rollers in our big-baller Cayenne's, to have to sit in our garages or driveways, taking the rear ends of our trucks apart, only to have to also go to the dealer or finding someone with a PIWIS programmer is just a PITA where our time is just more precious than dealing with a freaking trailer hitch. Never mind giong with an aftermarket piece when Porsche had/has already designed us a hitch that can tow 7,700 lbs.

I was so happy to pay to have it all done at the dealer, and to also have a 1 year warranty on it-which I have not needed at all.

Tom M

Not to hijack but I'm down a somewhat similar path in that I installed an aftermarket hitch and would like to now add the control module and wiring harness on my 2011 CS.

I ran across the 7P1055203 kit for the Touareg, which is cheaper than the individual parts from Porsche, and seems to have everything needed for under $300 via eBay. I know nobody has a crystal ball but should this be a viable solution? I know I'd need the dealer to program things but if the control module will work properly with the Cayenne then it seems a very cost effective solution.

User 52121

I think other people have said they're trying, or going to try, using the similar VW/Audi parts. I have not see anyone post up that they actually WORK. Note I have also not seen anyone say they DON'T work.

I would NOT be surprised to find that the PIWIS won't program a VW/Audi module, however.

I have seen reports of people using VAG-COM (the VW/Audi service tool) on the Cayenne and accidentally bricking modules.... so... proceed at your own risk.

Tom M

No real interest in spending real money to be a Guinea Pig on using that VW part and, as noted, the only post I've seen in another thread pertaining to a 'F part being moved into a Cayenne still hasn't been done.

However a bit up thread, in a post by Eskimo1, seems to indicate an 'F' part works in the Cayenne. Not sure if this is a factory install though. The PET history shows A, C, D. E & G fitting my year. The new J part apparently is for the latest MY and is not compatible.

Eskimo1

My Cayenne was factory equipped.