Acura MDX SH AWD Towing with factory hitch

[flmehl]

I'm about a week or two away from purchasing a 2023 16' Bambi and I just had the Acura Dealership install a Class III hitch (with a 7-pin wire harness) on my 2020 Acura MDX SH AWD. The hitch itself was from Acura (they had to order the kit)
From everything I've read, including the owner's manual, the 2020 MDX SH AWD model can tow up to 5000 lbs (anything over 3500 they recommend an add-on that cools your transmission). The 2023 16' Bambi has a dry weight of 3000lbs with a max of 3500 so I told them the transmission cooler wasn't necessary. Also, the Hitch Weight for the 16' Bambi is 430 lbs

So, I look at my brand new hitch at the dealer and there's a sticker saying
- Maximum weight 3500 lbs
- Maximum tongue weight 350 lbs

Now I'm a little worried that the hitch won't handle the tiny 16' Bambi... mainly due to the tongue weight.
On the flip side, I know the 'normal'/non-SH AWD MDX can only tow 3500 lbs... so maybe Acura puts the sticker on there to account for the lowest towing capacity for MDXs... maybe?
Should I be worried?
I would go back and ask the dealership... but I have very little confidence in them. I asked if the wire harness was a 7 or a 4-pin adapter and the guy literally said "What is that?"
I'm brand new to the RV world, so thanks in advance for your help and advice here!

[AlbertF]

Can you provide a photo of the receiver (trailer hitch) and the label?

Aftermarket class 3 receivers for the MDX are rated for 6000 to 8000 lbs trailer weight and 600 to 900 lbs tongue weight (with weight distribution).

[jcl]

Checking the Acura parts books on line, they show a single hitch, with a second part number for the cooler. The rating without the cooler is 3500, it is 5000 with the transmission cooler. There is another part number for the wiring harness as well.

I wouldn't worry about the receiver tongue weight rating, but I would confirm the actual tongue weight of your unit once loaded for camping, as it will be different.

Edit: I don't know if this is what Acura does, but I have installed OE hitches on other vehicles where the label was separate, to be affixed by the technician. There may be a different label packaged with the transmission cooler kit. Without a transmission cooler, you should have a 3500 lb rating, but it doesn't follow that the 10% tongue weight calculation that they use for convenience is a design limit for the receiver.

[jmickow]

If it were me, I would add the transmission cooler even though you might not meet the exact manufacturer's recommendations. Having had two transmissions fail relatively early in their life, I heard that transmission coolers are always a good idea to keep the fluid temps down and prolong fluid life, especially important when towing anything.

[flmehl]

Thanks for the additional info here.
I'll post a pic of the hitch and the sticker I mentioned tomorrow in the daylight.

Regarding the transmission cooler - that's probably a good idea, but it added ~$600 for the part alone and I have no clue what labor would be. To your point JMickow, it's still cheaper than replacing the transmission I guess I'll bite the bullet later this year.

[flmehl]

here's the pic of the hitch with the sticker.
I think JCL is right. I'm guessing if they install the hitch without the trans cooler, they put the 3500 lb max sticker.

[field & stream]

Originally Posted by jmickow

If it were me, I would add the transmission cooler even though you might not meet the exact manufacturer's recommendations. Having had two transmissions fail relatively early in their life, I heard that transmission coolers are always a good idea to keep the fluid temps down and prolong fluid life, especially important when towing anything.

I also would install a transmission cooler — it is worth the cost. More than the extra weight of the trailer, the aerodynamic drag from the large frontal area puts constant strain on the transmission. In addition to possibly saving you from an expensive transmission repair, a breakdown in rural America is not likely to be near a suitable repair shop (or source of parts) and the cost to tow the Acura and the trailer would be astronomical.

[flmehl]

I realized my uploaded pic didn't come in as clear as my iPhone
Basically, it says:

Maximum trailer weight: 3500 lbs
Maximum tongue weight: 350 lbs
Refer to your owner's manual for more towing safety information

[flmehl]

Well, this is my first RV purchase, so I'm not sure if this is normal or not... but the Airstream Dealer said they will not hook up my 16' Bambi on my Acura MDX because the sticker on the hitch says the max tongue weight is 350.
I talked to the dealer that installed it and they said it's the same hitch they install for FWD and AWD vehicles, the only difference is the ATF cooling part allows for AWD MDXs to tow over 3500lbs (up to 5000lbs)
The Airstream dealer is saying that the hitch itself isn't rated to handle the 430lbs tongue weight of the Bambi.
I can't find any proof that the hitch itself will handle the Bambi specs.
It's very frustrating to say the least.
Any help is appreciated.

[kscherzi]

If you're confident the hitch is capable then pull the sticker off and go get your trailer.

Also, are you planning to use a weight distribution and sway control hitch?

[ricjones]

We towed a 16 Bambi and a 22 ft Airstream with a Honda Pilot AWD. It had a tow capacity of 5000 pounds. We used a weight distribution hitch (one of the friction ones). We never had any sway whatsoever, but the combination was underpowered. It was OK but we always wanted a little more power. And once, the transmission overheated. We let it cool for a few minutes and then we towed the 16 ft another 3 hours to New Jersey.

I am pretty sure these two vehicles (MDX and Pilot) are the same base platform. I would go for the transmission cooler, just to give you some piece of mind.

One more piece of info. The Pilot was almost 20 years old and had more then 250,000 miles. It was a beast. Never had any maintenance issues other than tires, oil, brakes and timing chain. Not one thing. That platform is a beast. I miss it.

And it towed both the 16 ft and 22 ft pretty well. We now have an Audi Q7 V6 Supercharged 350HP and 7700 tow capacity for our tow vehicle. It is a dream tow vehicle. But we still miss that Pilot.

[AlbertF]

Originally Posted by flmehl

Well, this is my first RV purchase, so I'm not sure if this is normal or not... but the Airstream Dealer said they will not hook up my 16' Bambi on my Acura MDX because the sticker on the hitch says the max tongue weight is 350.
I talked to the dealer that installed it and they said it's the same hitch they install for FWD and AWD vehicles, the only difference is the ATF cooling part allows for AWD MDXs to tow over 3500lbs (up to 5000lbs)
The Airstream dealer is saying that the hitch itself isn't rated to handle the 430lbs tongue weight of the Bambi.
I can't find any proof that the hitch itself will handle the Bambi specs.
It's very frustrating to say the least.
Any help is appreciated.

This is frustrating, especially because we have no clarity regarding the actual capacity of the Acura receiver.

I see a well-known online vendor is offering a suitable receiver for $189 (plus shipping, I expect).

An hours’ labour should be sufficient to install it.

Will the Acura dealer take their part back?

[McLoffs]

Originally Posted by jcl

I don't know if this is what Acura does, but I have installed OE hitches on other vehicles where the label was separate, to be affixed by the technician. There may be a different label packaged with the transmission cooler kit. Without a transmission cooler, you should have a 3500 lb rating, but it doesn't follow that the 10% tongue weight calculation that they use for convenience is a design limit for the receiver.

I’ve been lurking on this forum for months (we bought our first trailer in September and use our 2018 MDX to tow it) and wanted to chime in to confirm your suspicion. We installed the factory hitch a few years ago for use with a bike rack and had the transmission cooler installed before buying the trailer. The cooler does indeed come with a sticker with the higher ratings that goes over the original sticker that comes with the hitch.