OK, let me start by saying that the directions at http://www.nissanmurano.org/downloads/murano-hitch-manual.pdf are extremely helpful AND they are correct! the only real error I found is that the instructions call for a gasket between the muffler and tail pipe, but there wasn't one. I cleaned off on both surfaces (muffler and tail pipe) with a steel wire brush and used copper hi-temp silicone as a sealer when re-connecting them...just in case.
There are a couple of things they won't tell you:
1) There are four white "S" shaped clips on the body under the bumper fascia just below the hatch. You can expect to break a couple of these when removing the fascia - get at least two replacement clips (retail about $9.50) BEFORE you begin, or you will either have to make an emergency run to the dealer or pull the fascia again (only about a 15-minute job) to replace the broken ones a couple of days later when you get the clips.
2) The fascia is held on by two screws, the white clips mentioned above and four push-lock pins that go through the fascia. That's it! The push-lock pins underneath the car (one on each side) are likely to get balky and may need to be replaced. This is not bad because you can reach them any time, so if you use a standard bolt through the holes for these pins, you can get by for a few days. Pick up two of them beforehand ($5 each) and you will have no problem.
Elapsed time was about 3.5 hours for this job, part of which was spent waiting for replacement S-clips.
The factory hitch is pretty substantial but shows a bit less than the aftermarket ones. I darn sure wouldn't pay even $100 extra to hide it better, but I got lucky and found a used factory hitch on Ebay for $45.
The factory hitch mounts on the unibody rails on the left and right sides of the car, with two L-shaped brackets on the outside of each rail. Bolt holes and nuts are pre-mounted in the car; bolt measurements are given in the install document linked at the start of this post.
The first photo is the installed hitch with the replacement bumper (armature) in place. Note notches on lower left and right sides. The back of the car curves but the hitch goes straight across; these cut-outs allow outer ends of the hitch to intersect the arc of the bumper.
If you want to, you CAN cut out notches in a stock bumper to provide the same clearance and save $100. Note the white plastic items items visible above the bumper - immediately below the hatch rubber seal - which are the white "S" clips designed to hold the top part of the fascia in place:
Finished mount in place, underneath and from the passenger side. The black piece of metal showing slightly thing between hitch and muffler is a heat shield bolted to the back side of the hitch bar, which replaces one bolted to the body from the factory. Note the cut-out in the bumper, which shows the end of the hitch protruding into space which would be occupied by the stock bumper:
This is what a fascia looks like - removed.
Here's the inside:
Here's the top side of the fascia, with marks recommended by the instructions. These marks actually identify the position of each S-clip which holds on the top of the fascia;
I didn't get pix of the entire hitch today, but here's where it mounts...
Passenger side, rear end of hitch:
Passenger side, front end of hitch:
Driver's side - a view of the entire side of the hitch. Note two L-brackets which mount to the chassis rails.
All the bolts which go straight up into the chassis rails are 12mm diameter; the ones which go into the side of the rails are 10mm.
Here is the "energy absorber" (same stuff bike helmets are made of) ready to mount on the bumper:
Here it is in place:
The installed hitch:
And of course, the installed hitch with the absolutely mandatory Washington State University Cougar Head hitch insert:
There are a couple of things they won't tell you:
1) There are four white "S" shaped clips on the body under the bumper fascia just below the hatch. You can expect to break a couple of these when removing the fascia - get at least two replacement clips (retail about $9.50) BEFORE you begin, or you will either have to make an emergency run to the dealer or pull the fascia again (only about a 15-minute job) to replace the broken ones a couple of days later when you get the clips.
2) The fascia is held on by two screws, the white clips mentioned above and four push-lock pins that go through the fascia. That's it! The push-lock pins underneath the car (one on each side) are likely to get balky and may need to be replaced. This is not bad because you can reach them any time, so if you use a standard bolt through the holes for these pins, you can get by for a few days. Pick up two of them beforehand ($5 each) and you will have no problem.
Elapsed time was about 3.5 hours for this job, part of which was spent waiting for replacement S-clips.
The factory hitch is pretty substantial but shows a bit less than the aftermarket ones. I darn sure wouldn't pay even $100 extra to hide it better, but I got lucky and found a used factory hitch on Ebay for $45.
The factory hitch mounts on the unibody rails on the left and right sides of the car, with two L-shaped brackets on the outside of each rail. Bolt holes and nuts are pre-mounted in the car; bolt measurements are given in the install document linked at the start of this post.
The first photo is the installed hitch with the replacement bumper (armature) in place. Note notches on lower left and right sides. The back of the car curves but the hitch goes straight across; these cut-outs allow outer ends of the hitch to intersect the arc of the bumper.
If you want to, you CAN cut out notches in a stock bumper to provide the same clearance and save $100. Note the white plastic items items visible above the bumper - immediately below the hatch rubber seal - which are the white "S" clips designed to hold the top part of the fascia in place:
Finished mount in place, underneath and from the passenger side. The black piece of metal showing slightly thing between hitch and muffler is a heat shield bolted to the back side of the hitch bar, which replaces one bolted to the body from the factory. Note the cut-out in the bumper, which shows the end of the hitch protruding into space which would be occupied by the stock bumper:
This is what a fascia looks like - removed.
Here's the inside:
Here's the top side of the fascia, with marks recommended by the instructions. These marks actually identify the position of each S-clip which holds on the top of the fascia;
I didn't get pix of the entire hitch today, but here's where it mounts...
Passenger side, rear end of hitch:
Passenger side, front end of hitch:
Driver's side - a view of the entire side of the hitch. Note two L-brackets which mount to the chassis rails.
All the bolts which go straight up into the chassis rails are 12mm diameter; the ones which go into the side of the rails are 10mm.
Here is the "energy absorber" (same stuff bike helmets are made of) ready to mount on the bumper:
Here it is in place:
The installed hitch:
And of course, the installed hitch with the absolutely mandatory Washington State University Cougar Head hitch insert: