[elp]

Originally Posted by Toga_Lock

As I said before, I ended up going with the Curt Echo brake controller. I also bought the override button….just because. All of it worked great and is super clean. I set up the app, started pulling the camper and made a few adjustments, then I was on my way. The override button worked well too. I stuck it next to the gear shifter. When I was finished with the trip, I removed the button, put the sticky cover back on, and put it all away. It’s a bit pricey for towing occasionally, but not having to drill holes, or rewire anything made it well worth it. For a reference, this camper that I rented is 5,500 lbs empty. My guess is that I was at about 6,000-6,500 lbs.

Awesome! Did you get a chance to weight your setup to see if the weight is actually distributed properly? With air suspension auto leveling on X7, it may mask weight distribution issues and still make things look level. Glad to hear Echo controller worked for you. I wonder wouldn't the sticky pad loses its stickiness after you take it off a few times?

[Toga_Lock]

Originally Posted by elp

Awesome! Did you get a chance to weight your setup to see if the weight is actually distributed properly? With air suspension auto leveling on X7, it may mask weight distribution issues and still make things look level. Glad to hear Echo controller worked for you. I wonder wouldn't the sticky pad loses its stickiness after you take it off a few times?

I never weighed it. The sticky pad might lose stickiness. If it does, I’ll replace it with some more tape I suppose.

[Pluto01]

Originally Posted by JerryW235

That connector definitely is for wiring in an electric trailer brake controller. I followed the thread on the X5 forum, ordered the connector and pins from ECS Tuning.

Wanted to thank JerryW235 for his post; extremely helpful and detailed enough that I was able to get the Pin Housing and the associated pins that are compatible for the housing (adapter).

My vehicle: 09-2019 build ("2020") BMW x7 40i with Trailer Package
Last 7 of my VIN: 9A01851 (you can verify via RealOEM)

See Pictures to follow:
1. Wiring harness location (vehicle)
2. Specs of the brake controller wiring harness adaptor (vehicle side)
3. The BMW adaptor to attach the brake controller to the vehicle
- I ordered from Porsche Dealership: Pin Housing 999 652 758 40
- I ordered the PINs (Snap-in 2.5) from ECS: 61131376206
4. A pdf of various instructions to removal/install of access panels

I hope these pictures will help clarify what you need to hardwire a brake controller.

[Pluto01]

See Pictures

[mrh335]

This thread has great information, but I still need some help to understand the details. I have never towed anything and this is all new to me.

I have a 2020 X7 M50i purchased in January 2020 with the OEM hitch.

I am interested in towing a camper for a trip and understand the tow capacity is 7507 pounds with a tongue weight max of 606 pounds.

There is both a 4 pin and 7 pin electrical connector at the hitch on the X7.

0. If I want to tow a trailer with gross weight of 5500 pound and tongue weight of 440 pounds and 7 pin electrical connector, what do I need other than the hitch ball to do this?

1. Is a WDH with sway control needed?
2. Do I need a separate brake controller?
3. Does the 7 pin connector automatically connect the vehicle braking system to the trailer braking allowing the trailer brakes to activate when vehicle brakes are pressed?
4. With the 7 pin connector, does a separate wired brake controller only provide tuning of the braking already being applied?
5. If using a wireless brake controller, which electrical plug is used and does the wireless unit take over all braking activation and tuning?

Thanks for all of the great information.

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by mrh335

This thread has great information, but I still need some help to understand the details. I have never towed anything and this is all new to me.

I have a 2020 X7 M50i purchased in January 2020 with the OEM hitch.

I am interested in towing a camper for a trip and understand the tow capacity is 7507 pounds with a tongue weight max of 606 pounds.

There is both a 4 pin and 7 pin electrical connector at the hitch on the X7.

0. If I want to tow a trailer with gross weight of 5500 pound and tongue weight of 440 pounds and 7 pin electrical connector, what do I need other than the hitch ball to do this?

1. Is a WDH with sway control needed?
2. Do I need a separate brake controller?
3. Does the 7 pin connector automatically connect the vehicle braking system to the trailer braking allowing the trailer brakes to activate when vehicle brakes are pressed?
4. With the 7 pin connector, does a separate wired brake controller only provide tuning of the braking already being applied?
5. If using a wireless brake controller, which electrical plug is used and does the wireless unit take over all braking activation and tuning?

Thanks for all of the great information.

Hope this helps a bit….

0. A proper brake controller (highly recommended). But also make sure your hitch ball/receiver is set to the right height to ensure your trailer is level with the ground and your X7 for proper towing stability and braking performance.

1. A WDH is typically an add-on accessory for the trailer. So the place where you buy/service your trailer should be able to help you choose the right one. While not necessary, generally the heavier the trailer/load, the more a WDH setup will aid with towing stability and minimizing stresses on the tow vehicle. Sway control is not necessary either, but will also add towing stability (and usually comes as part of a WDH setup). So based on the weight of your trailer, I would recommend a WDH w/sway control. This is what I use on my car trailer.

2. A brake controller is technically not necessary (at least I don't think there are any state laws that require it - I could be wrong). But you want one when towing something that heavy. Otherwise braking distances will be significantly longer (especially in an emergency situation) and you will put significantly more strain/wear on your X7 brakes.

3. This depends on the type of brake controller used. In general, the 7-pin connector provides power to the trailer for the lights (including brake lights) and brakes, if your trailer has electric brakes (which most trailers have except boat trailers and Uhaul trailers, which use hydraulic brakes). A "simple", wired brake controller will apply trailer brakes when the brake lights turn on (when braking). More advanced brake controllers use inertial sensors to proportionately apply the trailer brakes based on how much braking force is applied. This would be the preferred type of brake controller IMO.

4. Not necessarily as it will depend on the brake controller. But typically, the brake controller is a self contained unit that handles all of the trailer braking functions. The more advanced brake controllers will have tuning functions built in.

5. Most wireless controllers will use the 7-pin connector. And yes, the wireless brake controller will control all trailer brake functions.

I have been using the Echo wireless brake controller without issues with my X7. I chose this unit, over a wired brake controller, due to functionality (it can be tuned based on trailer weight) and ease of install (does not require hacking into the car wiring).

A wired brake controller could be a plug-n-play option for you as MY20 and MY19 X7's may have come prewired (along with their X5 siblings). However, it would require some DIY work to make the necessary harness plug (there are a few other threads that talk about this in addition to this one). However, in this case, I don't think it is worth it with a viable and easier wireless option available (and I like to DIY…).

Of course, a trailer install shop could install a wired brake controller for you. But given how BMW's can be sensitive when it comes to hacking into the wiring, especially if the installer is not familiar with BMW's, I would not trust a shop to get it right (at least not without documented, successful experience on modern BMW's). At a minimum, if my X7 is prewired, I would provide the shop with the necessary info (from this thread and others) and parts to create the necessary harness for a PnP wired brake controller solution.

Good Luck!

[PNWM3]

Originally Posted by mrh335

This thread has great information, but I still need some help to understand the details. I have never towed anything and this is all new to me.

I have a 2020 X7 M50i purchased in January 2020 with the OEM hitch.

I am interested in towing a camper for a trip and understand the tow capacity is 7507 pounds with a tongue weight max of 606 pounds.

There is both a 4 pin and 7 pin electrical connector at the hitch on the X7.

0. If I want to tow a trailer with gross weight of 5500 pound and tongue weight of 440 pounds and 7 pin electrical connector, what do I need other than the hitch ball to do this?

1. Is a WDH with sway control needed?
2. Do I need a separate brake controller?
3. Does the 7 pin connector automatically connect the vehicle braking system to the trailer braking allowing the trailer brakes to activate when vehicle brakes are pressed?
4. With the 7 pin connector, does a separate wired brake controller only provide tuning of the braking already being applied?
5. If using a wireless brake controller, which electrical plug is used and does the wireless unit take over all braking activation and tuning?

Thanks for all of the great information.

I just did almost exactly what you’re describing this last weekend for the first time ever: Towed a 2021 22’ Airstream Bambi with my XB7. It ‘s base weight is 3,900lbs and the tongue weight is 500. We probably loaded another 500lbs of gear/food/luggage into it.

I bought the CURT 51180 Echo Mobile Electric Trailer Brake Controller off of Amazon for about $250. Just plugged it into the 7 pin adapter, paired the phone and was good to go. Did have to dial back the Max Output quite a bit as the brakes bit too hard but once I got the settings dialed in it was super easy to drive. You can see on the phone the braking output whenever you press the vehicle’s brakes. It’s about as plug-n-play as you can get.

We have our own Airstream coming soon and a Defender D90 on the way as well (tired of loading horse tack in my car!) so wanted to be able to move the controller between vehicles. You can actually set up different profiles in the app and save your settings.

The trailer I rented had a small sway bar attached but not sure it was really needed. No weight distribution.

I haven’t pulled any trailers with brakes since I was in the Army so all this was a little stressful. I understand your questions as it seems like there’s so much to know/understand. After this weekend and what I described it wasn’t a big deal.

Good luck!

[mrh335]

Originally Posted by Pluto01

Wanted to thank JerryW235 for his post; extremely helpful and detailed enough that I was able to get the Pin Housing and the associated pins that are compatible for the housing (adapter).

My vehicle: 09-2019 build ("2020") BMW x7 40i with Trailer Package
Last 7 of my VIN: 9A01851 (you can verify via RealOEM)

See Pictures to follow:
1. Wiring harness location (vehicle)
2. Specs of the brake controller wiring harness adaptor (vehicle side)
3. The BMW adaptor to attach the brake controller to the vehicle
- I ordered from Porsche Dealership: Pin Housing 999 652 758 40
- I ordered the PINs (Snap-in 2.5) from ECS: 61131376206
4. A pdf of various instructions to removal/install of access panels

I hope these pictures will help clarify what you need to hardwire a brake controller.

What is the brake controller used to connect using these wiring instruction?

How is the wired brake controller braking power adjusted?

Is there an advantage or disadvantage to using a wired brake controller vs. the wireless Curt Echo?

[Bmw2023rv]

Hi Guys,

This thread has been giving me amazing info, im getting my new 2022 BMW X7 today and im going to need some help setting up my WDH for my travel trailer.

Thanks in advance!

[Tr4ckD4ys]

I thought everybody was clear at this point that the X7 (and BMW NA specifically) does not support the use of WDH equipment on these vehicles. BMW NA has stated that the use of such equipment will void your warranty. Now we can debate all day long if this is rooted in technical facts because of unibody vs body-on-frame strengths & strains, but, at end of day, just like some wouldn't put a tune or upgraded suspension on their X7s for the same reason, one shouldn't use WDH either.

"The BMW X7 is able to tow 5,952 lbs and 7,500 lbs with the factory-installed trailer hitch. The maximum drawbar nose weight is 606 lbs. BMW factory installed trailer hitches are not approved for a weight distributing hitch solution.

I hope this information is helpful. Thanks again for your inquiry.

For your convenience, BMW Genius Team members can be reached via the BMW Genius Hotline Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-844-4GENIUS (443-6487).

Bernadette
BMW Genius Representative"


Unfortunately, people left and right across forums for different BMW factory hitch equipped vehicles keep telling stories of how great the experience is towing with and without such a solution. While all of that may well be true (again, I don't know about the technical facts here, just the legal ramifications), you are 100% liable if something goes wrong (minor and major alike). That means your limiting factor to towing is the drawbar nose weight of 606lbs which in most cases doesn't allow you to get to the wanted 10-15% of trailer weight on the nose.

Mind your dry nose weight versus loaded nose weight on most of these sub-6k/5K/4K trailers.

Lastly, please don't try to go towing 700lbs on the nose with an aftermarket stealth hitch. You're in even wonkier legal territory with that, leave alone in serious danger. Take it from someone whose Stealth Hitch has actually, despite all promises otherwise, detached from its mechanism on the interstate during a construction zone with trucks in every direction around me. Yes, I hit a pothole going 45mph, but does that give you any more confidence in that solution? It's not like americas highways and interstates put you in a situation where avoiding potholes is easy.

[jmciver]

So legalities aside, and I am definitely not looking for a legal battle with a large corporation like BMW, but there is absolutely nothing about using (or not using) a WDH setup in the manual. I just looked in the obvious place under both "towing" (which is about having the X7 towed by a tow truck/flat bed) and "trailer" which discusses the X7 trailering capabilities, functions and limits. If it is in another section of the manual, please educate me.

Not saying that the BMW Genius is wrong, but I have not been too impressed with the overall level ok knowledge of the BMW Geniuses on anything more complicated than how to start the car engine. I am not a lawyer, but if WDH usage info is not in the owners manual when WDH setups are commonplace with consumer towing, and it is considered violating the warranty, that seems like a noteworthy party foul by BMW. But of course when it comes to the law in the US, loopholes are abundant so I guess a good lawyer is necessary should something "weird" happen.

I see a WDH setup as a towing aid for consumer towing like you do in the X7. Without going into the physics of how it works, it helps to stabilize the tow vehicle and trailer for a safer towing experience. There are several examples of vehicle non factory installed aids to help drivers operate their vehicles safely, and won't void your warranty as the manual can't and doesn't cover everything - even though WDH usage should be IMHO.

So to each their own regarding what you feel comfortable with when using your vehicle. I have done several modifications to my vehicles over the years that I knew would void my warranty in some way. Using a WDH setup, which technically is not even installed on the X7, is not something that I have any warranty concerns with. And based on my overall towing experience with other SUV's (and I am not an expert by any means), I plan to continue to use my WDH setup for a safer towing experience.

All that said, I do agree that tongue weight is very important and should be adhered to. The tongue weight limit on the X7 is rather low compared to other vehicles I have towed with, so I adjusted the placement of my car on my trailer accordingly to stay within that limit (because tongue weight also contributes to towing stability and a safe towing experience).

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Originally Posted by jmciver

So legalities aside, and I am definitely not looking for a legal battle with a large corporation like BMW, but there is absolutely nothing about using (or not using) a WDH setup in the manual. I just looked in the obvious place under both "towing" (which is about having the X7 towed by a tow truck/flat bed) and "trailer" which discusses the X7 trailering capabilities, functions and limits. If it is in another section of the manual, please educate me.

Not saying that the BMW Genius is wrong, but I have not been too impressed with the overall level ok knowledge of the BMW Geniuses on anything more complicated than how to start the car engine. I am not a lawyer, but if WDH usage info is not in the owners manual when WDH setups are commonplace with consumer towing, and it is considered violating the warranty, that seems like a noteworthy party foul by BMW. But of course when it comes to the law in the US, loopholes are abundant so I guess a good lawyer is necessary should something "weird" happen.

I see a WDH setup as a towing aid for consumer towing like you do in the X7. Without going into the physics of how it works, it helps to stabilize the tow vehicle and trailer for a safer towing experience. There are several examples of vehicle non factory installed aids to help drivers operate their vehicles safely, and won't void your warranty as the manual can't and doesn't cover everything - even though WDH usage should be IMHO.

So to each their own regarding what you feel comfortable with when using your vehicle. I have done several modifications to my vehicles over the years that I knew would void my warranty in some way. Using a WDH setup, which technically is not even installed on the X7, is not something that I have any warranty concerns with. And based on my overall towing experience with other SUV's (and I am not an expert by any means), I plan to continue to use my WDH setup for a safer towing experience.

All that said, I do agree that tongue weight is very important and should be adhered to. The tongue weight limit on the X7 is rather low compared to other vehicles I have towed with, so I adjusted the placement of my car on my trailer accordingly to stay within that limit (because tongue weight also contributes to towing stability and a safe towing experience).

Clearly, BMW position is and has always been murky here. I also don't know why they are so incomprehensible. I'm just pointing out that in the case of WDH, you may be in for a legal ride that you'd rather not have, worst comes to worst.

Personally, I would love to use a WDH setup "legally". But both the inconclusiveness of BMW NA as well as reports of actual damages due to the setup (again, who knows what the heck these guys did that did manage to twist the tow bar) make me concerned.

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by Tr4ckD4ys

Clearly, BMW position is and has always been murky here. I also don't know why they are so incomprehensible. I'm just pointing out that in the case of WDH, you may be in for a legal ride that you'd rather not have, worst comes to worst.

Personally, I would love to use a WDH setup "legally". But both the inconclusiveness of BMW NA as well as reports of actual damages due to the setup (again, who knows what the heck these guys did that did manage to twist the tow bar) make me concerned.

Do you have any examples (forum post, youtube, etc) of where an X7 owner (or possibly an X5 owner) “damaged” their BMW SUV allegedly due to a WDH setup? I find it hard to believe that if a WDH setup is installed and used properly (along with other proper towing requirements such as proper tongue weight, use of brake controllers, use of anti-sway control, not exceeding weight limits, and plain common sense when driving/towing), you should not “bend or twist” anything. This of course is barring an extreme situation such as needing to take evasive action to avoid an accident or something similar.

The very litigious nature of the US aside, common sense goes a long way here, to include not over thinking about (or over worrying about) things. But then, when it comes to a lot of things in this country (or in the world in general), I am a firm believer that common sense is not always so common, IMHO…..

[Bmw2023rv]

Originally Posted by jmciver

So legalities aside, and I am definitely not looking for a legal battle with a large corporation like BMW, but there is absolutely nothing about using (or not using) a WDH setup in the manual. I just looked in the obvious place under both "towing" (which is about having the X7 towed by a tow truck/flat bed) and "trailer" which discusses the X7 trailering capabilities, functions and limits. If it is in another section of the manual, please educate me.

Not saying that the BMW Genius is wrong, but I have not been too impressed with the overall level ok knowledge of the BMW Geniuses on anything more complicated than how to start the car engine. I am not a lawyer, but if WDH usage info is not in the owners manual when WDH setups are commonplace with consumer towing, and it is considered violating the warranty, that seems like a noteworthy party foul by BMW. But of course when it comes to the law in the US, loopholes are abundant so I guess a good lawyer is necessary should something "weird" happen.

I see a WDH setup as a towing aid for consumer towing like you do in the X7. Without going into the physics of how it works, it helps to stabilize the tow vehicle and trailer for a safer towing experience. There are several examples of vehicle non factory installed aids to help drivers operate their vehicles safely, and won't void your warranty as the manual can't and doesn't cover everything - even though WDH usage should be IMHO.

So to each their own regarding what you feel comfortable with when using your vehicle. I have done several modifications to my vehicles over the years that I knew would void my warranty in some way. Using a WDH setup, which technically is not even installed on the X7, is not something that I have any warranty concerns with. And based on my overall towing experience with other SUV's (and I am not an expert by any means), I plan to continue to use my WDH setup for a safer towing experience.

All that said, I do agree that tongue weight is very important and should be adhered to. The tongue weight limit on the X7 is rather low compared to other vehicles I have towed with, so I adjusted the placement of my car on my trailer accordingly to stay within that limit (because tongue weight also contributes to towing stability and a safe towing experience).

Couldn't agree more with what you said about the knowledge of the BMW Geniuses, they know absolutely nothing when it comes to anything technical i have phone calls to prove it. Besides that BMW is not very good at relaying information about tow capacity, I was looking for months for the max tow capacity for the X7, and nowhere was i able to find the towing capacity of 7500 with the factory-installed hitch.

The bottom line is when it comes to the physics side of things it makes 100% sense to use a WDH, unless you have some kind of explanation that the WDH will interfere with some of the driving assistant features and can somehow cause the vehicle to go out of control, other then that i see it as a plus.

In any case im still a little confused on the installation part like how to turn off the auto suspension.

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by bereleah

In any case im still a little confused on the installation part like how to turn off the auto suspension.

I don’t turn off (or technically disable) the air suspension when towing. There is nothing in the manual that talks about that (and the towing capacities of the X7 are in the manual, BTW - but it was hard to find before I made my X7 purchase ). From what I can gather, the air suspension actually helps to balance out/level the X7 while towing, as long as your trailer is not completely out of balance (i.e. too much tongue weight, etc). The only time I disabled the air suspension for towing was when I was measuring the tongue weight of my trailer when attached to my X7. With the air suspension on, it would constantly adjust, thus adversely affecting the tongue weight measurement. IIRC, to turn off the air suspension, with the X7 in park and the ignition turned on, press up or down on the ride height switch and hold for 15 seconds. The LED will turn off indicating the system is deactivated.

However, as stated in the manual, when the towing plug is used, the X7 will automatically turn off some driving features, which also includes the ability to adjust the ride height from the switch on the center console. If towing a trailer that does not plug into the towing plug, you can manually turn on towing mode as well from the iDrive menu.

[Bmw2023rv]

Originally Posted by jmciver

I don’t turn off (or technically disable) the air suspension when towing. There is nothing in the manual that talks about that (and the towing capacities of the X7 are in the manual, BTW - but it was hard to find before I made my X7 purchase ). From what I can gather, the air suspension actually helps to balance out/level the X7 while towing, as long as your trailer is not completely out of balance (i.e. too much tongue weight, etc). The only time I disabled the air suspension for towing was when I was measuring the tongue weight of my trailer when attached to my X7. With the air suspension on, it would constantly adjust, thus adversely affecting the tongue weight measurement. IIRC, to turn off the air suspension, with the X7 in park and the ignition turned on, press up or down on the ride height switch and hold for 15 seconds. The LED will turn off indicating the system is deactivated.

However, as stated in the manual, when the towing plug is used, the X7 will automatically turn off some driving features, which also includes the ability to adjust the ride height from the switch on the center console. If towing a trailer that does not plug into the towing plug, you can manually turn on towing mode as well from the iDrive menu.

So how do in turn it off during installation?

[Dave SA]

I too have the Curt Echo and have been towing recently with no issues other than ..... No cruise control which is disabled when you plug in the trailer connector.

So is there any way around this?? To me not having cruise is a huge disadvantage.

Never had this on any other tow vehicle

[PinkNinja400Guy]

Originally Posted by Dave SA

I too have the Curt Echo and have been towing recently with no issues other than ..... No cruise control which is disabled when you plug in the trailer connector.

So is there any way around this?? To me not having cruise is a huge disadvantage.

Never had this on any other tow vehicle

Add a separate trailer wiring harness (like if you didn't have the factory tow hitch and were using the stealth hitch). Then it won't be able to detect that you have a trailer attached, so won't automatically force you into tow mode. So if you don't manually turn on trailer mode, the car won't know you have a trailer hooked up.

Disadvantages:
- The builtin trailer sway control function is not enabled when not in trailer mode. Afaik, as long as you have a good weight distribution on your trailer, this isn't really a big deal.
- The rear parking sensors may get angry; trailer mode disables them.

Advantages:
- You get cruise control *and* lane keeping back. Given that most trailer trips are mostly highway, which is where cruise & lanekeep are incredibly useful, this is a pretty big deal.

Well, at least that's my plan when I pick up my X7 in a week. Use the factory hitch but add my own wiring for the trailer lights. I haven't actually tried this yet.

My Honda Civic manages to do radar cruse & lane keeping perfectly fine with a trailer attached, so I highly doubt the X7 has any real limitations in this regard. Probably the lawyers told engineering to disable that stuff when there's a trailer hooked up.

[jmciver]

I'd recommend you try using the semi-autonomous driving features for a while before you do that…. It does work well, but the lane keeping features are not as smooth as you might think, especially on turns, as there is some "hunting" that can occur. It is not that big of a deal when not towing, but when towing, the slight back and forth in the lane can easily lead to trailer sway, especially if you are towing a moderately heavy load with no anti-sway control built into the trailer. And the rear parking sensors will most likely go nuts as I don't believe there is a way to disable them for this scenario even though the X7 will not be operating in reverse, due to the proximity feature (but I could be wrong).

Not to mention hacking into the BMW harness for trailer lights and power, while it theoretically should be doable, could lead to some electrical gremlins due to the sensitive electronics in these cars. Your call of course if you still want to do this "towing electrical mod" that you mentioned. But I think you may find that the juice is not worth the squeeze here just to keep semi-autonomous cruise control while towing (and I use that feature all the time on the highway in my X7 when not towing). And there would be very obvious potential warranty implications with such a mod if you care about it…

[Bmw2023rv]

Originally Posted by jmciver

I'd recommend you try using the semi-autonomous driving features for a while before you do that…. It does work well, but the lane keeping features are not as smooth as you might think, especially on turns, as there is some "hunting" that can occur. It is not that big of a deal when not towing, but when towing, the slight back and forth in the lane can easily lead to trailer sway, especially if you are towing a moderately heavy load with no anti-sway control built into the trailer. And the rear parking sensors will most likely go nuts as I don't believe there is a way to disable them for this scenario even though the X7 will not be operating in reverse due to the proximity feature (but I could be wrong).

Not to mention hacking into the BMW harness for trailer lights and power, while it theoretically should be doable, could lead to some electrical gremlins due to the sensitive electronics in these cars. Your call of course if you still want to do this "towing electrical mod" that you mentioned. But I think you may find that the juice is not worth the squeeze here just to keep semi-autonomous cruise control while towing (and I use that feature all the time on the highway in my X7 when not towing). And there would be very obvious warranty implications with such a mod if you care about it…

What do you mean by the X7 not being able to operate in reverse, does that mean that I won't be able to back in my trailer?

Also would you mind explaining how you disabled the auto level suspension when you installed your hitch on the X7.

Thanks

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by bereleah

What do you mean by the X7 not being able to operate in reverse, does that mean that I won't be able to back in my trailer?

Also would you mind explaining how you disabled the auto level suspension when you installed your hitch on the X7.

Thanks

I mean that the rear parking sensors, which also serve as proximity sensors during normal driving, may not be happy with the trailer so close to the back of the X7 if not disabled (like they would normally be when using the factory trailer socket connection). I have never tested this on the road of course, but this behavior makes sense based on the rear parking sensor behavior when I hook up my trailer, and the X7 is not in reverse with the trailer plug still disconnected.

As far as disabling the auto leveling, I described how to do that a few posts above when I described how to disable the air suspension. When the air suspension is disabled, the auto leveling function is disabled since it is the air suspension that controls the auto leveling. But there is no need to disable the air suspension for normal trailer hookup - I only did that for tongue weight measurement. But I do put the X7 at the lowest ride height as that aids with trailer hookup…

[Wild Blue]

I hadn't heard that cruise control is disabled when a trailer is connected