How to Select a Trailer Hitch
Why a mid-size Audi crossover often lands on a Class 3 card with a 2 inch receiver even when the door sticker keeps trailer weight modest.
Watch on YouTube →Audi Q5 Trailer Hitch Buyer’s Guide (Canada)
Shopping a trailer hitch for an Audi Q5 in Canada? Pause before you grab the Q7 card. CURT 13277 is a live Class 3 hitch for listed Audi Q7 years on this store — it is not the Q5 path. For the Q5 itself, CURT publishes Class 3 receivers by generation (roughly 2009 through 2017 versus 2018 and newer, including SQ5 and Sportback notes on the later card). Those hitch SKUs are not active Shopify products here today. What we do stock for earlier Q5 years is a custom four-flat wiring harness. This guide keeps the generations straight and stays honest about the hitch gap.
Built for Canadian Q5 owners. Free shipping on CURT towing gear from Lots of Parts when the SKU is live on this store.
New to hitch shopping? Start with the
buying guide,
how to choose a hitch, and
what hitch class do I need.
Prefer the full index?
Open the towing guides hub.
Watch these CURT videos first
All four videos are from the official CURT YouTube channel (@curtmfg). Use them for class selection, install habits, wiring basics, and ball-mount height before you dig into the cards below.
If an embed does not load, use the YouTube link under the card.
CURT Install Techniques
General install habits. Finish with the instruction sheet for your exact Q5 year card — first-gen and second-gen notes are not interchangeable.
Watch on YouTube →Trailer Wiring Harness Basics
Useful before you order the first-gen Q5 four-flat we stock, or while you wait on later-year Q5 wiring.
Watch on YouTube →Ball Mount and Trailer Ball
Published Q5 Class 3 cards use a 2 inch opening. Match the shank to the tube you actually bolt on, then set drop so the trailer sits level.
Watch on YouTube →What CURT publishes versus what we stock
For first-generation Q5 years that CURT lists around 2009 through 2017 (excluding hybrid notes on that card), CURT 13136 is the published Class 3 hitch with a 2 inch receiver. Hitch-side numbers on that family sit around 5,000 lb trailer and 750 lb tongue. Audi’s published tow and tongue numbers for your trim still win. That hitch is not listed on our Shopify catalogue in this pass — no product link for 13136 here.
CURT 56404 is the custom four-flat wiring harness written for listed 2013 through 2017 Q5 and 2014 through 2017 SQ5 years. That harness is active on Lots of Parts today. If your Q5 is outside those years, do not force this harness hoping the plugs match.
For second-generation Q5 and SQ5 years that CURT lists from 2018 onward (with Q5 Sportback and SQ5 Sportback notes on the current card), CURT 13646 is the published Class 3 hitch with a 2 inch receiver (earlier 13499 was superseded). Hitch-side numbers on that card sit around 5,000 lb trailer and 500 lb tongue. 13646 is also not listed on this shelf today.
CURT 13277 — the live Class 3 hitch we stock for listed Audi Q7 years — belongs on a Q7, not a Q5. If someone quotes 13277 at you for a Q5, send them back to the year and model line on the door sticker.
In stock on this store
CURT 56404 four-flat wiring
Listed for 2013 through 2017 Audi Q5 and 2014 through 2017 SQ5. Free shipping on CURT gear from Lots of Parts.
Q7 hitch — different vehicle
CURT 13277 Class 3 hitch
Live on this store for listed Audi Q7 years. Linked here so you do not confuse it with a Q5 card.
| Item | Status on this store |
|---|---|
| CURT 13136 Class 3 hitch | Published by CURT for listed 2009 through 2017 Q5 years (hybrid notes on that card). 2 inch receiver. Not listed on our Shopify catalogue in this pass. |
| CURT 56404 four-flat wiring | Active — linked above for listed 2013 through 2017 Q5 and matching SQ5 years. |
| CURT 13646 Class 3 hitch | Published by CURT for listed 2018-and-newer Q5 and SQ5 years (Sportback notes on that card). Not listed on this shelf today. Earlier 13499 was superseded. |
| CURT 13277 Class 3 hitch | Active for listed Audi Q7 years only — different vehicle from Q5. |
| Year landers | No Audi Q5 hitch year pages are live on this store. We are not inventing those URLs. Q7 year landers do exist and stay on the Q7 path. |
Honest gaps and generation notes
Catalogue
Q5 hitch not stocked
CURT publishes 13136 for earlier Q5 years and 13646 for later Q5 and SQ5 years. Neither hitch is an active listing here today. We will not invent a product link.
Wiring
56404 covers early years
The live four-flat is for listed 2013 through 2017 Q5 and matching SQ5 years. Later Q5 wiring is not on this shelf in this pass.
Lander
No Q5 year pages
We have Q7 landers. We do not have Q5 landers. Do not follow a Q7 year URL hoping it answers a Q5 fit question.
Ratings
Vehicle limit wins
Even with a Class 3 tube on the bumper, Audi’s tow and tongue numbers for your trim still win — especially on a hybrid-noted year.
Related guides we do publish
What hitch classClass 3 context for crossovers
Tongue weightKeep tongue load honest
Receiver size guide2 inch tube basics
Hybrid towing guideWhen a hybrid note appears
Towing guides hubAll vehicle and topic guides
Shop CURT 56404 wiring
The first-gen Q5 four-flat we actually list today, with free shipping on CURT gear from Lots of Parts.
Open CURT 56404 →Need a hitch for a Q5? CURT’s published cards are 13136 or 13646 by generation — they are simply not active listings here today. Driving a Q7 instead? Open CURT 13277.
Lots of Parts · Canada Audi Q5 hitch shopping help that links the wiring we stock, separates Q5 from Q7, and admits the hitch catalogue gap. No fake reviews, no invented year landers.
