Consumer information and Reporting safety defects/Vehicle load limit – how to determine
loads could increase the risk of
rollover.
. Stopping distance will increase.
. Brakes could overheat and fail.
. Suspension, bearings, axles and
other body parts could break or
experience accelerated wear that
will shorten vehicle life.
. Tires could fail.
. Tread separation could occur.
. Tire could separate from its rim.
& Steps for Determining Cor-
rect Load Limit
1. Locate the statement “The com-
bined weight of occupants and
cargo should never exceed XXX
kg or XXX lbs.” on your vehicle’s
placard.
2. Determine the combined weight
of the driver and passengers that
will be riding in your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of
the driver and passengers from
XXX kg or XXX lbs.
4. The resulting figure equals the
available amount of cargo and
luggage load capacity. For exam-
ple, if the “XXX” amount equals
1400 lbs. and there will be five 150
lb passengers in your vehicle, the
amount of available cargo and
luggage load capacity is 650 lbs.
(1400 − 750 (5 6 150) = 650 lbs.)
5. Determine the combined weight
of luggage and cargo being loaded
on the vehicle. That weight may not
safely exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity calcu-
lated in Step 4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing a
trailer, load from your trailer will be
transferred to your vehicle. Consult
this manual to determine how this
reduces the available cargo and
luggage load capacity of your ve-
hicle.
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Vehicle load limit – how to
determine
The load capacity of your vehicle is
determined by weight, not by avail-
able cargo space. The load limit of
your vehicle is shown on the vehicle
placard attached to the driver’s side
door pillar. Locate the statement
“The combined weight of occupants
and cargo should never exceed
XXX kg or XXX lbs” on your
vehicle’s placard.
The vehicle placard also shows
seating capacity of your vehicle.
The total load capacity includes the
total weight of driver and all pas-
sengers and their belongings, any
cargo, any optional equipment such
as a trailer hitch, roof rack or bike
carrier, etc., and the tongue load of
a trailer. Therefore cargo capacity
can be calculated by the following
method.
Cargo capacity = Load limit − (total
weight of occupants + total weight
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