Passengers Straining Vehicle Weight Capacities

The growing girth of Americans is colliding with government-mandated warning labels on all 2006 or newer cars that list the maximum weight — passengers and cargo — that's safe to carry.

USA Today reports that many two-seat sports cars, including Mazda MX-5 Miata and Chevrolet Corvette, aren't certified to carry two 200-pound adults, according to a government formula aimed at tire safety. The limitations are stamped on a "Tire and Loading Information" plate on the driver's side door frame.

At 265 pounds, Ron Larson of Henderson, Nev., says he and his 150-pound wife were unaware of the limitations two years ago when they leased a Cadillac XLR two-seater with a 362-pound capacity. "If the dealership knew there was a weight restriction, they should have told us," he says.

Automakers say the limits reflect a mandated federal formula that requires them to rate passengers at 150 pounds each. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control pegged average weights at 190 pounds for men, 163 for women.

Full Story Here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...terstitialskip

 

150 lbs!? I havent been 150 lbs since 6th grade!

its kinda sad that motorcycles can hold more weight than a car, too...

 

Can they not increase tire pressure to handle the extra load?

 

Wouldn't they need to change shocks/struts, and alot more? I know alot of cars look scary with just 4 regular sized people in it.

 

Wouldn't you just folow the airlines' example and require them to buy two cars? (sic)

 

Has this ever really been a problem? Do we see wheels falling off, tires problems, or the cars falling apart because fat people are driving Corvettes or MX-5's? No.

Dan

 

Well, this is a new twist.

 

i've always thought about this in the back of my mind. peoples gigantic asses contribute to poor fuel economy and more wear and tear on the vehicle.

that being said i now feel like a lardass and i'm 6' 3" 183lbs

 

I'm shocked that those cars have such low passenger weight limits. Off the top of my head I think my little Audi A4 says something like 760 pound weight limit with the tires at 33psi, or 950 pounds if I increase the pressure to 36 psi.

Though one time I had 4 guys in my car on a road trip to the smokey mountains. Average weight was ~210 pounds, plus each of us had about 60 pounds in gear... so almost 1100 pounds of weight in the car... and it was winter time and I had forgotten to check my tire pressure so it was probably even lower than 33 psi. One of the tires ended up going flat during the drive there, and there was no nail or anything in it so I have to assume it was due to the weight.

The car definitely drove like it was overloaded - handling, braking, and acceleration were all noticeably worse.

 

Ohhhh yeah, Mr. Larson, right. A Cadillac dealership is going to offend you and kill a sale at the same time by bringing up the possibility that you and your wife are too fat for the car. Please!

You know what that would lead to, right? I can see the newspaper headline now:

Dealership sued for calling couple too robust to ride.

 

While I hate to ever lower myself to the lowest common denominator; I'm going to have to side with Mr. Larson and his wife on this one...

First, I believe he rented the XLR; that to me entails a greater responsibility for disclosure on the company/dealership doing the renting.

Second, if any manufacturer ever used this as an exsuse to not cover a component failure, etc then again, this needs to be disclosed to the consumer and not just hidden on the door frame.

 

Article says "leased". That would imply, well, leased.

Ok fine, but show me one dealer in this country that knows off the top of their heads the GVWR on the cars they sell. Trucks, maybe, but cars? I'd doubt it.

That isn't necessarily to excuse them, but this is honestly the first time I've ever heard these ratings even considered to be an issue. To me, they're more recommendations than hard and fast rules. I'm sure Mr. Larson and his wife are perfectly safe and comfortable in their XLR.

 

I disagree. He leased the XLR, did not rent. This means he is going to own the car for at least a year or 2. He should do his own research. He can read. It is on the car. It isn't hidden.

Going by your example, when you buy or rent a car, you are going to expect the car company to read the manual, stickers, and safety placards to the person buying? What if a private party sells to another private party, they would have to do the same thing.

Now, it is an interesting fact that the gov't rates a person at 150 lbs. I would think of rating a person at 200 lbs.

 

That tells you right there -- it isn't the structure, it's the tires. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find vehicles with very low-profile tires that have high passenger weight limits.

With all that said, this has never seemed to be an issue before. I would find it highly improbable that a dealer would refuse warranty claims on cars under the premise that the car was overloaded. Things that might fail prematurely under heavy loads -- like tires, shocks, springs, etc. -- are going to be considered wearable items anyway. And even then it'll probably be outside the warranty period when they do fail.

Bottom line is that unless you're planning on hauling a pallet of bricks in the trunk of your XLR, there is no cause for concern with 360 pounds of humans in it.

 

Holy crap. I had two 300 lbs friends, a 180 lbs friend, and my 205 lbs but in my 1987 5.0. I am sure I was killing the ratings. When we used to go to movies in high school 6 of us would ride in one car. 1100-1200 lbs in a 1994 Olds 98.