towing capacity SUZUKI GRAND VITARA 2012 Owners Manual

6-1VEHICLE LOADING AND TOWING
79K21-03E
Vehicle Loading
54G307
Your vehicle was designed for specific
weight capacities. The weight capacities of
your vehicle are indicated by the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), the Gross
Axle Weight Rating (GAWR, front and rear)
and the Vehicle Capacity Weight. The
GVWR and GAWR (front and rear) are
listed on the Safety Certification Label
which is located below the driver’s side
door latch striker. The Vehicle Capacity
Weight is listed on the Tire Information
Label which is located below the Safety
Certification Label.
GVWR – Maximum permissible overall
weight of the fully loaded vehicle (including
all the occupants, accessories and cargo
plus the trailer tongue weight if towing a
trailer).GAWR – (Front and Rear) Maximum per-
missible weight on an individual axle.
Vehicle Capacity Weight – Maximum per-
missible load weight a vehicle can carry
including the weight of all the occupants,
accessories, cargo, plus trailer tongue
weight (if towing a trailer).
The weight of any accessories already
installed on your vehicle at the time of pur-
chase, or that you or the dealer install after
purchase, must be subtracted from the
Vehicle Capacity Weight to determine how
much capacity remains available for occu-
pants, cargo, and trailer tongue weight (if
towing a trailer).
Contact your dealer for further information.
Actual weight of the loaded vehicle and
actual loads at the front and rear axles can
only be determined by weighing the vehicle
using a vehicle scale. To measure the
weight and load, try taking your vehicle to
a highway weighing station, shipping com-
pany or inspection station for trucks, etc.
Compare these weights to the GVWR and
GAWR (front and rear) listed on the Safety
Certification Label. If the gross vehicle
weight or the load on either axle exceeds
these ratings, you must remove enough
weight to bring the load down to the rated
capacity.
WARNING
Never overload your vehicle. The
gross vehicle weight (sum of the
weights of the loaded vehicle, driver
and passengers) must never exceed
the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
(GVWR) listed on the Safety Certifica-
tion Label. In addition, never distrib-
ute a load so that the weight on either
the front or rear axle exceeds the
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR)
listed on the Safety Certification
Label.
WARNING
 Always distribute cargo evenly.
 To avoid personal injury or damage
to your vehicle, always secure
cargo to prevent it from shifting if
the vehicle moves suddenly.
 Place heavier objects on the floor
and as far forward in the cargo area
as possible. Never pile cargo
higher than the top of the seat
backs.
Vehicle Loading: 11

7-33INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE
79K21-03E
Recommended Inflation Pressure –
the cold tire inflation pressure recom-
mended by a manufacturer.
Rim – metal support for a tire or tire
and tube assembly upon which the tire
beads are seated.
Vehicle Capacity Weight – the rated
cargo and luggage load plus 68 kilo-
grams (150 lbs) times the vehicle’s
designated seating capacity.
Vehicle Maximum Load on the Tire –
the load on an individual tire that is
determined by distributing to each axle
its share of the maximum loaded vehi-
cle weight and dividing by two.
Vehicle Normal Load on the Tire – the
load on an individual tire that is deter-
mined by distributing to each axle its
share of the curb weight, accessory
weight, and normal occupant weight
(distributed in accordance with Table 1
shown below) and dividing by 2.TABLE 1 – Occupant Loading and
Distribution For Vehicle Normal
Load For Various Designated Seat-
ing Capacities
Vehicle LoadingYour vehicle was designed for specific
load capacities. The load capacities of
your vehicle are indicated by the
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR),
the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR,
front and rear), and the total load
capacity, the seating capacity, and the
cargo load capacity. The GVWR and
GAWR (front and rear) are listed on
the Safety Certification Label which is
located below the driver’s side door
latch striker. The total load capacity
and seating capacity are listed on the
Tire and Loading Information Labelwhich is located below the Safety Cer-
tification Label. The cargo load capac-
ity can be determined as described
below.
Cargo Load Capacity – Maximum
weight of cargo and luggage that the
vehicle can safely carry. Cargo load
capacity is the difference between the
total load capacity of the vehicle and
the total combined weight of all vehicle
occupants. Refer to “Steps for Deter-
mining Correct Load Limit” for details
on how to determine cargo load
capacity.
GVWR – Maximum permissible overall
weight of the fully loaded vehicle
(including all the occupants, accesso-
ries and cargo plus the trailer tongue
weight if towing a trailer).
GAWR – (Front and Rear) Maximum
permissible weight on an individual
axle.
Seating Capacity – Maximum number
of occupants the vehicle is designed to
carry.
NOTE:
Even though the number of occupants
is within the seating capacity, you still
must make sure that you do not Designated
seating
capacity,
number of
occupantsVehicle
normal
load,
number of
occupantsOccupant
distribution
in a
normally
loaded
vehicle
2 through 4 2 2 in front
5 through 10 3 2 in front,
1 in sec-
ond seat
Fuses: 7

7-34
INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE
79K21-03E
exceed the total load capacity of the
vehicle.
Total Load Capacity – Maximum per-
missible weight a vehicle can carry
including the weight of all the occu-
pants, accessories, cargo, plus trailer
tongue weight (if towing a trailer).
The weight of any accessories already
installed on your vehicle at the time of
purchase, or that you or the dealer
install after purchase, must be sub-
tracted from the total load capacity to
determine how much capacity remains
available for occupants, cargo, and
trailer tongue weight (if towing a
trailer). Contact your dealer for further
information.
Actual weight of the loaded vehicle
and actual loads at the front and rear
axles can only be determined by
weighing the vehicle using a vehicle
scale. To measure the weight and
load, try making your vehicle to a high-
way weighing station, shipping com-
pany or inspection station for trucks,
etc. Compare these weights to the
GVWR and GAWR (front and rear)
listed on the Safety Certification Label.
If the gross vehicle weight or the load
on either axle exceeds these ratings,
you must remove enough weight tobring the load down to the rated
capacity.
Steps for Determining Correct 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 plac-
ard.
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 lug-
gage load capacity. For example, if
the “XXX” amount equals 1400 lbs
and there will be five 150 lb passen-
WARNING
Never overload your vehicle.
Overloading your vehicle can
cause damage to your tires and
lead to poor steering and braking
which can result in an accident.
The gross vehicle weight (sum of
the weights of the loaded vehicle,
driver and passengers) must
never exceed the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR) listed on
the Safety Certification Label. In
addition, never distribute a load
so that the weight on either the
front or rear axle exceeds the
Gross Axle Weight Rating
(GAWR) listed on the Safety Certi-
fication Label.
WARNING
 Always distribute cargo evenly.
 To avoid personal injury or
damage to your vehicle, always
secure cargo to prevent it from
shifting if the vehicle moves
suddenly.
 Place heavier objects on the
floor and as far forward in the
cargo area as possible. Never
pile cargo higher than the top of
the seatbacks.
Fuses: 7

7-35INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE
79K21-03E
gers in your vehicle, the amount of
available cargo and luggage load
capacity is 650 lbs (1400 – 750 (5 x
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 vehi-
cle.
Vehicle Loading Example
As an example, suppose that the Tire
and Loading Information label on your
vehicle indicates that your vehicle’s
total load capacity is 950 lbs. If you
were to drive your vehicle with one
passenger, and the total combined
weight of you and your passenger was
350 lbs, then the cargo and luggage
capacity of your vehicle would be 600
lbs (950 – 350 = 600 lbs).
If you later added 2 more passengers,
having a combined weight of 325 lbs,
the cargo and luggage capacity of
your vehicle would be reduced from600 lbs to 275 lbs (600 – 325 = 275
lbs). As you can see, as the number
and combined weight of vehicle occu-
pants increase, the vehicle’s cargo
and luggage capacity decreases.
Suppose again, that you were to take
a trip in your vehicle with the same
three passengers described above,
and you decided to tow a trailer having
a trailer tongue weight of 75 lbs. The
cargo and luggage capacity would be
reduced again, to 200 lbs (275 – 75 =
200 lbs).
Determining Compatibility of Tire
and Vehicle Load Limits
The tires on your vehicle, when they
are inflated to the recommended tire
inflation pressure, have a load-carry-
ing capacity that is greater than the
load that will be on the tires when the
vehicle is at its GVWR or GAWR limit.
Never use replacement tires that have
a load-carrying capacity less than the
original tires on your vehicle. Tire load-
carrying capacity information is
molded into the tire sidewall typically
shown as “Max. Load”. Use of replace-
ment tires with a lower load-carrying
capacity than the original tires, or fail-
ure to keep the tires inflated to recom-
mended tire pressure, may reduce the
GVWR or GAWR limit of your vehicle.NOTE:
Use of replacement tires with a higher
load-carrying capacity than the origi-
nal tires, or using a tire inflation pres-
sure higher than the recommended
tire inflation pressure, will not increase
the GVWR or GAWR limit of your vehi-
cle.
Fuses: 7
Headlight Aiming:
Bulb Replacement: 7