Overloading the Prius

If the body is still lower than it was before you overloaded the car, you've permanently damaged the suspension. This is not covered by the warranty and should cost thousands to fix.

You may have another opportunity to overload the car, though, since Ivan is seemingly headed your way.

 

Ask your riders to share the cost of the repairs.

 

if you know anybody with a Prius, measure from the ground to the top of the wheel opening and then measure yours. I would bet your's will be almost the same. What kind of damage can be done. Upper spring mounts and springs are about all that would be damaged. Don't be surprize that the Prius has a big margin of error on the side of Toyota.

 

Not a car expert opinion here, but I would imagine the weight limit has more to do with the Prius propulsion system than it does suspension/carriage limitations. Consider what happens when you load the Prii by 3/4 max, then drive over a bumpy road and apply 2Gs of force. You have now “stressed†the Prius by 1.5 times its advertised max weight. The limitation on towing a trailer also has to do with the propulsion system, not max weight. So, me personally, I wouldn’t worry about it . . . unless you hit some road turbulence or treated the Prii as a sports car on your overweight trip to KMCO.

Sure, measure clearance against another Prii, but unless it feels like it handles differently . . . relax.

By the way, what crosswinds were you experiencing and how did the Prius handle???

Curious: What did you come up with for MAC, LEMAC, CG, etc for a Prius?

 

My two cents: It seems extremely unlikely that you'd have damaged the suspension by putting two hundred pounds too much weight in.

At some point, the car would be so heavy that the suspension would be compressed all the way and there'd be no isolation from the jolting of the road. At that point you'd essentially be putting your car in a paint shaker and might do some damage.

But damaging the suspension with a couple hundred pouinds over??? Come on people!

 

if your suspension was damaged trust me there would be no doubt in your mind. 90% of the time you will feel and hear it break.

also max weights fudge the real max by a very comfortable margin. the weight restrictions have more to do with the limitations of the tires. if you didnt have a blow out, then stop thinking bad things and your car will no doubt straighten right up.

daniel is right. at max weight limit, you will simply have a bad ride. damage to your car?? no, you could double the max weight and not damage your car as long as you drove it very conservatively.