Trailer Towing Precautions; To Avoid Accident Or Injury - Lexus NX200t Owner's Manual

WARNING

Trailer towing precautions

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To tow a trailer safely, use extreme care and drive the vehicle in accordance with the
trailer' s characteristics and operating conditions. Failure to do so could cause an acci-
dent resulting in death or serious injury. Vehicle stability and braking performance are
affected by trailer stability, brake setting and performance, and the hitch. Your vehicle
will handle differently when towing a trailer.

To avoid accident or injury

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Do not exceed the TWR, unbraked TWR, GCWR, GVWR or GAWR.
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Adjust the tongue weight within the appropriate range. Place heavier loads as close
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to the trailer axle as possible.
Do not exceed 65 mph (104 km/h), the posted towing speed limit or the speed limit
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for your trailer as set forth in your trailer owner' s manual, whichever is lowest. Slow
down sufficiently before making a turn, in cross winds, on wet or slippery surface, etc.
to help avoid an accident. If you experience a vehicle-trailer instability from reducing
a certain speed, slow down and make sure you keep your vehicle speed under the
speed of which you experience the instability.
Do not make jerky, abrupt or sharp turns.
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Do not apply the brakes suddenly as you may skid, resulting in jackknifing and loss of
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vehicle control. This is especially true on wet or slippery surfaces.
Do not exceed the trailer hitch assembly weight, gross vehicle weight, gross axle
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weight and trailer tongue weight capacities.
Do not use the following systems when trailer towing.
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• Cruise control (if equipped)
• Dynamic radar cruise control (if equipped)
• Dynamic cruise control with full-speed range (if equipped)
Slow down and downshift before descending steep or long downhill grades. Do not
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make sudden downshifts while descending steep or long downhill grades.
Vehicle-trailer instability is more likely on steep long downhills. Before descending
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steep or long downhill grades, slow down and downshift. Do not make sudden down-
shifts when descending steep or long downhill grades. Avoid holding the brake pedal
down too long or applying the brakes too frequently. This could cause the brakes to
overheat and result in reduced braking efficiency.
Vehicles with a compact spare tire: Do not tow a trailer when the compact spare tire
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is installed on your vehicle.
Hitch
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Trailer hitch assemblies have different weight capacities established by the hitch manu-
facturer. Even though the vehicle may be physically capable of towing a higher weight,
the operator must determine the maximum weight rating of the particular hitch assem-
bly and never exceed the maximum weight rating specified for the trailer-hitch.
Exceeding the maximum weight rating set by the trailer-hitch manufacturer can cause
an accident resulting in death or serious personal injuries.
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