Each car has a maximum load it can tow. To know how much weight your car can bear, check your owner's manual or the information sticker on the driver's door sill area. Surpassing this load is dangerous; it can damage your car or cause an accident. Here are four specific dangers of towing too much weight:

Engine Damage

Each car engine has a maximum load it can safely handle. Surpassing this load a little bit isn't advisable, but it may not cause immediate and serious damage to your car. However, your car may experience engine damage if it is extremely overloaded.

If the engine is struggling to carry the weight you have given it, it may overheat as the cooling system may not be able to handle the extra heat. This may damage different parts of the engine, such as rod bearings, pistons, and even valves.

Axle Damage

The axle is the part of the car that connects the wheels, both the rear and the front, to the car. As such, the axles bear all of the car's weight, which it transmits to the wheels. Obviously, each axle has a maximum load it can bear; overloading it can lead to damage if it can't bear the increased stress.

Increased Risk of Accident

A vehicle towing more weight than it was designed to haul is more difficult to handle than one towing a load within its limits.  Cornering becomes difficult, changing lanes becomes slow, and braking within the normal distances becomes almost impossible. It's easy for such a vehicle to rollover or lose control, endangering the lives of all road users.  Apart from that, the extra forces on the tires also make them run hotter, which can lead to a tire bursting and all its deadly consequences.

Lastly, exceeding your car's towing limit may also damage the transmission. The extra forces will cause the transmission bands and clutches to slip, which increases their rate of wear and causes premature damage. The extra load also makes the transmission work harder than it was designed, which heats it up and leads to deterioration of the transmission fluid. The result is poor lubrication, which can lead to costly transmission seizing.

Considering all these risks, it doesn't make sense to risk towing a car unless you know it can handle the increased weight. If not, then call for towing services to handle the service professionally and safely. So when you are on a group road trip, and one of the cars break down, call for emergency towing services, such as Superior Towing, instead of risking another car.

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