Published by HALOX Co.
How to read the Tire and Loading Information placard on your door jamb
The door-jamb Tire and Loading Information placard explained line by line under FMVSS 110: occupant-and-cargo limit, seating, cold pressures for front, rear and spare, original tire size, where it must go, and why sidewall maximum pressure is a different number.
The Tire and Loading Information placard is the label most people only notice when they are at a gas-station air pump. It is a federal requirement. A federal safety standard says what it must contain, where it goes and who must update it. It carries the vehicle maker’s numbers for this vehicle as built. That makes it a different source from the tire sidewall and from a generic chart. federal tire-placard standard.
Where it has to be
The standard covers vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less, except motorcycles. The placard must be permanently attached to the driver’s-side B-pillar. The standard sets the fallbacks in order. If there is no B-pillar and the two driver’s-side doors open in opposite directions, it goes on the forward edge of the rear door. Next comes the rear edge of the driver’s door. The last fallback is an inward-facing surface next to the driver’s seat. The text must be in English and follow the standard’s printed format. Placement.
What each line means
The standard requires these items, (a) through (g):
| Item | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| (a) Vehicle capacity weight | “The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXX kg or XXX lbs” |
| (b) Seating capacity | Total occupants, and how many in front and rear |
| (c) Cold tire pressure | Maker’s recommendation for front, rear and spare |
| (d) Tire size | The sizes fitted when the vehicle was first sold, plus the spare |
| (e) Heading | “Tire and Loading Information” |
| (f) Reference | “See Owner’s Manual for Additional Information” |
| (g) Non-pneumatic spare | Its identification code, if the vehicle has one |
For the spare, “see above” may replace the pressure and size when it is a full-size spare. If no spare is supplied, the placard must say “none”. Makers may also print the load index and speed rating next to the size. They may move the pressure and size lines to a separate “Tire Information” label next to the placard. Required and optional fields.
The weight line
Vehicle capacity weight is defined as the rated cargo and luggage load plus 68 kilograms (about 150 pounds) times the designated seating capacity. Occupants and cargo come out of the same allowance. Five adults and a loaded roof box can exceed the figure even though every seat is legal. Definitions.
Pressure: placard, not sidewall
NHTSA tells drivers to use the vehicle maker’s pressure from this label or the owner’s manual, “NOT what is listed on the tire itself.” The sidewall figure is the tire’s maximum. “Cold” means the car has not been driven for at least three hours. NHTSA says to check every tire, including the spare, at least once a month. Front and rear values can differ, so a single number for all four may be wrong. NHTSA tire-pressure steps.
If you must top up warm tires on the road, NHTSA says to fill to the cold figure and recheck later when the tires are cold. Running slightly low is safer than running significantly underinflated. A tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), required on 2008 and newer passenger cars, light trucks and vans, warns only when a tire is significantly low. It does not replace a gauge check. TPMS guidance.
When the placard stops matching the car
The standard handles changes made before the first retail sale. A final-stage manufacturer must fit a placard matching the completed vehicle. An alterer who makes the weight ratings invalid must fit a new placard over the original. Swapping wheel-and-tire assemblies is specifically not treated as an alteration that triggers a new placard. Alteration rules. NHTSA’s advice for replacement tires is to buy the original size or another size the vehicle maker recommends, and to ask the tire dealer if in doubt. Tire size. If you have fitted a different size, get pressure guidance for that setup from the vehicle or tire manufacturer. A photographed sample placard cannot give you the right number.
Sources
- 49 CFR 571.110: tire selection and labeling — U.S. placard fields S4.3(a)-(i), placement order, Tire Information label option, altered and multi-stage vehicles, vehicle capacity weight definition
- NHTSA: TireWise — Cold = not driven for three hours; check monthly including spare; placard pressure not sidewall; TPMS warns only when significantly underinflated; size from placard
References checked .