The 2022 Honda passports had very similar specs to some of the other Honda vehicles and that is probably because they shared the same engine, along with a lot of other variables that determined their overall towing capacity.
Some models were able to achieve a 5,000 pound maximum rating, while other models fell short of that, only able to achieve around 2,700 pounds, so you need to know what accessories were required in order to achieve those higher ratings.
Read through your owner's manual yourself to get familiar with your vehicle and be sure you read all of Honda's recommendations and requirements.
2022 Passport Overview
Overall Towing Capacity: The towing capacity for the 2022 Honda Passports ranged from 2,750 lbs. and went all the way up to 5,000 lbs. if your vehicle was properly equipped with the right options.
The three main determining factors of your maximum trailer weight rating were the number of occupants in the vehicle, if you had an all-wheel drive or two-wheel drive model and if you had the optional ATF cooler installed on your vehicle.
Engine Options: There was only one engine option available for these SUVs and this was a 3.5 L engine that was used in a lot of Honda's Vehicles, not just the passports. This is probably why the specs were so close and other factors affected the maximum trailer weight ratings instead.
Trim Levels: There were three different trim levels available for this particular model year, but the trim level you had equipped did not really affect the overall ratings when it came to how much you could pull behind your vehicle.
Some of your options may have been limited depending on the trim level that you had, but that indirectly influenced the numbers and not directly.
Assumed Weight: The assumed weight of each occupant in the vehicle can be found at the bottom of the chart, in the notes that are listed. If we read the details, we can see that Honda specifies that each occupant weighs approximately 150 pounds and has 17.6 pounds of cargo, giving us a total of 167.6 pounds of assumed weight per occupant.
The Chart:
The chart was pretty simple for the 2022 Honda Passports and if we look below we can see that Honda specified the maximum trailer weight rating according to the number of occupants in the vehicle, which was a maximum of five. The more occupants you had in the vehicle, the less overall capacity you had.
You had the choice between either an all-wheel-drive model or a two-wheel drive model and if you had the all-wheel-drive model you had the option of having an automatic transmission fluid cooler installed, which gave you 1,500 lbs. more capacity over models that did not have the ATF cooler.
If we look at the data, we can see that all-wheel drive models that did not have the ATF cooler installed had the same exact specs that the two-wheel drive models had and the only way to achieve those higher-capacity ratings would be to have an all-wheel-drive model and have the ATF cooler installed.
Tongue Weight Rating:
The tongue weight ratings were also specified in a separate chart that I found and you can see the maximum weight ratings listed in the chart portion and, again, were listed depending on the number of occupants in the vehicle.
Honda also specified the specific tongue load weight rating range for boat trailers and then all other types of trailers. These specs ranged between 5 to 15% if you were pulling a boat trailer behind you and 10 to 15% for all other types of trailers.
For those of you out there that are unclear on what the tongue weight rating or tongue loads are, it is simply just the additional weight that the trailer puts on your vehicle, where the hitch of your vehicle is located.
Trailer Brakes:
Honda did specify that if your trailer weighed 1,000 pounds or more, you would have to have trailer brakes installed on your trailer that were independent of your vehicle's braking system.
This is pretty typical for most Honda vehicles and having trailer brakes equipped on your trailer is not only required but necessary because your vehicle's brakes are only designed to stop the vehicle, not the vehicle plus additional weight from a trailer.
You will want to also check with your local state or county laws to see what they require as far as trailer brakes and trailer load ratings because it may be different from what Honda specifies and you will want to comply with your local laws as well.
Trim Levels:
There were only three different trim levels available for the 2022 Honda passports and these were listed in the spec sheet as the: EX-L, TrailSport and Elite models.
GVWR, GCWR and GAWR Figures:
Honda was also nice enough to specify the gross combined weight rating, the gross vehicle weight rating and the gross axle weight ratings in the owner's manual, in a nice, simplified chart then I took a screenshot of and posted below.
GCWR: The gross combined weight rating was listed at 8,025 pounds for two-wheel drive models and substantially higher for all-wheel-drive models, having a maximum weight limit of 9,755 pounds.
The gross combined weight rating is how much the vehicle can handle plus the additional weight of the trailer, combined and is usually the maximum amount of weight that your vehicle is capable of pulling, even if your vehicle is fully loaded.
GVWR: The gross vehicle weight rating was set at 5,291 pounds for two-wheel drive models and a slightly higher rating of 5,401 pounds for all-wheel-drive models and is basically the maximum amount of weight that the vehicle itself can safely handle. This does not take into account any trailer weight, it only applies to the vehicle itself.
GAWRs: The gross axle weight ratings were specified for both the front and rear axles and if we look at the data in the chart above, we can see that the front axle weight rating for two-wheel drive models was listed at 2,734 pounds, while the all-wheel drive models had a maximum rating of 2,855 pounds.
For the rear axle, we saw a little bit higher ratings overall and the two-wheel drive models had a maximum weight rating for the rear axle of 2,965 pounds, while the all-wheel drive models saw a slightly higher figure than that, coming in at 3,141 pounds.
Notes On The Transmission Cooler...
Only the all-wheel-drive models were able to have the optional automatic transmission fluid cooler offered as an additional option and is required when you are planning on pulling more than 3,500 pounds, as you can see as stated in the image below, that I pulled directly from the owner's manual.
If you had a two-wheel drive model, these coolers were not available as a factory option for your vehicle and Honda did not specify whether an aftermarket ATF cooler would allow you to get the higher capacity ratings that were listed in the chart. I assumed this would affect the warranty somehow on the vehicle, if the warranty was still active.
Other Notes I Found:
I also stumbled across a couple of other notes in the owner's manual that I thought were worth mentioning, and they talked about a few different things that I think a lot of people would not think about.
The first image I have posted below talks about the octane rating of gasoline when towing more than 3,500 pounds and how a minimum octane rating of 87 is recommended, but you can also use a higher octane rating, if you feel so inclined.
There's also a note in there that talks about how the performance of the vehicle can be affected by certain road conditions that you might encounter, such as higher outside temperatures, steep uphill grades and higher altitude areas.
The second bit of information talks about weight distribution hitches and how the 2022 passports did not really need to use one of these types of hitches, but you could use one if you wanted to, Honda just recommends that you have it properly installed and set up on your trailer.
