Jack Stand Placement

[OrlandoGuy]

I am getting ready to rotate my tires and install the mud guards and have a question please.

Looking in the manual it shows where to use a floor jack on the front and back...and says you should use jack stands as well when working on the car..but it does not show where to place the jack stands.

Does anyone have the proper placement for a jack stand for each wheel once the floor jack is using the one spot on the front and back allowed?

Thanks.


Also..funny thing in the 2008 owner's manual...it says DO NOT USE THE FLOOR JACK INCLUDED IN THE VEHICLE.

[Patrick Wong]

The rail that runs along the length of the body has a couple of pairs of notches where the supplied jack is supposed to be placed when raising the car. I would put the jackstands at those points, assuming that the jackstand has a notch to fit the rail.

Can you please scan the page from your owner's manual that says not to use the jack, and post it?

[ZC1]

The 2008 Owner's manual show the proper places to use with a floor jack, find this on page 362.
On page 363, under When raising your vehicle, a bulleted item says
Lift up the vehicle using a floor jack such as the one shown here in the illustration. (The illustration shows a 4wheeled floor jack)

The next bulleted item says Do not use the floor jack that was supplied with your vehicle.

I guess I never looked, was a cheap floor jack included or is it a scissor jack?

ZC1

[Patrick Wong]

OK, I think I understand the issue now. Both the rear and the front of the Prius have a central jacking point that allows you to raise up one axle (two wheels) at a time. Those jacking points are intended for a hydraulic floor jack.

The jack supplied with the Prius is intended for use when lifting one corner of the car at a time. That jack is placed between a pair of notches that can be found on the rail that runs along the length of the body.

[OrlandoGuy]

Thanks for the help.

They make jack stands that are notched? All I have ever seen are unnotched Guess I will have to try looking new places.

About the warning - DO not use the jack that came with the car - You have to admit it is funny!

After 3000 miles I have to say I am really more impressed with this car every day. This is the first new car I had that did not need to go back to the dealer to fix something....everything is right.

[dallas27]

As an FYI, someone posted a long time ago that toyota uses the "rubber bricks" that are notched to fit perfectly with the welds to lift the prius by the frame without damage. If you have the energy, I would hunt a pair of those down, or even make a set from stock hard rubber.I never found a good spot to jack up my (totaled) prius with stand and not cause some paint chips or deformation. The rubber bricks would have been helpful.

[OrlandoGuy]

Rubber bricks? Sounds like a great idea!!! I'll search them out..that would be perfect.

Thanks!!

[ivanbg]

You could use hockey pucks.

Here is a picture that I took from someone's forum post.