Towing Question -- Please help

[barbs]

I have on 04 Prius that appears to be dead. The auto door locks won't even work at this point, the interior lights are VERY very dim. I recently had the key fob batteries replaced, and they aren't working either. The car was working well earlier today, so I'm at a loss.

Anyway, I have to have the car towed to the dealer. Here is my question..what do I need to be aware of? The tow companies around here are NOT familiar with the Prius by any means. The front of the car is against a hill...the sides and back are exposed. I want to be here when the tow truck driver is here so I can be sure they don't damage the vehicle.

Please help. I'm at a loss and I'm not making heads or tails of the manual...I'd rather hear it from ya'll. What should I make sure they do NOT do?

Thanks much.

[qbee42]

You have a dead or nearly dead 12V battery. Jump the battery from the jump points located under the hood. After that the car should start.

If you have to tow it, the front wheels must be off of the ground. A flat bed truck is recommend. If you can't supply 12V, then you won't be able to shift to Neutral and roll the car. You will need dollies or will have to skid it a few feet.

Tom

[darelldd]

What Tom said... but louder.

Sounds like a simply AUX battery situation. Do yourself a favor and don't go through all the expense, hassle and worry of a tow. Jump the Aux battery and drive down to the nearest place that sells batteries and get yourself a replacement.

[patsparks]

What they both said.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by barbs

... Here is my question..what do I need to be aware of? The tow companies around here are NOT familiar with the Prius by any means. The front of the car is against a hill...the sides and back are exposed. I want to be here when the tow truck driver is here so I can be sure they don't damage the vehicle.

... What should I make sure they do NOT do?

I agree that the root cause of your problem is a dead 12V auxiliary battery. The easiest way to handle that is to jump the car, then drive it to the Toyota dealer so that you can have a new battery installed. This avoids a towing charge.

It is not likely that a regular battery retailer will sell the correct battery to fit Prius since the battery physical size is odd, the terminals are smaller than customary, and the battery construction is supposed to be absorbed glass mat, not liquid acid.

You must make sure that the tow truck driver correctly jumps the battery. This means that s/he must observe battery polarity: positive to positive; negative to negative. A mistake will probably mean a large four-digit repair bill due to a destroyed inverter, so it's in your interest to pay close attention to this.

There are two places where the battery can be jumped. One is under the hood, within the main relay/fuse box near the inverter. There's a positive jump start terminal that has a red plastic hinged cover. The negative side would be any unpainted body metal, such as one of the nuts that secure the top of the left-front suspension strut.

The other place that the battery can be jumped is at the battery itself, but this requires first opening the hatch. You would have to crawl into the hatch area, remove the folding floor panel, then remove the black plastic tray over the spare tire (or find the small rectangular panel at the back of the tray that can be removed.) Then locate the lever that can be moved to unlock the hatch. The battery is on the passenger side of the hatch near the rear of the car.

Good luck.

[richard schumacher]

What Patrick wrote. An added layer of security comes if you have a Toyota dealer send someone to do the jump. They have no excuse for doing it wrong, and if they do your liability position is better.