Towing Prius problem

harper42 · 06-21-2007, 11:28 PM

An acquaintance who drives a tow truck said, One difficult thing about towing a Prius when it quits, is getting it into neutral so that he can tow it. He said they usually would jump the battery, to be able to get it into neutral, so they could tow it. Have any of you had such an experience or can you shed any light on the situation? Thanks.

Bill Merchant · 06-22-2007, 01:09 AM

If the 12V battery is dead, the car is parked and you can't get it out of park. Pulling the car for more than a few feet or at any but very slow speed could damage the Hybrid Synergy Drive and destroy the car if you could shift it into Neutral, so the fail-safe default is Park. Toyota advises towing the Prius on a truck or dollies so the wheels aren't turning.

Your acquaintance is right, if you apply 12V from an external source you can usually shift the PSD into Neutral, but you can usually start the car then, too, and wouldn't need a tow. If the car won't start and has to go to the dealer, truck it or put it on dollies.

subarutoo · 06-22-2007, 03:28 PM

But how do you get it on the truck, if it stuck in park and won't roll? There should be some kind of manual neutral over ride. Or something.

narf · 06-22-2007, 03:40 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(subarutoo @ Jun 22 2007, 01:28 PM) [snapback]466483[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

But how do you get it on the truck, if it stuck in park and won't roll? There should be some kind of manual neutral over ride. Or something.
[/b]

They do it the same way they deal with locked cars in parking lots. They drag the car far enough to move it away from the obstacle, then they put the wheels on a dolly. They can also drag it right onto the flatbed.

06-22-2007, 01:09 AM	#2
Bill Merchant absit invidia Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA \| Oregon \| Portland area \| 97004 \| Posts: 3,925 My Car: 2007 Prius Package: #5 Nominated 6 Times in 1 Post TOTM Awards: 1 Friends: 47	If the 12V battery is dead, the car is parked and you can't get it out of park. Pulling the car for more than a few feet or at any but very slow speed could damage the Hybrid Synergy Drive and destroy the car if you could shift it into Neutral, so the fail-safe default is Park. Toyota advises towing the Prius on a truck or dollies so the wheels aren't turning. Your acquaintance is right, if you apply 12V from an external source you can usually shift the PSD into Neutral, but you can usually start the car then, too, and wouldn't need a tow. If the car won't start and has to go to the dealer, truck it or put it on dollies. __________________ Bill Bill.Merchant@PortlandHSD.info 2007 NL 5 Silver Wraith 2005 BC 6 Silver Cloud Portland Area HSD Meetup Group: PortlandHSD.info Become carbon neutral: Carbonfund.org or TerraPass.com

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06-21-2007, 11:28 PM	#1
harper42 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 165 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	An acquaintance who drives a tow truck said, One difficult thing about towing a Prius when it quits, is getting it into neutral so that he can tow it. He said they usually would jump the battery, to be able to get it into neutral, so they could tow it. Have any of you had such an experience or can you shed any light on the situation? Thanks.

06-22-2007, 03:28 PM	#3
subarutoo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chatsworth, CA Posts: 992 My Car: 2006 Prius Package: #6 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	But how do you get it on the truck, if it stuck in park and won't roll? There should be some kind of manual neutral over ride. Or something.