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How do you put the Prius in neutral to push or tow it?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by pumpiniron, Sep 14, 2008.

  1. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    What shift cable?

    Tom
     
  2. rigormortis

    rigormortis Active Member

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    your correct. the prius needs to be on to be in neutral. if its off your screwed.

    if you leave it in neutral when you turn it off, it parks.

    i got another idea about how to put it in neutral, and would need hobbit to check out my theory, instead of going after the parking prawl, which sounds technical, how about connecting the prius to a weakend battery? man if i leave my car in ACCESSORY mode for an hour, or really push the time limit to the point where it might not start, the first indication is that warning message about a parking gear fault!
     
  3. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    oop, lost track of this thread for a while. If you look in my
    training slides there's a picture of which relay to pull so you
    can shut down and leave the car in neutral.
    .
    _H*
     
  4. imwoody36

    imwoody36 the prius parts guy

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    I developed a method to jump start a prius when they arrive at my shop without keys back in 2006.
    this hack will not allow the car to go into ready mode, but WILL allow you to shift into neutral.

    I call this the " neutral cheat"
    remove fuse 2 and 6, and replace with a jumper wire for both of them connected together and then supply 12 volts to them.

    then shift into neutral the normal way.
     
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  5. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    How do you number the fuses? Not sure which you mean by "2 and 6".
     
  6. TheEnglishman

    TheEnglishman Member

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    There's this great invention called the flatbed truck. I think you should look into it. Maybe get some roller skates for the wheels to get it up there? :D
     
  7. mani

    mani New Member

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    sir plz tell me the name of 2 nad 6 fuse
     
  8. dbcassidy

    dbcassidy Toyota Hybrid Nation, 8 Million Strong

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    A lot of todays' car have to be towed on dollies or via ramp truck. This is especially true for awd.

    DBCassidy
     
  9. clgutierrez

    clgutierrez Junior Member

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    This thread makes me wonder how the little button besides the shift lever allows to put my Prius c in neutral without turning on the car. I know his thread is for Prius II but anyway...

    Sent ?
     
  10. Tedh1979

    Tedh1979 Member

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    The problem is when the Prius is completely dead and therefore unable to get it into neutral, and the car is facing the wrong direction, how are you even supposed to get the Prius backed up or turned around so that it can be towed with front wheels up or towed on a flatbed. Please see picture below for example. I just bought this car today. I was told that it doesn't run or start. I am going to bring a jump pack with me and TRY to get to the battery in the back, but I've never done this yet because this is my first Prius. I had a 2012 Hyundai Elantra. It was junk. But whenever it was dead, you just put your key in and put your foot on the brake and put the car in neutral, without needing any battery juice at all. Can anyone else chime in? If I go to get the car and cannot get any power to put it in neutral, can the car be dragged a little bit on a driveway by a tow truck just so that it can be turned around or will this ruin the car? I'm hoping the car will have power when hooked to a jump pack and if so, then I won't need to worry I guess. But I just want to be prepared. Prius1.jpg
     
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  11. DesktopDave

    DesktopDave Member

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    I've just gotten myself into a new Prius myself, so I'm no expert, but here's my two cents:

    You might get lucky by jumping the car from the engine compartment with your jump pack. There is a front positive terminal specifically for jumping the car located inside the fusebox cover on the driver's side of the engine bay. Flip the fuse box cover up and look for a cute little red cover marked with a positive (+) symbol. It's hinged and will reveal a clamping point attached with a stud. The stud post was too narrow & deep for my clamp, but it's designed with a neat clamping plate too. As with any other car, use any decent ground for the negative lead from your jump pack. I avoided the inverter case or anything bright orange, just hooked up to a convenient strut mounting stud above & behind the fuse box.

    I've also jacked up cars and moved them around with wheel dollies. They're only like $50/pair at Harbor Fright, it's a good tool for this situation.

    Failing that. I'm sure you wouldn't destroy the transaxle by just brute-force dragging the front wheels for the 5-10 feet you'd need to get it loaded up on a rollback or dolly. Be sure you hook up to a solid point on the chassis with tow straps, like a subframe mount.
     
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  12. Tedh1979

    Tedh1979 Member

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    Thank you. I spent all today getting price quotes from tow truck companies to get the car. Most want $400! The cheapest offer was $250 and when I went to commit on Facebook, he wouldn't reply back to me! I have a reputable company willing to do it for $300 and that's the cheapest I can find right now. Honestly I could get a $50 car dolly rental at U-Haul but the problem is that I'd have to push the car back quite a long way and then put the car dolly on it in the front. I don't think I can push the car on my own. I also don't think I could push the car onto the car dolly. So that's where I am at.

    I just noticed, we have the same color Prius!
     
  13. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    If you get it jumped and into neutral, it should be pretty easy to push it out of the driveway, but you'll probably want someone to help you, especially with the steering. The find a place on your tow vehicle to hitch a come along and use that to pull the Prius up onto the car dolly.

    If you can't get the car rolling, then you'll need a couple wheel dollies to get it into position and a then drag it onto the car dolly if you can.

    Sometimes a come along is even handier than duct tape. :D
     
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  14. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    You cannot jack the car up one side at a time and put the dollies under the wheels?
     
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  15. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Great idea!!
     
  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yes. Cross the bridges as you come to them? In other words:

    Hook up your jump pack, and just maybe, it's then driveable, tow truck not needed and so on. Just DON'T turn it off once started. Well you can, but then the jump pack will be needed again.

    Also, pop the hood and connect your jump pack there, see attached:
     

    Attached Files:

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  17. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Lubricate the tires/ground/street. Dish soap works well and doesn't pollute much. Pumping up the tires to max also reduces their contact patch so they don't drag as hard.
     
    #37 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Apr 2, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2019
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  18. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Bring a big old lead acid battery from another car with you. Disconnect the little battery negative cable from the little 12v battery. Put the big battery in the spare tire well and connect positive to positive and negative to the disconnected negative cable with jumper cables.put the key into the ignition slot. Press the start button twice with your foot off the brake, put in neutral and push it out of the driveway. Turn off when it’s on the dolly and repeat when you get home. Then recharge the battery

    Sorry missed the you can’t push it yourself part. Pay a local kid 20-30 bucks to help you?

    Does it still have the tow hook in the trunk? You could hook that up to a come along on the front bumper and pull it up onto the dolly. The owners manual shows how to install the emergency tow hook into the front bumper

    Heck if the 12v is so bad it’s causing a shunt the car might even start. Then you could drive it onto the dolly. ;)
     
    #38 Skibob, Apr 2, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2019
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Once you jumpstart the car, say with the jump pack, I believe the 12 volt is just along for the ride, could even be deleted? As long as you don't shut it off?
     
  20. Tedh1979

    Tedh1979 Member

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    I am going with a tow truck driver tomorrow to pickup the car. I was told the car does not start. I am HOPING that this is due to a 12V battery being bad or dead. I am bringing along my jump pack to hook to the battery. That should give me enough power to put the car in neutral. Still though, the back part of the car is the only part that the tow truck can access even if it is in neutral. Hopefully the tow truck can somehow pull it from the back. We are using a flatbed tow truck. If I get there and can't get any power to the car even with a jump pack, then I'm aware that we have more problems. Wish me luck tomorrow! I got quotes from tow trucks in the range from $340-$400. I put an ad on Facebook for tow truck recommendations. This morning I woke up and a guy said he'd do it for $175. Hopefully he shows up. And hopefully I can get power to the car to at least put it in neutral.
     
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