1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Opening "v" rear hatch from the inside..??

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by CLUBGUY, Feb 19, 2014.

  1. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2012
    293
    49
    0
    Location:
    Cincinnati
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Knowing that the rear hatch will not operate if the 12volt battery is depleted: I decided to attempt to learn how to manually open the hatch thru the small (approx.3x5) opening inside the rear hatch lock...
    Decided to do/learn this now rather than attempting to have to do it under less than ideal conditions ie: when I really can not gain access from the outside and have to lower the rear seat backs, crawl into the rear area, open the small access cover and manually open the lock/latch....
    My question is...what does one do to open/release the latch from the inside..? I can not see anything that releases the locking mechanism...I can press the exterior opening pad and hear the latch release/open but I can not see from the interior what it's actually doing....Any thoughts..?? anyone actually had to do this..???
     
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
    2
    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    This is NOT an answer to your question, but if you hook your 12 volt jump pack to the charge point under the hood, the rear hatch opens normally.
     
    kithmo likes this.
  3. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2013
    1,740
    444
    4
    Location:
    New Mexico, USA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    N/A
    Page 80 of the manual, (section 1.3: opening, closing and locking the doors)
     
  4. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2010
    2,404
    2,773
    47
    Location:
    South Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    This is definitely the way for me, I have a third row of seats to climb over.
     
  5. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    7,471
    4,373
    7
    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    It is just as important to know how to get into the car with the small key since the remote wont work either. Likewise how to start the car if the remote battery is dead. All in the manual.
     
  6. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2012
    293
    49
    0
    Location:
    Cincinnati
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Thanks....did not think to look in the manual.. see now where I need view a small latch/lever that can be moved to unlock the hatch.... did not see this the first time I looked inside the inspection panel....
    when all fails...consult the owner's manual... again thank you..!
     
  7. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2012
    293
    49
    0
    Location:
    Cincinnati
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    This is NOT an answer to your question, but if you hook your 12 volt jump pack to the charge point under the hood, the rear hatch opens normally
    I do carry a set of jumper cables: hopefully a 12 volt source will be available if I have a problem....
     
  8. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
    2
    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Jumper cables are MUCH more dangerous to your wallet, be very careful.
     
  9. li le

    li le Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2014
    8
    1
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco, California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Manual tells how to jump your prius under the hood
     
  10. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
    2
    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Jumper cables are straight forward to use, however doing it wrong in a Prius has traditionally cost $4000, which is much higher than other cars. There is a recent rumor that Toyota now sells just the $500 DC to DC converter, rather than the entire inverter. In either case, a $40 jump pack seems cheap.
     
  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,767
    16,015
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    For future reference...

    photo 1.JPG

    The manual hatch release is the L-shaped shiny metal piece in the centre of the image.

    photo 2.JPG

    Here's a zoomed out look. This is the cargo area of a 2010 Prius Liftback, looking out towards the rear of the vehicle. The false floor is removed and you're looking at the underfloor bin with the door sill at the top of the image in "light grey". The underfloor bin has a remove plastic door as you can see so that you do not have to remove the entire bin to access the manual release for the hatch should the 12V battery die.
     
    MPGS-LOL likes this.
  12. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
    2
    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    This is the v station wagon forum, I am not sure how similar it will be.
     
    Tim Jones likes this.
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,767
    16,015
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A

    I understand that but when I read the thread, I was thinking "if someone was to search for trunk release and come across this thread, it won't be useful for them to just "consult the manual" especially if it's a used vehicle they bought and the second hand dealer never bothered to give them a manual because it was lost/misplaced by the previous owner" so I provided a photo reference.

    It'll be similar. Where else would the hatch release be anyway?
     
  14. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    7,471
    4,373
    7
    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    I had a "no open" problem while I still had power. The cargo net was jammed into the latch mechanism. Plus the net is near impossible to pull apart to extract. Moral of story; keep the cargo net out of the way when you close the hatch.
     
  15. Yogi PNW

    Yogi PNW New Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2021
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Federal Way
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    NOT the most intuitive operation I've ever seen. Holy crap, that's sublime.
     

    Attached Files:

  16. bydabayou

    bydabayou New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2024
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    New Orleans
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five

    Actually it is not similar. There is no silver lever in the middle or any other I can find.

    This is not the same as a Prius V.
     
    #16 bydabayou, Feb 27, 2024
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 27, 2024
  17. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,767
    16,015
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Ahh ok. Is there a picture you can show us to let others know how to manually release the hatch?
     
  18. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    7,471
    4,373
    7
    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Page 77
    IMG_4431.jpeg
    Zoomed view
    IMG_4432.jpeg
     
    #18 rjparker, Feb 27, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2024
    MPGS-LOL and Tideland Prius like this.
  19. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    3,902
    1,064
    0
    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Just climb in over the back seat tops and have at it!
     
  20. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    7,471
    4,373
    7
    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Not that hard to climb in if you fold the rear passenger seat first. You might want a small screwdriver in the console for the latch.

    IMG_4444.jpeg

    Having a lithium jump box behind the sliding rear seats is my easier solution using the under hood fuse box connections. Start the car in most cases or simply power up the rear latch.