Did I damage my axles?

First off, I'd be VERY surrprised if you didn't wreck that tire by driving on it while it was flat. The wheel would be digging into the tire.
How would we know if he jacked it in the right spot?
Check the tire pressure yourself...you should be doing that at least once a month anyways.

 

+1

 

There's an internal tire pressure monitor, as you already know, but that's only accurate at a very gross level. There's plenty of tire pressure monitors available, you can get one at a gas station or auto parts store. Most common one looks like a pen. Just unscrew the cap on the tire's valve stem, put it on firmly (that's kind of the tricky part, don't worry if a little air leaks out), and read the number on how much of the measuring stick came out.

I have a bicycle tire pump at home, it works fine on car tires too, just takes a little more pumping to inflate it. For the Prius I find about 10 pumps = 1 psi (it was 16 pumps/psi on my Subaru Outback, which had a slow leak and slowly became faster. when I was adding air every other day I decided it was time to get the tire fixed).

I would never run any distance at all on a completely flat tire, or even go down the road with less than 10 psi. That's what a spare tire is for. Changing a tire is not something to be scared of. (Okay, enough lecturing).

 

After the damage you did to the tire, I wouldn't worry too much about the mechanic. I would assume he put it on the frame, as long as he didn't go way under the car and put it on the exhaust or something you should be okay. Can't pinch the brake lines, pretty hard to get it on the suspension, I think the biggest danger would be scratching the paint on the side.

And regarding your title to the thread, driving on a flat won't damage the axles. Not sure about what you hit though.

BTW - underinflated tires are more likely to get a sidewall leak (due to being pinched) on a bad bump than properly inflated tires. And a sidewall leak isn't repairable, it needs a new tire.

 

there are tire services that come to your house, look on line, i think it's tireguys around here. but your tire is probably fine, if it holds air and there is no sign of visible damage, you should be good.

 

That is the worse possible place to place the jack. There is a good chance he damaged the flux capacitor. Not to worry though if you stay below a speed of 88 miles-per-hour.

 

As mentioned, the frame is there. But, how can anyone here tell you that the jack was actually on the frame and not on the floor or the exhaust or the plastic of the bumper...etc.
Is the car shaking at all now? If so you'd probably need to get it balanced. It sounds more like it was a plug he put in then a patch. A patch would require the tire taken off and placed on the inside, then have the tire balanced. A plug is just that, a plug stuck in the tread of the tire. Not needing to take the tire off.

As for a pressure gauge, there are lots out there. Analog and digital gauges. I find this style the easiest to get on the valve without loosing to much air from the tire:
Slime/5-60 PSI brass dial tire gauge with bleeder valve (20049) | Tire Gauge | AutoZone.com

But my suggestion to you is next time put the spare on and run the flat tire over to have it repaired.

 

Good point...

 

I believe the proper point to jack the rear is just in *front* of the wheel--could that be what he did? If he did it to the rer, look under and see if there is obvious damage (indentations) to the floor pan. If not, I wouldn't worry too much. Your biggest problem is probably damage to the rim and the tire.
FWIW, I keep an electric pimp in the car, to fill up thand also the spare. They cost about $30 and can save the day.

 

Hard to detect sidewall damage can occur by running flat. On freeways running flat is one of the most common causes of vehicle fire from high speed driving which you didn't do. Don't run flat again. Get an air gauge and read the manual about tire changing. If you can't do these things yourself, subscribe to a road service.

 

Better keep an eye on that pimp, you never know what they are going to do.

 

An electric pimp can keep a whole stable of blow up dolls working all night.

 

Is there enough head room for his hat?

 

The jack points are marked on the underside of the car, and are noted in the manual. You will have to go find and learn those spots, and then decide if that is where he placed his jack.

How can you know? Some of the damage would be visible only from inside, when the tire is dismounted from the rim.

I won't even drive across my driveway on a completely flat tire. It is much cheaper to avoid the risk by immediately changing to the temporary spare. And if the tire shop is a mile away, it is also faster to change to the temporary and drive at street speed than to creep slowly on a flat.

 

There is no carburetor in the Prius, and it wouldn't be under the car if there was one. Maybe you're thinking of the catalytic converter. There should be a small gap (inch or two) between the exhaust/catalytic converter/muffler and the car, because that gets pretty hot and needs to be cooled without heating the bottom of the car unnecessarily (the battery is above that). It should be firmly attached and not making a lot of noise when you drive however (it would have a very loud engine noise if it was coming apart).

Jacking the car in the wrong location won't damage the frame. You're supposed to lift it via the frame. Generally you put it in front of the rear tire, not behind it, but I think that's more to even the load on the two tires on the right side.

Your best bet is to take it to a dealer or a mechanic you can trust and just have them look it over. They won't make any changes without asking you first, but will know more by a quick look than we can by guessing from your descriptions.

 

I would replace the tire. Too many opportunities for the sidewall of the tire to be compromised from driving on it flat. You'll know there's a problem when the tire blows out on the highway at 70MPH...not worth trying to save $100 by not replacing the tire.

Things you have learned here:

1. When you hit something on the road, and you say the car is sluggish and the TPMS light goes on. Stop the car and look at the damage.

2. Never drive a car with a flat. Toyota provides roadside assistance, and they could have plugged the tire that way right in your driveway. Could have called them, and sat inside and watched TV while you waited for them.

3. When patching a tire, you want a PATCH, not a plug. A plug voids a tire's warranties for treadwear as well as the speed rating on the tire. A patch requires the tire be removed from the wheel and patched from behind.

The issue here is not only that the tire was driven the mile to the gas station...it was also driven home. Plus if air escaped fast enough to instantly display the warning light...I wonder if it was really something that could be patched in the first place.

How many miles on your car? You can probably get away with just one tire...but you have to buy the same model tire as is already on the car.