How do I tow a Prius that will not crank?

Dolly the front wheels or trailer. Prii don't like being flat towed anyway.

 

Right, if your Uhaul truck can tow a Uhaul dolly, for the front wheels of the Prius, just strap on and remember it's there

 

Toyota recommends all 4 wheels off the ground I suspect that if you lift the front wheels enough you are going to drag the bodywork in the rear. If you can get the fronts (drive wheels, steering wheels, locked by Park pawl, potential accidental generator, etc) just barely off the ground, all the rear wheels do is the parking brake.

 

Your back wheels just free wheel (as long as the brakes are not applied). A Prius is a front wheel drive car. You may have to disconnect the 12v battery for a minute to reset any codes caused by the ABS sensors during the trip. There is the alternative of a flat bed trailer so that all 4 wheels are off the ground.

JeffD

 

Neutral only matters for the front wheels.

 

I literally did this yesterday - picked up a Prius with a bad traction battery. It moved on its own and could have been limped home, but when the original owners decided they didn't want to fix it they took their plates and left it at the dealer. Easiest/safest/legal option was to rent a Uhaul tow dolly.

Leaving it is park is fine - actually preferred to keep the front wheels locked - but make sure you take off the manual brake since that locks up the rear wheels. And don't forget the safety chains underneath, don't just use the webbing.

Since you can't put it in neutral to load it, use a come-along to drag it up the ramps. The tires won't like it much but you don't have much choice.

 

< removed duplicate post

 

[offtopic]
That bring back memories... like when we crossed the US border with our Canadian rental car (Pontiac Sunfire iirc), parked it up in front of a hotel lobby, asked for the price and decided to look further, only to find it wouldn't go out of PARK anymore... Took 30 hours, dozens of calls, advice that was later denied to be ever given etc. for the rental company to finally tow it, squeeling like a pig, onto the flatbed that brought us the replacement...
[/offtopic]

 

On my Gen 3, it's possible to go into neutral without going into "Ready". Just press the start button twice with your foot OFF the brake, so the 12V system is fully powered up, then shift to N. It's very useful for rolling the car a few feet down the driveway without starting the ICE when it would otherwise insist on warming up.