Can you put a Prius in Neutral without turning it on?

The problem with a 'race condition' is one can be a little too fast. Watch the "READY" and I noticed a blink and then shift. The warning lights go out, the car is in "N" and the ICE does not run. I remember being able to shift into "D" without a problem and the ICE starting up.

Bob Wilson

 

Try this:
1. Turn the car on into accessory mode (press power twice without pressing the brake).
2. With the car in accessory power mode, press the brake and shift into neutral.
The ! triangle lit up and the MID showed "shift to P before starting". The car was in neutral and I was able to roll down my driveway. Had no power to the motors and couldn't go anywhere, nor did the ICE turn on.
I'd like to see if others can get the same. Let me know!

 

That's pretty much the same end result of what I did in start mode so it's six on way and 1/2 dozen the other. Bottom line: you don't need EV mode, just get it into neutral. Might need a push though if you're in a level garage.

 

I just turn on my 2006 Prius normally, drive it out somewhat quickly and turn it off before 6 seconds have gone by, so the ICE never starts up. Do the same to get it back in the garage. Is there a problem with the simple solution?

Otherwise IndyV seems to have the right idea. My wife has the Prius today so I can't try it at the moment.

Yeah, heat up the whole garage so you can save energy when moving the car a few feet.
A car looks better when it's washed, no matter the temperature. Also, you apparently don't need to worry about road salt, you don't want to leave that on your car at warmer temps if you can help it. 40'F is a beautiful day for washing a car, it's when it's well below freezing that you start to run into problems (need to be careful with locks and external moving parts, etc.)
One trick - when it's too cold to use windshield washer fluid, you can always rub snow on the windshield to get rid of road salt and grime build-up.

 

We don't have a garage...

I'm contemplating getting an engine block heater, though. We have a 1/2 mile drive that we do regularly, and it's mostly downhill from our house. It's not worth it to start the ICE if we don't have to. (We often walk the 1/2 mile, but that's not always practical.)

 

I do this all the time with our 2010 Prius, the way fotomo desccribes, be it to wash it or pack it for a trip. I turn the car on, put it in N, roll it out, and the ICE never starts.

You can even get the car back into the garage, before the ICE starts, if you're quick!

Now, how do we get rid of that dumb TPMS!?

~Pete

 

I don't know if it's a just a UK thing but my Prius will go into EV mode at low temperatures, at least down to 0 deg C, as long as I don't have the heater, AC or demisters switched on and press the EV button before the initial warm up phase starts (12 seconds IIRC). I haven't tried it below 0 deg C yet.

 

On my 08 Gen 2, I start the car shift into reverse to get the car rolling back out of the garage and down the driveway, then into neutral before the ICE starts, coasting as far back as I need to be. Reverse the procedure to get back into the garage. Unless you have a steep driveway you can get enough momentum to coast back in in neutral and shut off the car.

 

I think that is much wider than a UK thing, just not a US (and possibly Canada) thing.

 

After viewing this thread I was under the impression that the OP wanted to know if you can put the car in neutral if, say, the 12V battery was dead and you couldn't get into Ready, Accessory, or On mode. Let's say your car is dead on the side of the road and you need to have it towed on a flatbed truck. Is there a way to put the car into neutral? What possible damage could occur if you can't get into neutral and it gets pulled up onto the tow truck?

 

Have you tried going in to neutral without having the car fully on? Press power twice, without pressing the brake, shift to neutral (hold for a few seconds) and you're set. Roll as you wish.

 

Finally! A benefit of the Gen2 over the Gen3! I can get mine into EV mode from a cold start when the ambient is 30 degrees and the car has been sitting for two weeks. No problem! I mean no problem after first installing the EV button that it should have come with.

 

That is (possibly) interesting is that this is EXACTLY the reason I went through the trouble of installing the EV button in my Gen2. Driveway is to steep to push the car even if I *could* get it into neutral, so this was a no-brainer.

 

Understood, but the front wheels are still going to turn once they make contact with the bed as the car is pulled up onto the bed. That is my question.

 

Tow operators used dollies under the front wheels. Or, alternately, they just skid the tires.

Tom