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

Moving the Prius when it doesn't start

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Snowroxy, Jan 30, 2010.

  1. Snowroxy

    Snowroxy New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2010
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Schenectady, NY
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    My battery just died so I am going to jump start the Prius. But, the car is facing forward in the garage so I have to back it out and turn it around. Does anyone know how to get my 2005 Prius into Neutral when it cannot be started?
     
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,199
    6,464
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    It is not possible to get the Prius into N when there's no 12V power.

    I suggest that you crawl into the hatch, find the mechanical hatch release below the folding hatch floor (you need to get down to the black plastic tray over the spare tire and remove a little access panel at the rear of the tray to access the hatch release), open the hatch, then you can access the 12V battery directly.

    The battery is in the right rear corner, you'll have to remove the triangle shaped hatch floor piece to get to it.

    Make sure that you get the battery polarity correct, or else you'll be facing a 4-digit repair bill to replace the inverter.
     
    1 person likes this.
  3. walterm

    walterm Active Member

    Joined:
    May 17, 2007
    466
    202
    34
    Location:
    NJ
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Alternately if there's enough room at the front you could open the hood and use the jump-start terminals on the under-hood fuse block.
     
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,073
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Keep in mind that the starting current for the Prius is very modest. You don't need big jumper cables. There is no reason you can't use a long piece of zip wire to reach the front of the car if need be, just make sure to observe the proper polarity. Reversing the polarity on a Prius can be a *very* expensive mistake.

    Tom