What fell down under my Prius?

cant tell but it looks like the exhaust system, take a picture from the side of the car by the tire, get on the ground and point the camera up with flash..its not physically possible for a transmission to fall out of a car no matter what Billy Bob told you.

if the car goes into gear and moves on its own even a few feet its not the transmission..odds are he put it in neutral to push it, if you cant push it in park neither did he.

 

sounds like the wheels fell off.

but seriously folks, did you get any dashboard lights? what happens when you press the power button, does it become ready? does the engine start? other than the scraping, does it move in d and r?

 

A nice photo of the OP's driveway surface. We need better photos of the car's underside, if the OP expects a reasonable answer to his/her query. In particular, what do the transaxle and half shafts connected to the front wheels look like.

 

That $2200 used transxle option sounds like a winner! But I don't think I've heard of any people mentioning their transaxle has fallen off while driving......this is a first

 

I think it is likely that a mount which holds the engine/transaxle to the body has failed. If that mount is replaced, that may be all that is required. This is why we need some decent photos.

 

Is that the oil pan we're looking at.? OP we need more pics

 

is there an exhaust shield?

 

How about opening up the hood so you can look at the mounts holding the engine to the body. If you see anything interesting, take more photos.

I think you should have the car towed to your local Toyota dealership or a competent hybrid independent for a diagnosis. It looks like an engine mount has failed which is causing the engine oil pan to sag down. That would cause the transaxle to be out of alignment relative to the half shafts connected to the wheels, and when you try to drive the car, a half shaft may be hitting something to cause the noise that you are hearing.

 

never seen that before..looks like a mounting bracket failed ..maybe Toyota will absorb some of the cost if you contact customer care..( im sure their toll free number is somewhere on line)

 

BTW: I'm sure, Patrick meant flat-bed rather than tow! Good luck!


Jees! ...an ancient post! ...almost as old as me!!! ...apols!

 

Yeah likely all sorted by now, but would there be any harm in towing, with front end in the air? I'm thinking it's ok.

 

True, but I'd rather be safe than sorry!!!