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Hi all,

About a week ago my parents' Prius died, to the point where the 12V battery died and they couldn't turn on the car at all. The big trouble was that they were in their garage and the rear was facing out, so the tow truck has to use boards to safely slide the Prius out before they could tow it. It was a tedious process and ended up causing some minor damage to the car.

I thought I heard of some way to get the Prius in neutral without having to turn it on, but I couldn't find anything online about this. Is there a way to do this, or some other way to make this situation a little easier...besides having them back into the garage?

You couldn't jump it? I thought there were posts in the engine bay that could be used for this process?

The HiHy has a cover over a button that is just in front and left of the shifter. You can use that to unlock the shifter even without power. I'd guess the prius has the same, but I don't actually know. The button was clearly taked about in the owners manual.
Hope you find an answer.

This situation sucks. The only way i'm aware of is to either attach a power source to the battery such as a rechargeable multi-use jumper starter/work light/air compressor/aux combo unit. I got mine at Sam's Club for just over $50. That way at least you could power the car up and move it so the wrecker could reach it. In theory you could attach it to either the front terminals or at the rear battery location. the front would be way easier since the rear hatch wont open if the 12v is dead (you can open it by crawling to the back and opening it from inside via the emergency release lever).
I've never done this but it should work.

I did it once, it isn't easy, especially if there is stuff in the trunk or tool tray, if it is empty very easy to do after the first time, minus the acrobatics.

You couldn't jump it? I thought there were posts in the engine bay that could be used for this process?

This situation sucks. The only way i'm aware of is to either attach a power source to the battery such as a rechargeable multi-use jumper starter/work light/air compressor/aux combo unit. I got mine at Sam's Club for just over $50. That way at least you could power the car up and move it so the wrecker could reach it. In theory you could attach it to either the front terminals or at the rear battery location. the front would be way easier since the rear hatch wont open if the 12v is dead (you can open it by crawling to the back and opening it from inside via the emergency release lever).
I've never done this but it should work.

My parents said they didn't want to just jump the car or recharge the battery in the garage because of the hydrogen that would be released from recharging the battery.

At a Madison hybrid group meeting, I remember one of my friends jumping another Prius with his Prius, getting just enough power to the 12v battery to boot the computer, and then the car could start and run and recharge the battery. My parents seemed to not believe this. Are their concerns legitimate, or could most of this have been avoided by simply having them jump and then recharge their car?

Just jumping the vehicle shouldn't be a problem. As long as there is proper ventilation there shouldn't be an issue charging it either -- I do it all the time in my (drafty) garage. If you are concerned about it, just leave the garage door open while charging.

My parents said they didn't want to just jump the car or recharge the battery in the garage because of the hydrogen that would be released from recharging the battery.



That sounds like something my parents would say.

My parents said they didn't want to just jump the car or recharge the battery in the garage because of the hydrogen that would be released from recharging the battery.

At a Madison hybrid group meeting, I remember one of my friends jumping another Prius with his Prius, getting just enough power to the 12v battery to boot the computer, and then the car could start and run and recharge the battery. My parents seemed to not believe this. Are their concerns legitimate, or could most of this have been avoided by simply having them jump and then recharge their car?
Jumping a Prius isn't the same as jumping the average car since the 12-volt doesn't actually start the engine. The current draw would be very small and the amount of H2 generated would be very small if not absent altogether. Also, jumping would only take ~5-10 seconds.

That's a sad situation .... no exuse for the tower to cause damage to the car. There's no reason the car could have been dragged out for such a short distance with no problems.
I'm sure the towers insurance will cover the damage.

A related warning - When connecting any external battery or charger to Prius, be extremely careful to get the polarity correct. it is almost certain to experience expensive damage if you get that wrong. If you are unsure of how to proceed, go no farther until help arrives.

DAS