I bought a 2008 Prius yesterday, this is my first hybrid experience. Today I parked the car as I was waiting for a friend, I thought the engine was working but turns out I switched it off. Long story short, the battery died, I called a friend who has a jump starter and we were able to start the car. The problem is the trunk won't open anymore. To jump-start the car we had to open the rear door and get to the battery from there.
if the trunk won't open with the car running, the battery probably isn't charged up enough to activate the mechanism. you either need to replace the 12v, or try charging yours and see if it holds.
Pink read the owners manual there’s a few things in there you need to know. #1 is all battery jump starting should be done from the front battery jump points under the hood. It’s there so you don’t need to dig into the back hatch to get to the battery. Super hassle and real easy to incorrectly Hook up the jump cables. You reverse polarity jump start a Prius your looking at very big $$$$$. #2. Stop jump starting your Prius. If you bought the car from a dealer you need to replace the 12 volt battery ASAP because it’s a used car that sat on the lot for a while the 12 volt battery probably has gone dead many times and they just jump start the battery and give the car to you. Based on how many posts I have seen on this over the years describing your exact scenario. Seen so many totaled Prius over the years with incorrect jump start. It’s unlike any car.
If the hatch release button doesn't work then cycle the locks (ie press the central locking button on the driver's door trim). The hatch release button should then work. It's an odd Prius quirk that I've come across.
The problem has been solved, took the car to the shop, they hooked it up to the computer with an OBD scanner and reset it, managed to open the trunk, thanks for the help everyone