Well I have been regularly towing between 800-1500lbs for the last 60k on my Prius and the head gasket is starting to leak at 275k. The car still runs fine and gets 35mpg. I have also driven this car very hard, as I commuted through a mountain pass everyday for 8 months that involved holding the gas pedal to the floor for about 1 hour straight each day. So I am actually quite pleased that this engine lasted for so long. I was able to sell my catalytic convertor for $400 and get a junkyard motor with 80k miles for only $600, so I will put that in next month and see how much longer the rest of the powertrain will last. This is my heaviest tow, I don't know the weight but I am guessing over 2500lbs along rural roads. The Prius had no trouble, even climbing a steep ramp from the woodshed.
Toyota rates the Prius at 0 pounds. They rate all their cars at 0 pounds. https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM47520U/pdf/OM47520U_edited.pdf "Towing capacity: Toyota does not recommend towing a trailer with your vehicle. Your vehicle is not designed for trailer towing" Page 342
The Corolla can tow 1500 lbs and the Camry 1000. You’ll be Shocked to See What a Corolla Can Tow | Toyota Parts Center Blog
The rule book says no. Now lets Break them! I got a 2" hitch for mine and have worked My car like a truck since i got it now over 550,000 miles. The tongue weight when breaking can get way over the load limit for the vehicle pretty quick. even so though I have done the 4000 foot California grapevine with over 2000 lb. being very careful to keep 2 + bars on the battery and keep the RPM at the 3500 sweet-spot and not push it to its 5000 rpm limit. At 397,000 I got a totaled 2006 for $1000 and have been scavenging it for parts for years what fun Ive had in my garage.
yes you do have to be careful with the tongue weight and not overload the hitch. Personally I've had a tongue weight of about 180lb before and the rear was close to bottoming out, but not quite.
