Help! Dead Prius stuck in a ditch.

Just a question. Why is it dead? I've had problems that could temporarily be reduced by disconnecting the 12V battery at the ground, then carefully shorting the car's positive to ground on the car (make sure you're not shorting the battery), then hook it all back up and give it a try.

 

1. Disconnect the the 12v ground cable (and leave it disconnected I assume)
2. Remove the 12v + lead and touch it to car chassis?
3. And this does what? Discharge every component in the car that has any capacitance?
4. Is this supposed to be a shortcut to just leaving the (-) terminal disconnected for 5 minutes to allow everything to slowly self discharge? Rapid discharge instead? Like the way capacitors are used for spot welding?

 

Your location is described as Cuba, but I see a California plate on the car, and that vegetation doesn't look like it belongs in the country of Cuba, so I'm thinking Cuba, New Mexico, perhaps? Do you have AAA in your location? As long as you can get a jack under the jack support points near the front (you may have to dig into the ground a bit to get a level surface), AAA or any towing company should have dollies that could be placed under the front wheels. They could then attach a chain to the frame somewhere near the back and pull it out. Only the front wheels need to be off the ground if the car is totally dead. If a jump start will revive it enough to get it into Neutral, it could be towed a short distance with all 4 wheels on the ground.

 

1. Yes, leave it disconnected.
2. I usually take a wrench and short it from the positive terminal to a nearby bolt.
3. Yes. In my experience it clears the DTC's. I guess I should have mentioned that any form of clearing the DTC's would work.
4. Yes. It also ensures the DTC's will be lost better than just waiting and then finding out you didn't leave it disconnected long enough.

I don't think shorting it this way should hurt anything. After all, when you connect a car back to a several hundred (or even thousand) amp capable starting battery it usually doesn't hurt anything.

 

Yeah, what Isaac said above... And if that doesn't work out there's tie down/tow hooks on both sides under rear of car... OR hook into rear axle, which might cause alignment problems if you pull too hard.

 

Sorry, I don't have much useful suggestions and I am trying not to laugh. Oh, yes, I am supposed to laugh here.

Just wondering, I'm trying to picture the sequence of events that took place leading to the situation in the photo... That is before you attempted to move your dead Prius to level ground and it took a nosedive into a ditch. Where was the car, and what made the car to be dead? How long has it been dead? Why were you trying to move the car in the first place? Hummm, too many unanswered questions.

As for moving the car out of the ditch, at least from the photo, it does not look that bad at all. Any tow track should be able to pull it out with proper equipment.

 

The car must be able to be put in neutral, since it was already put in a ditch. Even if not, it's dirt, just drag it if needed. There's really no need for any special precautions with the front wheels on dirt. A good car or truck and a chain or cable carefully placed around the rear "axle" should be able to provide enough umph to assist the car backing out of that position. Just don't go all crazy with the pull

 

I am sorry, your thread title is a good effort, but still can't beat 2003 Prius Stuck between 2 coconut trees ...

 

If you open up the fence, does the terrain allow it to be pulled forward?

Speaking as a farm boy, I have to say that fence repairs are not all that expensive, just taking a bit of labor and spare wire.

There should be a tow bolt/eyelet in the tool carrier on top the spare tire. It screws into threads hidden under small plastic covers, front and back. This would make a very good towing attach point.

 

There's a tow point in the rear bumper? or is it somewhere else on the rear. I've never really looked.

 

I'll have to look on my Gen3 tomorrow in daylight, but it should be somewhere on both bumpers. On a side, not the middle. GEN2 should be similar.

 

If it rolls -- and since it rolled into "ditch" (doesn't look like a ditch), it can roll out. A couple of people pushing from the front....
kris

 

A dead Prius is stuck in Park. It needs to get to Ready mode to place in Neutral.

 

But OP did say is was a "dead Prius", before it was moved. That puts its proper Park mode operation into question.

 

Look under your car at the rear driver side and rear passenger side. You should see one of these sticking out on each side. Connect to one or both of them and just pull slowly while the car is in neutral.

 

Earlier I recommended the towing eyelet/bolt. But now I see the 2005 Prius Owner's Manual, pages 259-261, shows it only for the front, but not the rear like my Gen3. Can anyone else verify that the 2005 lacks a rear mounting point for this?

 

I think the best solution was already offered, then tossed aside...Two people pushing. Might only take one.

 

Pictures often don't represent slopes well. It doesn't take much downhill slope to render this solution impossible, especially so if the two available people are somewhat petite.

Add in what appears to be a significant rock just behind the left rear wheel, and it may require most of a beefy high school football lineup to succeed in such a push.