Amazingly, I am not finding a GEN II thread here about towing the actual car. And, again, the owner's manual is either written by idiots, or there is an idiot reading it (myself). It seems to contradict itself. It says on Page 421 of the '08 manual: "Never tow this vehicle with any of the wheels in contact with the ground." But, on Page 420, it has a a drawing of towing "from front." The front wheels are on some sort of platform extending from the rear of the tow truck, but the rear wheels are on the ground. Same page, towing "from rear." Drawing of rear wheels on platform and front wheels on some sort of wheeled dolly. Seems as if from the Page 421 warning, a flatbed is the only solution. WHAT is safe, if anything, other than a flatbed.
Front wheels up and rear wheels on the ground should be fine as long as the parking brake isn't engaged. To the rear wheels, its no different than a regular drive.
Exactly. As long as the drive wheels are not on the ground. They have a few transmissions from prii that were towed with the front wheels on the ground in neutral. They're beyond toasted!!! Fried to a crisp, served up hot!!! I go to the training center on Friday for a new model preview, I'll see if I can get a couple pictures and post them up.
If you need to tow Prius with front wheel on the ground you can: -Ign-on and neutral. Keep speed below 42Mph or 67Km/h. Hybrid battery will drain while doing this so not for long distances. -Ready and drive. Prius cannot be pushed backwards. Everything needs to be working. Engine will start if speed is more than 42Mph or 67Km/h and maybe other times also.
The manual wording is just inviting us to flip the car onto its roof and attach a chain. The "no wheels down" warning is probably over-zealous. Kind of like "never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow". Tow trucks often have a hydraulic lift bar at the back they can scoop up a set of wheels with, so they'll often scoop up the fronts and then go. Flatbed tow rigs are getting pretty common now though. Ah--saw your other thread. Hopefully you don't need to consider a tow any more.
Moving it small distances up the ramp on a flat bed is ok. It's pulling it down the road with the drive wheels down that's the problem.
