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2010 Prius, my towing experiences

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by tomtheobald, Feb 27, 2018.

  1. tomtheobald

    tomtheobald New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2018
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Descanso, California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Mates, been long time reading PruisChat here and just now first time posting... I needed to tow my 2010 hatchback-3 behind my Class C rv and managed early Feb, get a tow dolly (RoadMaster model 3477 with electric brakes). My towing experience narrative may help others and welcome your comments...

    I bought a tow dolly from craigslist and the seller also towed his Prius with same dolly and plus he even gave me a couple 2 x 12in boards to place on top of the mounting plates (advising you gotta have'em or you will scrape your front valance on mounting dolly). I will skip to the puzzling parts of my experience. On 1st move, I sent a text to the seller and asked him: Do I sent for Neutral or Park, before shut-off ignition? He said, didn't matter. So I set for Park, set parking brake off and put a steering wheel lock device on, had my wheel straps good & tight and was off rolling on 30mi move #1, going upwards of 45-50mph on county back roads. Here is text msg I sent my best bud here east county San Diego, immediately afterward...
    "Hey, I managed okay and arrived with Prius to Jamul fine (town here SD county). The only little mini drama was at the very end when I got back in my Prius starting to drive it. I had several warning lights...brake warning, ABS warning, skid warning, those light-up right away. Drove the car 100yards, was sluggish brakes (or say 50% braking!) and then pushed firmly on the brakes and shortly after all the warning lights all cleared, whew! Then Prius handled all normal then, so reckon I am lucky (more like whew, got out of that one!) Just I need to get advice specific on towing Prius and what car settings to go with. I had set up for Park and maybe should have set for Neutral on the last electronic command before I shut off the ignition. Htg dayjob now. All is well..."

    So 3-weeks later, I had another 30mi dolly tow to make behind RV. Before 2010 Prius move #2. I read a lot here on PriusChat, then called my local dealer service writer for advice on how to set gearing (Neutral or Park?). Like the manual advises, dealer svc writer flat-out said same same as manual, don't do it! He told me, I risk messing up the transaxle and to get all 4-wheels off the ground with a full trailer. Okay, I listened to him. But hey, I had dolly towed already without much problem and I already owned the dolly. Then I called Toyota USA 800 tel #, described my multiple dash warning lights experience on move #1 and asked them same question, do I set for Park or Neutral? (or I gather is actually neutral emulation via car's computer) Okay, Toyota USA's answer echoed what others here have related on calling them...1) That Prius can be done with a tow dolly, if you have to. 2) They advised set for Park before shutting ignition off. 3) They would give zero, no advice at all, on how to clear any dashboard warning lights that may occur afterward. Basically I was on my own to figure out clearing any dash warnings, as I had on move #1.

    So last Fri, I setup again same like did move #1, 3-weeks ago (set for Park, parking brake off, steering wheel lock set, good wheel tight straps). On 2nd move, I decided to follow advice I'd read here on PriusChat and kept speed to max 35mph mostly and never went over 40mph (again I used back country roads and not freeway). Made 30mi trip again to another RV park, then I unmounted off dolly... This time, just before powering up Prius...I decided very quickly to use a manual reset technique, I had learned with my earlier Prius (had a 2011 model prior to my current 2010). That reset technique consists simply of taking your car remote and pressing the power button to startup vehicle. Wow, for a nano-second, my dashboard light-up like a Christmas tree! Not only ABS+skid+brake warning lights, but just about every other warning came on super quick! For that brief instant, I held my breath...then immediately, another nano-second later, all the warning lights cleared! My 2010 went to normal operation with all good braking and no need press brake pedal firmly again, like after move #1 . Everything was immediate good driving ops again after move #2.
    Now I don't know if it was me keeping my speed below 40mph or using the remote to push power button to start... Anyhow, that's been my experience how will do in future. Hope this helps, comments welcome... Cheers, mates!
     

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  2. jfountain2

    jfountain2 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2011
    40
    2
    0
    Location:
    Pima, Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I just finished another trip with my 2010 Toyota Prius II base model. In 2015, I bought a 4x6 carry on utility trailer and drove from Arizona to Massachusetts and then Massachusetts back to Arizona. 2500 miles each way, and even loaded with 1200 pounds, I averaged 31 mpg. I then used that same trailer to move from Arizona to California and then sold the trailer. I was back in Massachusetts in June 2018, and I bought a 5x8 carry on trailer. I averaged 30MPG loaded with a bit more stuff. Never lost power. I now have almost 205,000 miles on my prius and all of those miles are mine. I am burning oil, but that has been this way for about 60K miles.