Today's PP math lesson: low clearance+high centering on a mound of ice=calling a tow truck. Me in Truckee, CA today.
darn. looks more of a problem than when i got my Gen3 stuck on wet grass. I had to use a tow strap wrapped around a tree pulling with my pathfinder. I still praise the Prius(s) as being the most reliable of any car in snow. But ice, any car is a non-winner in a battle.
No one would help you with a push? If you’re passing through Truckee, are you on the west side of the pass now? Safe travels.
If it is truly high centered, human foot power is unlikely to push it free. It needs more force than that, or a lift up. Hmm. On comparatively hard ice, in a pinch, maybe jack it up, then push it forward off the jack? May repeat a few times until past the high spot?
If you follow the gradient of the ground and extrapolate, it ain’t that high centered . I’ve done my fair share of pushing in winter conditions. Good tip about the jack, but given the situation, that jack would be a tough one given the lack of ground clearance.
If that extrapolation told the whole story, then it wouldn't be high centered in the first place. When undercarriage crossmembers or protrusions embed themselves in ice or dense snow, resistance to horizontal motion becomes very high. It becomes the same as trying to push or pull a plow blade or anchor through the ground material. Even a couple bolt heads sunk into ice by the pressure can create a strong anchor. As have I. Human-powered pushing is for when poor tire traction is the primary issue. But when high centered, that tire traction loss is secondary. The primary problem is that much of the 'traction weight' is no longer on the tires, but is shifted to the hidden anchoring protrusions of the undercarriage digging into the high resistance frozen stuff.
Thanks for the idea. Considered that option and gave it a shot. She was pretty well high centered and the entire area in front was icey. Besides, gave me a chance to use the roadside assistance from my insurance company
My apologies. My photo does not do the situation justice. The passenger side was the high centered area. Yes, driver side doesn't look that bad.
PS - although not needed (because the tow truck hooked on both sides of the rear suspension), the tow eyelet is located with the jacking package in the charging cable storage area.
Ray, what tires are on the car? If you have the original 3-seasons, yep, you're stuck. If good snow tires, it looks like a push forward--if there's room to go ahead--or a push back just enough to get it moving--would be worth a try. So-called all season tires are pretty much worthless on ice. The new all-weather tires with the winter certification are good on snow but again not much good on ice.
He noted that the photo doesn't show the real problem, that is on the other side. This incident is a high-centering. When it is really high-centered, even great snow tires won't get it out. There simply isn't enough traction weight on the drive wheels, and too much anchoring weight embedding the undercarriage protrusions into the grounded ice.
