Where are the jack-stand points on new 2021 AWD Gen 4? - Newbie

Hi Gen 4 owners,
The manual only shows one floor jack point in the center front. The line drawing is really bad. I'm not sure what it is trying to show me. It shows one big nut in a depression. I'm not sure if it wants me to put the floor jack ON the big nut, or on the metal surrounding the nut. Does anyone have photos? How do I position the jack, when the 5" clearance is so low, I can't even get my head underneath to see what's back there? From the front of the car, I reached in with my arm as far as I could go. I only felt a cheep plastic cover that deformed with the lightest touch. From the front of the car, the floor jack point is not visible and is unreachable by human arms.
I got my head down on the side of the car, just behind the front tires. I could see the big nut in the depression. It is situated between the tires. If I put the floor jack on the nut from behind the tire, the floor jack will be going in at an angle. It will not be going in perpendicular to the side of the car. Also, if I bring the floor jack in from behind the tires, then where is the jack-stand point? The floor jack will be in the way of the jack-stand point, won't it? That is, if there really is a true jack-stand point.... I received a big manual, three booklets, and a few pamphlets from my dealer. NOT a single one of them says that there is a jack-stand point anywhere on the car! It seems like Toyota is forcing us to take all maintenance into the shop, so they can make a lot of money off of simple minor work.
I read all the Prius-chats that I could find regarding jack points. Not a single one of them was written for a Gen 4. All that I read had photos and descriptions of Gen 3. I don't know if things changed between Gen 3 and Gen 4. I am a newbie Gen 4 owner. My last car was a Gen 3, but I never had to use a floor jack. The scissor jack was enough to change a tire.
I am a 63 year old woman who needs some help with photos. But I am not stupid or lame. I have changed tires on all my cars before this one. I have changed tires on a Firebird, a Stealth, a RAM truck, a MATRIX, and on a Gen 3. It seems like Toyota is going out of it's way to make this as difficult as possible. First, they don't provide a spare. They don't provide a jack. Then they don't even provide clear instructions or photos of jack points, jack-stand points, or specs for ramps and chucks - which also require jack-stands. And what is a 'unibody'? Is there no frame?
I just want to paint and etch my catalytic converter and install some simple anti-cat-theft devices. But I need to know that the car is not going to roll down or fall down and squash me like a pumpkin.
Can some good Samaritan, please post a video of a Gen 4 being jacked up with a floor jack or driven onto ramps, and show me Toyota's version of securing the car safely with jack stands or blocks. Where do you put the blocks? I got the Rhino ramps 12000# and the cheaper rubber chucks carried by Harbor Freight for $8 each. Is that good enough? I got a low profile jack from Harbor Freight, but I don't yet know if it is long enough to reach that nut, from an angle, behind the tires. I didn't want to open them yet, in case they are wrong for the job and I need to return them.
If I had my way, I'd like to use three cinder blocks behind each tire instead of jack stands. A pyramid of cinder blocks seems more sturdy than a tiny jack stand. I'd arrange two on the bottom and one across the top to give a good comfortable height. I'd put a hand-towel between the top block and the car frame to help prevent scratches. But I don't know if the solid flat surface of the cinder block would brake anything under the car. Does anyone know? Can you advise me? The 'unibody' does not have a flat frame. It has a vertical joint. Is this where bent metal of the 'unibody' is welded onto bent metal from the sides? I don't know. I can't get my head underneath the lousy 5.2" clearance to see what's under there. Other Chatters said they would not lift the car by this vertical joint in the frame. I apologize for being harsh. I am very frustrated by the inaccessibility of the undercarriage,
I want to give my thanks to everyone on this Chat. I found the Chat website very helpful in choosing which car to buy: Prius LE AWD-e. I'd be grateful for any help regarding where to put blocks, etc.

 

Yes, thank you. Now I know the 'official' Toyota approved jack-points. If I use these points, Toyota can't void my warranty for doing it wrong.

It seems a little shady, that Toyota did not put this in my American version of the manual. Some gen3 owners said the vertical unibody weld points seemed too flimsy to jack up. They said they tried, and it deformed a little bit. One of them posted alternate jack-points for the Gen3. They said the alternate points were on thicker metal that was better supported. That is the other email that I am looking for now.

I've got all my tools outside and I'm going to do this today.

 

Thank you for the pictures. It really is hard to see from the front. I bought the Rhino ramps 12000#. I got the front wheels up. The floor jack point is much easier to see from the side. I plan to slide the floor jack under from the front, then try to reach in from the side to get it under the correct spot. I assume from the picture in the manual, that we do not put the cup of the floor jack directly on the big nut. I assume that we put it on the lump of sheet-metal forward of the nut. That area is shaded in the manual picture. I am ready to go outside and give it a lift now. Wish me luck!

 

Here is a link to the thread about jack points on the older model Prii:
Best hydraulic lift / jack stands for Prius? | PriusChat

Here is the link to the picture posted by Valde3:
https://attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2017/03/121722_Untitled.png

He says, "Here’s what I use with jack and jackstands. Red square for jackstand. Green circle for jack." (See first photo.)

I saw the alternate jack-points on my gen 4. But I am afraid to use them at this time because I am a Newbie. So I used the jackpoints recommended by Toyota. (See second photo.)

I am not happy with the results. There are only 10 inches between the head rest of the creeper and the underbody of the car. (See third photo.) I don't know how you guys can stand working in that. Your head is right up against the belly of the beast. That seems too scary for me. I would be squirming around right next to the jackstands. I'd be afraid that I would knock them over. They are kind-of in the way of where the most room is. The undercarriage gets closer to your face as you move further back behind the jackstands.

If the creeper is 4 inches thick at the head-rest area, that means that there is only 14 inches total under the car. A guy on youtube said you need at least 24 inches to work comfortably. The only way I can see me doing this is if I get or make wheel cribs. I really don't want to make them. But I do have many 8" cinderblocks available. I might stack a 12" wheel-crib on top of an 8" bed of cinder blocks, front and back. The RR-WC-12-2 is what I am looking at, if I want to pursue this further. It is solid (foam), so it will distribute the weight of the car evenly across the top surfaces of the bed of cinder-blocks. With even distribution of the weight, I do not think the cinder-blocks will crack. They are built to take compressive force when laid upright. (Do not lay them on their sides).

Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow I will install a second set of jackstands on the alternate points, to serve as a back-up, just in case one fails. Then I will see if I am brave enough to stick my head under the belly of the beast.


I see that there are many new posts. I will read them before I make any decisions tomorrow. Thank you all for your help.

 

Thank you helping PaulDM. I was asking about ALL of the jacking points, all 6 of them. There are the two floor jack points. These take the hydraulic jack, to temporarily lift the car. Then the other 4 points that you were talking about are also VERY important. They are LIFE or DEATH important. The jack-stands that we purchase separately go on the four points that lie between the notches on the underbody. These are the points that support the weight of the car while we are working on it. Thank you again.

 

LOL. Yes! I feel like the trap is about to spring.

 

These jack stands are impressive! They can be put on the floor jack points. That would mean that jack-stands are not needed on the side seams. That opens up the middle a lot. That only solves one of my irritations with this job. My second irritation is that the jacks aren't hign enough. This is 16 inches tall. 16 inches at the floor jack point is about the same height that I am getting now. It's do-able, but very uncomfortable.

I see that you have already done the job that I am starting to do. You have painted your catalytic converter bright orange. Good for you! I am trying to paint and etch mine. Then I want to install several anti-cat-theft devices. That is why I am exploring better jacking systems. I will be doing about 5 different anti-theft jobs under the car. I don't want to pay a shop $600 in labor, for extremely simple installations. I want to find a way to do it myself for under $500 in tools.