I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but if you need to put an 01-03 Prius into Neutral with dead battery (i.e. to push the car so you can reach it with jumper cables) you need to remove the rectangular panel on the bottom drivers side of the steering column. It's tiny, smaller than a postage stamp. Use a strong pen-knife or very small screwdriver to pop the panel out. You may want to remove the panel when things are good, so if you ever have to use the gearshift release you don't have to hunt around for a knife since it's on pretty tight from the factory. (just leave it off once removed). Once panel is off stick a finger into the hole and voila, shifter will move into neutral (or any position) without power. BTW, Gen2 Prius (2004-2009) use a fully electronic shifter. No easy way to get car into neutral without power.
Another thing you can do when things are good is try whether you can reach the release lever without disturbing the little panel, just by squeezing a finger around the end of the column shroud. I tried that when I first got the car and, with my fingers at least, it's not a problem, as long as I don't mind the indentation left on my finger by the plastic shroud. -Chap
