Towing with the 2004-5 Prius

Towing invalidates the warrantee. Toyota reply to any claim is going to be "what part of "not recommended" do you not understand? The carrying capacity is different than the towing capacity of a vehicle.
About 6 months ago Trailer Life had an article explaining all about towing and what the ratings mean. The manufacturer supplies the towing capacity of a vehicle. Since the Prius doesn't have one, then its zero. It involves the chassis, engine and tires. Why don't you sell the car and buy something else. With the demand so high for the car, you can get what you paid for it or close to it. For your info, Ford Escape hybrid will tow 1K pounds and the regular escape is rated for 3500 lbs.

 

There is a big difference between "not recommended" and prohibited. There are many vehicles that towing is "not recommended", but they are able to tow very well. Toyota would have to prove that you damaged the vehicle by towing with it to not warrenty it. If the Ford Escape is able to tow without damaging the drive system, why can't a Prius tow without damaging the drive system. Note I said drive system.

I would like to be able to tow my Waverunner with my Prius (soon to have). I can put a cargo carrier on the back and load it with much more wt than the tongue wt of the waverunner.

Ron

 

I think the Ford Escape has bigger everything (ICE, MGs, PSD, etc), that's why it can be a truck and it can tow.

 

Follow the warranty advice given here and put in an order now for a hybrid Highlander. Get the best of both worlds.

 

The Prius can indeed tow, and does so quite well. Note, though, that can and should are very different. Your warrenty, your choice. Toyota will need to prove that towing caused any failures, though.

You will need an adapter kit for the trailer lights to reduce from four wires to three. These are around $15-$20 at your local auto parts shop. The lighting wires are very easy to get to just in front of the tail lights. Just pull the trim pieces away as if you were about to change the bulbs. I ran the cable out underneith the spare through one of the holes with the rubber plugs in them.

I have towed a 4x8 utility trailer used to move from one house to another over about 20 miles. The worst trips were the motorcycle followed by the washer and dryer. The only reason these were annoying was trailer weight balance. They just sat too far forward and de-stabalized the trailer so I had to drive slow to avoid shaking. Even with about 800lbs of trailer and bike behind, the prius did not have any lack of oomph, nor did it over-use the power systems. Gas milage was about 35mpg during these events. I normally get about 50mpg. Braking was excellent, though I never engaged in an emergency stop. I pulled up some decent grades, but I don't think I would try the I-17 climb south out of Verde Valley north of Phoenix. THe fake engine drage, alone, kept speed in check down moderate hills.

The 800+lb weight limit has nothing to do with towing. It is the internal capacity, and is most likely limited by the supportive force of the wheels. There is no towing capacity for this car, so those who desire to tow will simply have to make an educated guess. If anybody ever manages to brake a car by towing, we will then know what was too much. If this bothers you, then don't tow. If you do tow, test out the handling in a safe place, before you get out on the road with other drivers.

I admit I do not know the long term ramifications. At a couple of towing per year, I doubt I will find anything out. Now, if the famous prius taxi driver were to tow daily...

 

To the OP, if in the manual Toyota says that you should not tow at all, I SERIOUSLY wouldn't, warranty or no warranty. It puts extra stress on the steering systems, suspension, engine, axles, tires, bearings, electric motor, transmission, brakes and chassis. If it were recommended or ok, they would list a maximum allowed amount and have tested it.

FWIW, my 255 hp 02 Nissan Maxima has a max weight of cargo and passengers of 882 lbs and max towing weight of only 1000 lbs. My 287 hp 04 350Z coupe has a max cargo + passenger weight of 450 lbs and also max towing weight of 1000 lbs. For the convertible version, it says "Do not tow a trailer with your vehicle".

You should not exeed the maximum gross vehicle weight or maximum gross axle weight and you need to account for the tongue load in that in weight of the vehicle, cargo, passengers, and hitch.

Also, I think if you're going to attach a hitch, I wouldn't put it past a dealer to void part of your warranty on the spot for that.

I think you should just get/use a clunker car or truck for when you need to tow something. BTW, truck frame based trucks and SUVs have MUCH higher towing limits than unibody cars and SUVs.

 

I find it interesting that the service manual says to change your oil more frequently if you tow. To me that should mean towing will NOT void your warranty.

 

I remember two posts. One person was towing a pair of jet skis and some one else had a very small utility trailer. Both of them got a lot of warnings but went ahead. I would guess there are others. One safety or two safety factors might help. First get a CAN View so you can read the Engine, Battery, Coolant, Inverter and MG winding temps and keep an eye on them your self. Have the hitch installed and rent a trailer and see how it goes. Second look at this tread on an additional tyranny cooler! Suspenders and a belt. http://priuschat.com/HV-Transaxle-cooler-filter-t19667.html I would think that you would have your self covered at that point. Change fluids often and have fun. I saw one the trailers you are talking about at the REI in Seattle. Very nice and much faster to set up than a tent. The tent route is not bad either though.

 

I drive by an RV dealer just down the street on my way to work every day and I've seen two Little Guy teardrop trailers sitting at the entrance with "On Sale!" written on the doors. I've been fascinated by the idea of pulling a light weight teardrop ever since Godiva brought it up, so I decided to stop in today on my day off and check it out. Way in the back I actually found a Rascal, the smallest lightest and most aerodynamic of the Little Guy lineup (not to mention the least expensive). It was perfect! I talked to one of the guys there and he said they've had it for a while and really trying to get rid of it. As you can see the MSRP on Little Guy's website is $5,495:
http://www.golittleguy.com/cms/content/view/34/96/

They are asking $4,444... what a deal! I just signed the paperwork for building a house though, so it looks like the teardrop will have to wait. I was pretty excited about it though, in the brochure they gave me it even says the Rascal was designed for motorcycles and trikes:

Rascal1
Rascal2

Oh yeah, almost forgot the best part about it... It only weighs 460 lbs!

 

I've towed a trailer with three motorcycles and three people in the car, a total load of 2,400 lbs. The trailer was about 1,700 pounds. Went from Vegas to LA and back. kept my speed to 55 and slow acceleration. The Prius performed great. You have to prepare to brake in advance and do it slowly to minimize stress as the brakes are likely the most likely failure point (as in they will fade and not stop you in the same distnace as without the load). You can generally tow a load about 60-65% of a cars curb wieght, after that you need stabilizers to keep the trailer from getting away from the car.