2004 TOYOTA PRIUS towing

251
CAUTION
When lowering the vehicle,
make sure all portions of your
body and all other persons
around will not be injured as
the vehicle is lowered to the
ground.
 Have the wheel nuts tightened
with torque wrench to 103 N·m
(10.5 kgf·m, 76 ft·lbf), as soon
as possible after changing
wheels. Otherwise, the nuts
may loosen and the wheels
may fall off, which could cause
a serious accident.
9. Restow all the tools and jack se-
curely. Then secure the flat tire
in the luggage compartment
with the tire tiedown belts and
tiedown hooks as follows
CAUTION
Before driving, make sure all the
tools and jack are securely in
place in their storage location to
reduce the possibility of person-
al injury during a collision or
sudden braking.
1. Before stowing the flat tire, removethe center wheel ornament by
pushing from the reverse side.
Be careful not to lose the wheel orna-
ment.
—Stowing flat tire

252
2. Put the flat tire on the center ofthe luggage storage box lid with
the outer side of the wheel facing
up. Hook one ends of the belts to
the front tie −down hooks.3. Pass the belts through the center
hole of the wheel as shown above.4. Attach the other ends of the beltsto the rear tie −down hooks.
After stowing the flat tire, check that
the tire and belts are secured.

254
50p021a
(a) Towing with wheel lift type truck——From front
—From rear
(b) Using flat bed truck If towing is necessary, we recommend
you to have it done by your Toyota
dealer or a commercial tow truck ser-
vice. In consultation with them, have
your vehicle towed using either (a) or
(b).
Only when you cannot receive a towing
service from a Toyota dealer or com-
mercial tow truck service, tow your ve-
hicle carefully in accordance with the
instructions given in “—Emergency tow-
ing” on page 255.
Proper equipment will help ensure that
your vehicle is not damaged while being
towed. Commercial operators are generally
aware of the state/provincial and local
laws pertaining to towing.
Your vehicle can be damaged if it is
towed incorrectly. Although most operators
know the correct procedure, it is possible
to make a mistake. To avoid damage to
your vehicle, make sure the following pre-
cautions are observed. If necessary, show
this page to the tow truck driver. TOWING PRECAUTIONS:
Use a safety chain system for all towing,
and abide by the state/provincial and local
laws. The wheels and axle on the ground
must be in good condition. If they are
damaged, use a towing dolly.
(a) Towing with wheel lift type truck
From front
—Release the parking brake.
NOTICE
When lifting wheels, take care to en-
sure adequate ground clearance for
towing at the opposite end of the
raised vehicle. Otherwise, the under-
body of the towed vehicle will be
damaged during towing.
From rear—Use a towing dolly under the
front wheels.
NOTICE
Never tow a vehicle from the rear
with the front wheels on the ground,
as this may cause serious damage to
the transmission.
(b) Using flat bed truck
If your vehicle needs to be
towed—

255
50p022b
(c) Towing with sling type truck
(c) Towing with sling type truck
NOTICE
Do not tow with sling type truck, ei-
ther from the front or rear. This may
cause body damage.
50p035b
If towing is necessary, we recommend
you to have it done by your Toyota
dealer or a commercial tow truck ser-
vice.
If towing service is not available in an
emergency, your vehicle may be tempo-
rarily towed by a cable or chain se-
cured to emergency towing eyelet in-
side of front bumper. Use extreme
caution when towing vehicles.
NOTICE
 Only use specified towing eyelet;
otherwise your vehicle may be dam-
aged.
 Never tow a vehicle from the rear
with four wheels on the ground.
This may cause serious damage to
the transaxle.
A driver must be in the vehicle to steer
it and operate the brakes.
Towing in this manner may be done only
on hard− surfaced roads for a short dis-
tance and at low speeds. Also, the
wheels, axles, drive train, steering and
brakes must all be in good condition.
—Emergency towing

256
CAUTION
Use extreme caution when towing ve-
hicles. Avoid sudden starts or erratic
driving maneuvers which would place
excessive stress on the emergency
towing eyelet and towing cable or
chain. The eyelet and towing cable or
chain may break and cause serious
injury or damage.
NOTICE
Use only a cable or chain specifically
intended for use in towing vehicles.
Securely fasten the cable or chain to
the towing eyelet provided.
Before towing, release the parking brake
and put the hybrid transaxle in “N”. The
hybrid system must be in the “IG−ON”
mode.
In the following cases, as the front wheels
might be locked by means of the parking
lock mechanism, your vehicle cannot be
towed by another vehicle using a rope.
Have your vehicle carried with the front
wheels or all the wheels raised.
If the parking mechanism fails.
If the auxiliary battery is discharged.
CAUTION
If the hybrid system is not running,
the power assist for the brakes and
steering will not work so steering and
braking will be much harder than usu-
al.
50p046a
1. Remove the towing eyelet as shown in the illustration.
—Installing towing eyelet

257
50p047a
2. Secure the towing eyelet to the hole onthe bumper by turning it clockwise.
50p048a
3. Tighten the towing eyelet securely bya wheel nut wrench.
CAUTION
When installing the eyelet on the ve-
hicle, be sure to tighten the eyelet
securely. If the eyelet is loose, it may
come off when being towed and re-
sult in death or serious injury.
You can purchase a new key at your
Toyota dealer if you can give them the
key number and master key.
Even if you lose only one key, contact
your Toyota dealer to make a new key. If
you lose all your master keys, you cannot
make new keys; the whole hybrid vehicle
immobilizer system must be replaced.
See the suggestion given in “Keys” on
page 18.
If your keys are locked in the vehicle and
you cannot get a duplicate, many Toyota
dealers can still open the door for you,
using their special tools. If you must
break a window to get in, we suggest
breaking the smallest side window be-
cause it is the least expensive to replace.
Be extremely cautious to avoid cuts from
the glass.
If you lose your keys

330
If your vehicle needs to be
towed, do it with the front
wheels raised. For details on
towing, see “If your vehicle
needs to be towed” on page
254 in Section 5.