2012 TOYOTA PRIUS Owners Manual

5
When trouble arises
553
5-2. Steps to take in an emergency
CAUTION
■
To prevent an accident or injury when inspecting under the hood of
your vehicle
●If steam is seen coming from under the hood, do not open the hood until
the steam has subsided. The engine compartment may be very hot, caus-
ing serious injuries such as burns.
● Check that the indicator on the “POWER” switch and the “READY” indica-
tor are off.
● For vehicles with a hybrid system, there are times when the gasoline
engine automatically starts to run or the cooling fans suddenly start to
operate. Do not touch or approach the rotating parts of the fans, etc. Doing
so may lead to fingers, clothes or tools getting caught, resulting in injury.
● Do not loosen the coolant reservoir cap while the hybrid system and radia-
tor are hot.
Serious injury, such as burns, may result from hot coolant and steam
released under pressure.
NOTICE
■When adding engine/power control unit coolant
Wait until the hybrid system has cooled down before adding engine/power
control unit coolant.
When adding coolant, do so slowly. Adding cool coolant to a hot hybrid sys-
tem too quickly can cause damage to the hybrid system.
■ To prevent damage to the cooling system
Observe the following precautions:
●Avoid contaminating the coolant with foreign matter (such as sand or dust
etc.)
● Do not use commercially available coolant additives

554
5-2. Steps to take in an emergency
If the vehicle becomes stuck
CAUTION
■When attempting to free a stuck vehicle
If you choose to push the vehicle back and forth to free it, make sure the sur-
rounding area is clear to avoid striking other vehicles, objects or people. The
vehicle may also lunge forward or lunge back suddenly as it becomes free.
Use extreme caution.
■ When changing the shift position
Be careful not to change the shift position with the accelerator pedal
depressed.
Changing the shift position to any positions other than P or N may cause the
vehicle to accelerate abruptly, causing an accident and resulting in death or
serious injury.
Carry out the following procedures if the tires spin or the vehicle
becomes stuck in mud, dirt or snow:
Set the parking brake and shift the shift position to P. Stop
the hybrid system.
Remove the mud, snow or sand from around the stuck tire.
Place wood, stones or some other material under the tires
to help provide traction.
Restart the hybrid system.
Shift the shift position to D or R, release the parking brake
and carefully apply the accelerator to free the vehicle.STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5

5
When trouble arises
555
5-2. Steps to take in an emergency
NOTICE
■
To avoid damage to the hybrid transmission and other components
● Avoid spinning the wheels and depressing the accelerator pedal more
than necessary.
● If the vehicle remains stuck even after these procedures are performed,
the vehicle may require towing to be freed.

556
5-2. Steps to take in an emergency
If your vehicle has to be stopped in an emergency
Only in an emergency, such as if it becomes impossible to stop the
vehicle in the normal way, stop the vehicle using the following pro-
cedure:
Steadily step on the brake pedal with both feet and firmly
depress it.
Do not pump the brake pedal repeatedly as this will increase the
effort required to slow the vehicle.
Shift the shift position to N.
If the shift position is shifted to N After slowing down, stop the vehi cle in a safe place by the
road.
Stop the hybrid system.
If the shift position cannot be shifted to N Keep depressing the brake pedal with both feet to reduce
vehicle speed as much as possible.
To stop the hybrid system,
press and hold the “POWER”
switch for 3 consecutive sec-
onds or more, or press it
briefly for 3 times or more in
succession.
Stop the vehicle in a safe place by the road.
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 3
STEP 4
Press and hold for 3 seconds or more, or press briefly for 3 times or more
STEP 5

5
When trouble arises
557
5-2. Steps to take in an emergency
CAUTION
■
If the hybrid system has to be turned off while driving
Power assist for the brakes and steering wheel will be lost, making the brake
pedal harder to depress and the steering wheel heavier to turn. Decelerate
as much as possible before turning off the hybrid system.

558 5-2. Steps to take in an emergency

Vehicle specifications6
559
6-1. SpecificationsMaintenance data (fuel, oil level, etc.) ......... 560
Fuel information ............... 571
Tire information ................ 575
6-2. Customization Customizable features ..... 590
6-3. Initialization Items to initialize .............. 597

560
6-1. Specifications
Maintenance data (fuel, oil level, etc.)
Dimensions and weight
*1: Unladen vehicle
*2: Vehicles without moon roof with Solar Panel
*3: Vehicles with moon roof with Solar Panel
*4: Vehicles with 15-inch tires
*5: Vehicles with 17-inch tires
Overall length176.4 in. (4480 mm)
Overall width68.7 in. (1745 mm)
Overall height*158.7 in. (1490 mm)*2
59.3 in. (1505 mm)*3
Wheelbase106.3 in. (2700 mm)
Tread
Front60.0 in. (1525 mm)*4
59.6 in. (1515 mm)*5
Rear59.8 in. (1520 mm)*4
59.4 in. (1510 mm)*5
Vehicle capacity weight
(Occupants + luggage) 825 lb. (370 kg)