
12
PRIUS_OM_OM47E09U_(U)The  SRS  airbag  and  seat  belt  pretensioner  devices  in  your  Toyot
a  contain
explosive chemicals. If the vehicle is scrapped with the airbag s and seat belt
pretensioners  left  as  they  are,  this  may  cause  an  accident  such  as fire. Be
sure  to  have  the  systems  of  the  SRS  airbag  and  seat  belt  preten sioner
removed and disposed of by a qualified service shop or by your  Toyota dealer
before you scrap your vehicle.
Special handling may apply, 
See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate. 
Your  vehicle  has  components  that  may  contain  perchlorate.  These   compo-
nents  may  include  airbag,  seat  belt  pretensioners,  and  wireless   remote  con-
trol batteries.
Scrapping of your Toyota
Perchlorate Material
WARNING
■ General precautions while driving
Driving under the  influence:  Never drive  your vehicle when  unde r  the  influ-
ence of alcohol or drugs that have impaired your ability to operate your vehi-
cle.  Alcohol  and  certain  drugs  delay  reaction  time,  impair  judg ment  and
reduce  coordination,  which  could  lead  to  an  accident  that  could   result  in
death or serious injury.
Defensive  driving: Always  drive  defensively. Anticipate  mistake s  that  other
drivers or pedestrians might make and be ready to avoid acciden ts.
Driver  distraction:  Always  give  your  full  attention  to  driving.  Anything  that
distracts the driver, such as adjusting controls, talking on a  cellular phone or
reading can result in a collision with resulting death or serio us injury to you,
your occupants or others.
■ General precaution regar ding children’s safety
Never leave children unattended in the vehicle, and never allow  children to
have or use the key.
Children  may  be  able  to  start  the  vehicle  or  shift  the  vehicle  into  neutral.
There is also a  danger that  children  may  injure  themselves  by p laying with
the  windows,  the  moon  roof,  or  other  features  of  the  vehicle.  In  addition,
heat build-up or extremely cold temperatures inside the vehicle can be fatal
to children. 

881-4. Hybrid system
PRIUS_OM_OM47E09U_(U)
Hybrid system precautions
The illustration is an example for explanation and may differ from the
actual item.
Take  care  when  handling the  hybrid  system, as  it is  a  high  volt -
age system (about 600 V at maximum) as well as contains parts
that become extremely hot when  the hybrid system is operating.
Obey the warning labels attached to the vehicle.
Warning label
Service plug 
Rear inverter (traction motor)
*
Rear  electric  motor  (traction
motor)
*
Hybrid battery (traction battery) High voltage c
ables (orange)
Front  electric  motor  (traction
motor)
Power control unit
Air conditioning compressor*: AWD models only
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 

122
PRIUS_OM_OM47E09U_(U)
2. Instrument cluster
Vehicles without RSA (Road Sign Assist)
When split screen is selected for the main display, display con tents on
the sub-screen c an be selected.
Vehicles with RSA (Road Sign Assist)
When RSA is off, display contents on the sub-screen can be sele cted.
Press   or   of the meter
control  switches  and  select  the
sub-screen.
When  the  sub-screen  is  selected,
  is  displayed  on  the  sub-
screen.
Press   or   of the meter control switches to select the display
item.
One of the following 3 items can be displayed.
Switching contents displayed on the sub-screen
1
2
Display contentsDetail
Hybrid System Indicator A convenient Hybrid System Indicator is displayed.
Refer to P. 129 for details on how to read the Hybrid
System Indicator.
Current fuel consumption
The  current  fuel  consumption  during  driving  is  dis-
played.
• The   mark indicates the value displayed in theaverage  fuel  consumption  display  ( P.  119).
Switching  the  average  fuel  consumption  display
also changes the position of the   mark.
• When the average fuel consumption is reset, the
position of the   mark is reset to 0.
Hybrid battery (traction battery) status The  same  contents  as  the  hybrid  battery  (traction
battery)  status  on  the  energy  monitor  are  displayed.
(P. 128) 

128
PRIUS_OM_OM47E09U_(U)
2. Instrument cluster
■Hybrid battery (traction battery) status
●The  display changes  in  8  levels  according  to the  remaining char ge  amount
of the hybrid battery (traction battery).
● The hybrid battery (traction battery) status is also displayed  on the following
screen, but the contents of the display are the same.
• Sub-screen of the main display ( P. 122)
• Hybrid System Indicator ( P. 129)
• Head-up display (if equipped) ( P. 158)
● The  charge  amount  of  the  hybrid  battery  (traction  battery)  is  automatically
controlled by the hybrid system. For this reason, even if electricity is recov-
ered via the regenerative braking, or electricity is generated  via the gasoline
engine,  the  displayed  hybrid  battery  (traction  battery)  charge  amount  may
not reach the highest level (level 8). However, this does not i ndicate a mal-
function.
■ Remaining charge amount warning of hybrid battery (traction battery)
●The  buzzer  sounds  intermittently  when  the  hybrid  battery  (traction  battery)
remains  without  charging  while  the  shift  position  is  in  N,  or  t he  remaining
charge amount drops below a certain level. 
If  the  remaining  charge  amount  drops  further,  the  buzzer  sounds   continu-
ously.
● When a warning message is shown on the multi-information display and the
buzzer  sounds,  follow  the  instructions  displayed  on  the  screen  to  perform
troubleshooting. Low
High
1
2 

PRIUS_OM_OM47E09U_(U)
2314-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
Observe the following precautions.
Failure to do so may result in death or serious injury.
■When starting the vehicle
Always keep your foot on the brake pedal while stopped with the  “READY”
indicator is illuminated. This prevents the vehicle from creepi ng.
■ When driving the vehicle
● Do not drive if you are unfamiliar with the location of the brake and accel-
erator pedals to avoid depressing the wrong pedal. 
• Accidentally  depressing  the  accelerator  pedal  instead  of  the  b rake
pedal will result in sudden acceleration that may lead to an ac cident.
• When  backing  up,  you  may  twist  your  body  around,  leading  to  a  diffi-
culty in operating the pedals. Make sure to operate the pedals  properly.
• Make  sure  to  keep  a  correct  driving  posture  even  when  moving  t he
vehicle only slightly. This allows you to depress the brake and  accelera-
tor pedals properly.
• Depress  the  brake  pedal  using  your  right  foot.  Depressing  the  brake
pedal using your left foot may delay response in an emergency,  result-
ing in an accident.
● The  driver  should  pay  extra  attention  to  pedestrians  when  the  v ehicle  is
powered only  by the electric  motor (traction motor). As there i s  no engine
noise,  the  pedestrians  may  misjudge  the  vehicle’s  movement.  Eve n
though  the  vehicle  is  equipped  with  the  vehicle  proximity  notif ication  sys-
tem,  drive  with  care  as  pedestrians  in  the  vicinity  may  still  n ot  notice  the
vehicle if the surrounding area is noisy.
● Do not drive the vehicle over or stop the vehicle near flammabl e materials
such as leaves, paper or rags. 
The  exhaust  system  and  exhaust  gases  can  be  extremely  hot. Thes e  hot
parts may cause a fire if there is any flammable material nearby.
● During normal driving, do not turn off the hybrid system. Turni ng the hybrid
system  off  while  driving  will  not  cause  loss  of  steering  or  bra king  control,
however,  power  assist  to  the  steering  will  be  lost.  This  will  m ake  it  more
difficult to steer smoothly, so you should pull over and stop t he vehicle as
soon as it is safe to do so.
In the event of an emergency, such as if it becomes impossible to stop the
vehicle in the normal way: P. 581 

260
PRIUS_OM_OM47E09U_(U)
4-2. Driving procedures
NOTICE
■Hybrid battery (tract ion battery) charge
If  the  shift  position  is  in  N,  the  hybrid  battery  (traction  bat tery)  will  not  be
charged. To  help  prevent  the  battery  from  discharging,  avoid  leaving  the  N
position selected for an extended period of time.
■ Situations where shift control system malfunctions are possible
If  any  of  the  following  situations  occurs,  shift  control  system   malfunctions
are possible. 
Immediately stop the vehicle in a safe place on level ground, a pply the park-
ing brake, and then contact your Toyota dealer.
● When the warning message indicating the shift control system ap pears on
the multi-information display.
● The display indicates that no shift position is selected for mo re than a few
seconds.
■ Notes regarding shift lever and  P position switch operation
Avoid repeatedly operating the shift lever and P position switch in quick suc-
cession.
The  system  protection  function  may  activate  and  it  will  not  be  temporarily
possible  to  shift  the  shift  position  other  than  P.  If  this  happens,  please wait
for approximately 20 seconds before attempting to change the sh ift position
again. 

420
PRIUS_OM_OM47E09U_(U)
4-5. Using the driving support systems
Driving assist systems
◆ECB (Electronically Controlled Brake System)
The electronically controlled system generates braking force co rre-
sponding to the brake operation 
◆ABS (Anti-lock  Brake System)
Helps to prevent wheel lock when the brakes are applied suddenl y,
or if the brakes are applied while  driving on a slippery road surface
◆Brake assist
Generates an increased level of braking force after the brake p edal
is depressed when the system de tects a panic stop situation
◆VSC (Vehicle Stability Control)
Helps  the  driver  to  control  skidding  when  swerving  suddenly  or
turning on slippery road surfaces.
◆Enhanced VSC (Enhanced Vehicle Stability Control)
Provides cooperative control  of the ABS, TRAC, VSC and EPS.
Helps  to  maintain  directional  stability  when  swerving  on  slippe ry
road surfaces by controlling steering performance.
◆TRAC (Traction Control) 
Helps  to  maintain  drive  power  and  prevent  the  drive  wheels  from
spinning when starting the vehicl e or accelerating on slippery roads
◆Active Cornering Assist (ACA)
Helps  to  prevent  the  vehicle  from  drifting  to  the  outer  side  by  per-
forming  inner  wheel  brake  control  when  attempting  to  accelerate
while turning
To  keep  driving  safety  and  perf ormance,  the  following  systems
operate  automatically  in  respon se  to  various  driving  situations.
Be  aware,  however,  that  these  systems  are  supplementary  and
should  not  be  relied  upon  too  heav ily  when  operating  the  vehi-
cle.  

422
PRIUS_OM_OM47E09U_(U)
4-5. Using the driving support systems
If  the  vehicle  gets  stuck  in  mud,  dirt  or  snow,  the TRAC  system  may
reduce power from the hybrid system to the wheels. Pressing 
to turn the system off may make  it easier for you to rock the vehicle in
order to free it.
To  turn  the  TRAC  system  off,
quickly  press  and  release
.
The  “Traction  Control  Turned  Off”
will be shown on the multi-informa-
tion display.
Press 
 again to turn the sys-
tem back on.
■ Turning off both TRAC and VSC systems
To turn the TRAC and VSC systems off, press and hold   for more  than
3 seconds while the vehicle is stopped.
The  VSC  OFF  indicator  will  come  on  and  the  “Traction  Control  Tu rned  Off”
will be shown on the multi-information display.
*
Press   again to turn the systems back on.
*: On  vehicles  with  pre-collision  system,  pre-collision  brake  ass ist  and  pre-
collision braking will also be disabled. The PCS warning light  will come on
and the message will be shown on the multi-information display. ( P. 593)
■ When  the  message  is  displayed  on  the  multi-information  display show-
ing that TRAC has been disab led even if   has not been pressed
TRAC is temporary deactivated. If the information continues to show, contact
your Toyota dealer.
■ Operating conditions of  hill-start assist control
When  the  following  four  conditions  are  met,  the  hill-start  assi st  control  will
operate:
● The shift position is in a position other than P or N (when sta rting off forward/
backward on an upward incline)
● The vehicle is stopped
● The accelerator pedal is not depressed
● The parking brake is not engaged
Disabling the TRAC system