How to Jump a Toyota Prius

 
It may happen to you at some point when you own your vehicle in Richmond. Your car won’t start. Your first thought is to jumpstart your Prius when you’re pulled over in San Pablo. In general, jumping a Prius will solve the problem if you accidentally left the inside lights on or you ran the vehicle too long with the accessories without starting the engine.
What do you do when the 12-volt battery is too low on juice to start your vehicle in Berkeley? Jumping a Prius or another electrified Toyota vehicle isn’t much different from jumping a gas-powered car. You’ll need jumper cables, an assisting vehicle, and a solid metallic point, like the frame of the engine, before successfully jumping a Prius. Once you have everything you need, check out our guide to jumping a Prius from Hanlees Hilltop Toyota near El Cerrito. We hope you find it helpful.
 

Jumping a Prius Step-by-Step

Read our steps to jumping a Prius here.

1. Have the two vehicles face each other with the batteries as close as possible. Most vehicles have batteries in the engine compartment towards the front.
2. After you’ve parked the vehicles, turn them off.
3. Set the parking brakes so that they don’t accidentally roll away. 
4. Raise the hood on both vehicles.
5. Locate the batteries. 
6. look under the fuse box cover of Your Prius. 
7. Find the jump start terminal. 
8. Connect the red positive jumper cable to the positive terminal in your car. 
9. Connect the second red positive cable to the positive battery terminal on the assisting vehicle. 
10. Connect the black negative cable to the negative battery terminal on the other car.
11. Secure the second negative clamp to a metallic point that’s a safe distance away. The metallic point should be unpainted and unmoving. The frame of your car or any metal piece holding the engine in place will do nicely. Pro Tip: Do not bring the clamps together once the two batteries are connected. You’ll cause a spark and it could short out the battery in the assisting vehicle.
12. Start the engine on the other vehicle and allow it to run for five minutes. 
13. Start your hybrid car.
14. Wait for a “Ready” notification to appear on your dashboard.
15. Disconnect the jumper cables in the reverse order of how they were connected. 
16. Go on driving!

Signs You Need a New Hybrid Battery

We’ve given you the steps to jumpstart a Prius with the 12-volt battery, not the actual hybrid battery that drives the motor. If you notice any of the following signs, schedule service with our team to have the hybrid battery checked.

• Lowered MPG 
• The gas-powered engine is working harder than normal  
• State of charge fluctuations 
• Battery bar drops 

Schedule Toyota Prius Battery Service With Hanlees Hilltop Toyota! 

Have questions about jumping a Toyota Prius, or do you need a dead battery replaced? Contact us, call 510-243-2020, or schedule service with our team. We’ll have you back on the Richmond roads in no time!