Can you tow a Prius?

Front wheels up, but preferably with all wheels off the ground.

Do you mean on a flatbed or just hovering? ;-)

Either.

Good. I was a bit worried that it had to be the latter. ;-)

BTW, and to get back to serious discussion, for anyone who needs to have their Prius towed, as I have, I strongly recommend reading up on the towing procedure ahead of time and having the manual handy when the truck arrives, because you absolutely cannot assume the driver has the slightest idea what to do with a Prius (nor can you assume he'll even know how to jump start it).

There is a section in the owner's manual on proper towing technique.

The Prius cannot be dinghy towed as a toad. However, you can tow a Prius provided that the front wheels are off of the ground.

Preferrable method (less wear) is a flatbed or 4-wheel towing dolly, so that all 4 wheels are off of the ground.

Next is with the front wheels up, back wheels down.

Next is back wheels up, front wheels on a dolly (so the front wheels are not on the ground).

For emergency towing, under short distances and with a driver in the car, you can use the towing eyelet in the front bumper to slowly tow the vehicle with all 4 wheels down. (Car on, driver to steer, do not exceed 40mph)

For safety reasons, you should not use a sling-type tow truck.

Yes, you can. You have to do it on a platform, all four wheels off the ground. There's a tow hook under the storage bin in the back that screws into that hole in the front left of your bumper. Happened to me a few months back when my ECU died.

I read the manual and it shows a towing eyelet that presumably you install for towing. But it doesn't really explain why you need the eyelet and when.

Front wheels up is the ONLY way you may tow a Prius except in an absolute emergency (and then only very slowly, for a very short distance, with a driver behind the wheel, with the rest of the car in good shape).

No, just the front wheels.

Read the owner's manual. It's quite clear on the subject.

No, it's not safety reasons at all. The owner's manual is quite clear: it's to avoid damage to the rear area as you pull up the front of the car.

The owner's manual doesn't specify that as a preference at all. Rear wheels on the ground is fine.

Yes, it does.

That eyelet is there to install in an emergency. Go back and read that section. That section discusses towing the vehicle with all four wheels on the ground.

That is a matter of definition. Your statement is correct only if you consider 4 wheels off the ground (such as on a flatbed) not towing. After all, the car arrives on a vehicle transporter, not driven or two wheel towed.

OK, let me rephrase:

to tow a Prius, the front wheels must be off the ground, regardless of what you do with the back wheels. The only exception is for emergency purposes, for very short distances, with a driver in the car helping to operate it, at very low speeds.

Thanks for the input guys. I should have clarified. My folks want to tow their Prius cross country behind the RV. Just wondering what the best way to do that is. I'm a little reluctant to advise them to use a front-lift dolly for this distance, but maybe it's OK.

as I stated, you cannot dinghy tow a Prius behind a motorhome (often called a toad, all 4 wheels down).

However, you can rent/buy a tow dolly (see an RV center) where you can keep the front wheels up, and some will even do all 4 wheels up.

There are many cars besides the Prius that cannot be towed with all 4 wheels down. (For a list of Toyotas, go to their FAQ site at

and search for "tow" - the first item,"Dinghy Towing" will answer: "Is it possible to tow my Toyota withall four wheels on the ground?" (most automatic transmission Toyotascannot be towed with all 4 wheels on the ground.) ) Just make sure that the front wheels are off the ground, and that you have enough ground clearance on the rear of the vehicle, and you should be fine. (I've seen a few people in rec.outdoors.rv-travel comment about towing a Prius...)

If you don't advise them to use a front-lift dolly, what *will* you advise them to do?

The only alternative is not to tow. Will you advise them to do that?

Put it on a dolly so all four wheels are off the ground.

For short distances, but not for cross country.