How Properly Jump Start A Car Using A Toyota Prius

If you think it is impossible or you should not jump-start other cars with your Toyota Prius, think again. Here is what I did to help some people out at a theme park after dark.

Dead batteries are no one's friend. Having a dead battery can be frightening, especially if you are in an empty theme park after dark. I happened across a couple of people in this exact situation, and one of them had a Toyota Prius.

In this article, I want to tell you how to jump-start a dead car using a Toyota Prius safely.

How To Jump Start A Dead Vehicle Using A Toyota Prius
Many people are scared to use a Toyota Prius to jump-start another vehicle because they are unsure where to place the jumper cables.

While this can be scary, it is also easier to do than you think. Properly jump-starting a vehicle requires the use of a good set of jumper cables. The thicker, the better, and that is to help the flow of electricity get from the good battery to the dead one.

On Generation 1-3 Toyota Prius, the 12v or accessory battery is found in the trunk/hatch area. You will need to expose the battery and have the Prius "Ready." When Prius is turned on, the accessory battery is getting charged from the DC/DC converter.

All you need to do at this point is hook the battery cables from the Prius onto the terminals of the dead battery in the other vehicle. Ensure that they are correctly connected by having each clamp match positive to positive and negative to negative.

If the dead battery is still in decent shape, it should recover quickly, and the vehicle should start. Once the car is running, disconnect the cables and put everything back the way you found it.

Conclusion
It is straightforward to help someone out. I will make a video on this later on, but hopefully, you all can benefit from helping someone out if their battery dies.

I also recommend using the terminals at the battery itself instead of the "rescue" terminals under the hood. Direct at the source power is the best way to ensure a safe start.

That is all for today, and to those two I helped out at Silverwood Theme Park in Athol Idaho, I hope everything went well, and you are home safe.

Remember Today's Adventure is Tomorrow's Story, and I will see you in the following article.

A/C Trouble in your Toyota Prius? No worries, take a look here at how to fix it.

Check out this wild new battery tech that Tesla has and why it will forever change the auto industry.

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Peter Neilson is an automotive consultant specializing in electric cars and hybrid battery technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Service Technology from Weber State University. Peter can be reached on Linkedin and you can tweet him at The_hybrid_guy on Twitter. Find his page on Facebook at Certified Auto Consulting. Read more of Peter's stories at Toyota news coverage on Torque News. Search Toyota Prius Torque News for more in depth Prius coverage from our reporter.