What is the minimum height for a jack when switching wheels? I'm buying a jack for my Prius, only to switch wheels. It has to handle weight of course, but it also needs to raise the car sufficiently to lift the wheel from the ground. I tried with a 330 mm (13") jack. I lifted on the rear jack point, that is located slightly to the right side of the car. What happens when the jack is in the top position is that the right wheel is just barely lifted off the ground and the left wheel is still on the ground. So what I wonder is if I'm doing anything wrong, should i actually lift both wheels just as much? Or what is the minimum lifting height for a jack would be? What height of jack needed for you to lift your Prius just enough to change tyres?
Do not rely on only the jack when changing wheels/working under the car. Buy (and use) a set of jack stands.
Much depends on the kind of jack that you are using. If it is a floor jack, and you use the jacking point that you describe, it is possible to insert a block of wood between it and the jack to get the car a bit higher. Then slip jack stands under it to support the vehicle. There are other jacking points, behind the front wheels and ahead of the rear wheels, as well. These allow raising each wheel individually. The owners manual probably describes where these points are, they are not very obvious and can be tricky to find. The Prius jack works on these points. Be careful if you use a block of wood and a floor jack to be in a very level spot and block the wheels that remain on the ground to prevent any movement. And be sure and not get under the vehicle unless there are jack stands in place.
I'd say 2 good jacking points, the front and rear, and 4 less than useless points, the scissor Jack locations. If you try out the scissor jack (a real piece of garbage btw) you'll see the car body behind the crimped lower edge is what actually bears on the jack, and even on the lighter rear it permanently dents with first use. For the rear jacking point I stack a piece of 2x4 on the flat plus a hockey puck in the cradle, to reduce travel: For front jacking point I use an alternate, flat rubber cradle. I wouldn't cheap out too much: a 3 ton jack, with cradle that'll go from say 5" to 20" will be overkill, but soon enough you'll appreciate it's much more versatile, compared to bare minimum jack. Get good safety stands too, 3 ton and 6 ton set of 4 each is ideal. Also get 4 heavy rubber wheel chocks. i would not put the safety stands on scissor jack locations btw. These points are what I use, very solid, heavy gauge (red rectangles):
I use a steel adapter (it has a slot cut out) on my trolley jack to lift at the side jacking points without damaging the seam. I have noticed, however, that as I raise the car it shift laterally (slides sideways) on my level driveway - they wheels on the trolley jack seem to help that happen. I can't chock the wheels to stop this movement (wrong direction). It really isn't an issue but always is a bit of a surprise. Anyone have a way to stop thiis?
