Stupid Question of the Month: How can I safely rotate a front tire?

That's not correct: you may have read it here, but we've got lots of threads on PriusChat and you can find both correct and incorrect information. If you identify the thread(s) where you read that, we can add clarifying information there so other people don't get misled the same way you did.

You do not need to "start the car (with foot on brake)" to shift into N—and in fact, for the exact reason you've already given, you shouldn't want to. Just take the car to "ON" (that is, two power button presses without touching the brake). You can shift to N then with no problem, and nothing is ever going to start.

Or, simply jack up both front wheels. If the transmission is in Park, when you spin one front wheel the other one will spin the opposite way. It will take a bit more effort than just shifting to N and spinning one wheel, but you might be able to diagnose your noise either way.

 

Yeah, that's one of those pieces of basic Prius knowledge that's in the owners' manual somewhere, and it's all over this forum, but it bears repeating because it's sort of never in the exact thread somebody's looking at with a question.

In old cars that had a key you would turn, the key pretty much always had the following positions marked around it:

OFF ACC ON START

Some cars put ACC on the other side of OFF, like: ACC OFF ON START

You'd take out the key in OFF position when you were done with the car.

If you turned the key to ACC you could listen to the radio and maybe use a few other ACCessories.

If you turned it to ON, you could do that, and also the dash instruments would wake up, and you could use blinkers and wipers and stuff, but not drive the car.

If you turned it to START the car would start and you could drive it (the key would spring back to ON, but the car would be running).

The ON state (without starting the car) is also usually what you want if you're connecting a scan tool to retrieve trouble codes and such. It was sometimes also called "KOEO" (key ON, engine off).


In a Prius with the pushbutton, they correspond like this. Starting with the car OFF:

One button push without the brake takes you to ACC.

Next button push without the brake takes you to ON. Instruments light up, but you will not see the word READY.

Next button push without the brake takes you OFF again.

One button push with the brake takes you to READY, where you can drive the car. The word READY lights up on the dash then.


Do you happen to remember where you found threads on here saying you had to be READY to shift to neutral? If you can point us to those we can fix them so other people don't stumble on the wrong information.

 

I would precede that last statement thus:
From any of the above states, one button push with the brake takes you to READY, where you can drive the car. The word READY lights up on the dash then.

We received a laminated cheat sheet card with all the basic "what's different about a Prius" information and more that included the above. At the time, keyless cars were not common, so it made a lot of sense.

 

Or you could decide for yourself, ignoring the self-appointed "experts" who claim to be the arbiters of what is right and what is wrong. Common sense is your friend.

 

Your comment makes no sense in this context.

It was because the OP had concerns about the safety of what he thought was the correct way to do the thing that he posted.

The reply then pointed out the way to do the thing without having the engine on.

Perhaps you need to take a step back?

 

Y'know, it seems a bit odd that the focus of these things seem be on me and how I should behave. Am I really that interesting?

 

Etiquette applies to all equally, so no, it is not specifically about you.

 

Is that how you spell, "Etiquette?"

 

Spelling mistake fixed. Thanks for spotting that and the correction.

 

Kind of like saying "don't believe a guy who says a jack stand is needed when getting under the car. Just use common sense".

Dangerous advice. We are not born with "common sense". What you consider common sense varies based on individual experiences, background, and education.

Life changing mistakes happen everyday to people who are "sure" their knowledge is good.

Ultimately many get old and forget what experience has taught them but still rant on.

 

If that's your idea of common sense,
you don't have any.

 

Common Sense is a misnomer, good sense is very uncommon, if it were more common, the world would be in a lot better standing than it is now. Sense isn't taught, it is learnt, not allowing the Darwin Principle to sort the wheat from the chaff has seriously reduced the amount of sense doing the rounds ......

One of the basics is "If you are unsure, ask" that is a sense that should be a lot more common than it seems to be ......

T1 Terry

 

Like I said, you don't understand it.

 

And that is where the problem lies, the OP didn't know, so asked to see if there was a safer method than the one he had gathered from what he had read ...... that is an example of good sense ...... if you asked someone who had never driven a Prius, would you expect them to know the safest way to conduct the test they wanted to do ...... that would be an example of common knowledge or common sense, everyone would know it ..... it's a bit like having to label things as, caution, hot surface on the surrounds of an out door heater ...... if the Darwin principle was applied, the first idiot that touched the red part or close to it, and received a severe burn, all those that witnessed the event would share the knowledge that you will get hurt if you touch the hot parts, no sign would be required ..... keep hand clear of blades is another example ..... starting the Prius up when on a jack or single stand and getting run over, isn't asking if there is a better way showing a lot more sense than assuming what you have read is the correct way to do the test?

T1 Terry

 

For someone who accuses others of trolling, you sure do your fair share.

SM-S936U ?

 

Wrong, if you think that means something.
-Added to ignore list.

 

Pick me, Pick me

T1 Terry

 

Suppose that the question of "must I be in READY to shift to N, or is it possible do so from ON?" were an open and unsettled question, with different well-informed opinions floating around about which answer was correct.

What steps would be needed to settle that question, and how hard would they be?