How to jack up 2009 prius?

Use rhino ramps. The front jack point on these cars are way back, just in front of the firewall. If you really need to jack up the car; drive it up on the ramps - you'll then have a clear view of the jack point. If you rely on someone else to steer you in, your jack may slip and do some major damage.

Hope this helps.....

 

First time? Welcome to the magic of hydraulics. I assume you just need to jack a corner, which any of 25 YouTube videos can show you. Jacking up the entire front is harder. As someone else pointed out the front jack point is too far back for the jack to reach without first driving the car up onto ramps. I've never had to jack up the entire front, so it wouldn't seem necessary for you either, a first-timer.

Edit: Since it's your first time, I'll repeat something you probably already know. Never get under a car with just the jack supporting the weight. Use jack stands! Push in the parking brake. Use a chock on a slope, etc.

 

Chock the wheels even if your flat. If someone leans on the car or you grab the car or jack as leverage to pull yourself out, you may start loosing body parts.
Use those pinch wield blocks so you don't smash your pinch wields - that'll allow rust and leaks to form there.

 

The owners manual shows how to jack it up.

 

Presumably just the front, for starters. Take a look at the oil change link in my signature (on a phone turn it landscape to see signatures): it's gen 3 specific, but mostly applicable to gen 2.

With gen 2 I think you're in for a "treat" with the front jack point, apparently it's waaaay back, so to get a typical floor jack to it and started raising, you may need to roll the front onto low-rise ramps first. Even if the jack will fit under sans ramps, the handle may be hitting car underbody so soon that it can't start the lift.

 

It's not going up I'm worried about. It's coming back down.

I once had a nice M-class bmw and decided to forego the ramps. At that angle, a controlled release is impossible. Managed to put a jack lever shaped indentation into the undercarriage. I should just be happy the car didn't lunge forward into my face.

 

On our 2007 I drive the front of the car up on 2x10 boards about 2 feet long. Then slide the floor jack in, carefully center it on the big metal butterfly, and jack the car up. Place jackstands at the pinch welds behind the front wheels. Lower it gently onto them.

In theory the car can be lowered straight to the ground (without the boards). This is because the jack I have fits under, it just cannot be pumped in that position - the lever hits the bumper. Lowering doesn't require moving the lever up and down, just rotating it. That said, I always lower it onto the boards anyway. Controlled descent is difficult and if the car comes down too fast it might descend hard onto the jack in its most retracted state as the springs compress from the momentum., Then it would be a bunch of metal parts hitting each other very hard, which is best avoided.

 

I would wholeheartedly recommend these points:

picture is gen 3, but gen 2 is very similar. Got the idea from Hobbit I believe, a former PriusChat member, very active, maintained a very detailed Prius website of his own.

note: even scissor jack does not bear on the knife edge of the “pinch weld”; it cups around it and the actual bearing point is slightly inboard, and dimples with even a single use, even on a back corner.

try placing the scissor jack, to confirm.

 

You lower the car back down onto the ramps - NOT directly onto the ground. The car is so low slung, chances are that your jack will end up stuck under there and you may damage your lower air foil shield.

 

This is how I unofficially lift my gen 2s, with a lovely banal Vevor remote controlled 21V pneumatic jack.

The package also includes a 450Nm lug nut wrench device. Price is apx 200usd for the bundle.

 

I use a simple floor jack for a quarter of the price; break loose the lug nuts and use my drill to half-inch socket adapter to run them in n out; because you need to torque them down when your finished.

 

Most people use a floor jack. Me to before for 20 years..

It’s not all price, it’s convenience. When you have three cars that need winter tires, this is super fast and smooth.

 

@priumium, something to add: