Can you push an EV that's been in an accident?

mike_2009

I was at the front a bus today and there was a fender bender in front of us. A Toyota Prius (new model) had been hit slightly from the side right at the front right of the car, the bumper was a bit loose. The Gardai were on scene but neither of them were able to get the car moved off the side of the road.
This got me thinking - in an ICE car you'd take off the hand brake and push the car to get it of the road provided the wheels / axles still worked.
With EVs is it possible to "free wheel" like this? Is there a procedure to disengage the automatic handbrake when there's a fault or does the electric drive basically prevent the car from moving or being pushed? I remember a video I watched on Tesla's having to be dragged onto a low loader as the wheels were locked.
Has anyone any experiences with their car in such a situation or what does the owners manual say?

ED E

Model S

In situations where there is minimal risk of fire or high voltage exposure (for example, the vehicle does not accelerate after coming to a
stop at an intersection) and 12V power is present, Model S can be quickly pushed in order to clear the roadway. If a driver is present,
simply shift Model S into Neutral and then push the vehicle. If a driver is not present, Model S may automatically shift into Park when it
detects the driver leaving the vehicle (even if it has previously been shifted into Neutral).
To keep Model S in Neutral (which disengages the parking brake and allows the vehicle to be pushed) without a driver present, use the
touchscreen to activate Tow Mode:
1. Shift Model S into Park.
2. Press and hold the brake pedal, then on the touchscreen touch Controls > Settings > Service & Reset > Tow Mode > ON.
When Tow mode is active, Model S displays this indicator light on the instrument panel, along with a message
indicating that Model S is free-rolling.
To cancel Tow Mode, shift Model S into Park.
NOTE: If the electrical system is not working, the electric parking brake cannot be released. Attempt to jump start the 12V battery. For
instructions, call Tesla Roadside Assistance.

Bold is mine. X is the same. Model 3 I didnt check. I suspect prius may be the same (Fail safe rather than fail dangerous makes sense).

beauf

The parking braking locking can happen to regular cars with an automatic parking brake and a dead battery or similar.

zilog_jones

The Prius doesn't have an automatic parking brake - it's operated by a pedal that pulls some cables, just like a traditional handbrake.

The transmission was probably in Park (parking pawl like in traditional auto boxes), but the people there probably didn't know how to put it into Neutral. You need 12V power to do this, but that can be done in Accessory mode (no need to start up the car fully). I'd imagine this is similar in Leaf and other EVs (Leaf has manual pedal-operated parking brake too).

zilog_jones

zilog_jones wrote: »

..................

The transmission was probably in Park (parking pawl like in traditional auto boxes), but the people there probably didn't know how to put it into Neutral. You need 12V power to do this.............

Yup.......... once stumbled upon a range rover sport that we couldn't get into neutral without electrical power ....... where it was was preventing us getting jump leads to the battery.

Two sets of jump leads linked worked

cros13

Yup, with most EVs you can use the 12V system to put it in neutral (which is ) even if the high voltage system has been disconnected (most EVs have pyrolytic charges to disconnect the high voltage if the airbags deploy).