Just got my Prime Advanced a few days ago. I like that it has many safety features- in fact that is the reason I chose the Advanced trim, more safety features. Yet, I am not sure I understand much of them yet? Why is there so much beeping whenever I go in reverse? I wonder if it is warning me of an impending crash? But no, I check the mirrors and screen, plenty of room, not about to hit anything, etc. So what is it warning me of? The problem with it beeping when there is no danger, is that one can start tuning out the beeping, so when it is really warning you of something, you don't pay attention to the warnings. So again, why so much beeping whenever one goes in reverse?
Originally I had similar feelings. After a short time you’ll separate the backup beeps from the proximity and warning beeps they are different.
I believe there is a way to turn off if you like. Since we don’t have a stick shift or big lever on column to let us know we are in reverse, it is a reminder that your baby knob/switch is in reverse Incase you got to R on accident. Yes, backing up is Noisey in close parking. Reverse beeping, too close to wall beeping, and crossing traffic beeping. Yikes!
The continuous back up beeping drove me nuts but most importantly was hard to differentiate from the warning beeps for our elderly driver. He hears the beeps but not sure if it’s the reverse or proximity/cross traffic warning. I went the Carista route and changed the reverse beeping to a single beep, he’s happy now since if it beeps while backing up it means there’s something wrong. iPad ?
Carista is a OBD2 bluetooth dongle and app. It does cost a little bit for the app service ($10 for a week pass or you can get a monthly with a free trial that you can cancel before it renews). The app lets you update a few different things on the prime like windows down when holding unlock, the reverse beep, how many flashes for the turn signal with the lane change option, and a few other things. Was about $30 for the dongle and then I did the month trial and canceled before charge. iPad ?
When I went to the dealer for my 2017 Prius 4 routine service and complained about the beeping, the dealer turned off the continuous beeping. It now beeps only once when I put it in reverse. I was not charged.
I had the dealer turn mine off when I picked up the car. I would call your salesperson and ask them to make this adjustment for you. I also got them to update the navigation software as mine was very old. They did not charge me for either.
How do you know the status of the navigation software? Doesn't it update automatically? The dealer I bought from is rather far away. There is a Toyota dealership much closer. Can I bring it to any Toyota service center and ask them to do those things for free?
You can have your car serviced at any Toyota dealership. I would suggest you stop by your nearby dealership and talk to the service manager. Tell them that you would like to have your next scheduled (6-month) service done there and ask him/her if any of their technicians have received training on the Prime. At the time, ask him if it is easy to change the reverse beep to just one beep and if it is possible to know if the nav software is the latest version. He/she may be willing to do these simple things for free in order to add a new customer to their data base.
My dealer would not turn it off for me, but fortunately another friendly Prime owner in the area would. You may be able to find someone with Carista to help you.
Is it any different than the original factory reverse beeping on your 2012? Or was that turned down to a single beep before you got it?
Trust me. A lot more beeping in the Prime advanced than in our 2015 Prius 4. You have proximity alerts beeping, rear cross traffic alerts, the back up beeping. Quite a chorus. iPad ?
I was taking OP's issue as a continuous beeping in the absence of proximity alerts, cross traffic, or any other specific hazard:
There’s a commercial on tv about becoming nose blind; in my Prime i feel like I’m becoming ear blind. Annoying to go through a drive through, e.g. drive through ATM, and have the car constantly beeping to tell me that I’m close to an object on my left. I’ve learned to put it into park in that situation to quiet the beeping.
I went through a pull through car wash where you stay in the car. Interesting to say the least. Kind of a sensor test of sorts.
"My dealer would not turn it off for me" Unbelievable. It is listed in the owner's manual as a dealer-only adjustment. One beep is plenty. I have no idea why anyone at Toyota thought that continuous reverse beeping inside the cabin was a good idea. Outside...maybe. Inside...nuts.
Probably due to the lawyers. "the car should have warned me that I was in reverse so I wouldn't have run over that child"
My dealer told me they wouldn't turn off my reverse beeping due to safety concerns so I just ordered an OBD2 device with bluetooth connectivity then downloaded a free app from the app store. Couldn't figure that app out so tried a second one and it worked. Was very limited and only had like 3 options but I didn't have to sign up for any kind of free trial or pay anything for the app - just the OBD2 device. Think the app said turning reverse beep on/off but it just changed it from the continuous beeping to a single beep which is fine. When I took my car in for the 15k maintenance nobody said anything about the reverse beeping being changed so I don't think they care that I did it myself just as long as they were not responsible for the change.
