Backup safety features and bike rack

Hang on, hang on... the PCS (Pre-Collison System in US, Pre-Crash System in UK) is the visual (camera at centre top of front glass) and radar (behind the Toyota badge) based forward looking system, that detects pedestrians and vehicles while you're travelling above 10MPH. Surely you want to keep that on? Attaching stuff to the rear of the car should be affecting that.

It's only the ICS (Intelligent Clearance Sonar) that is used when moving slowly and backwards... that's the ultrasonics around the car, which is likely to be interfered with by the attachments on the back.

 

I see these bike racks, sometimes projecting back close to 3 feet: should there be a red flag or reflector on the back of these? Also, kind flys in the face, of the concept of "bumpers". But that went the way of the dodo in the early eighties.

 

Depends on where you are of course as I imagine these regs vary country to country, but in the UK, anything less than two metres projecting, the end should simply be "Clearly Visible", and less than one metre has no specific requirement at all. What you define as "clearly visible" is up for debate of course. Bike racks that are longer than one metre, are likely to have number plate, lights and indicator board at the rear anyway, as they'd be illegal here otherwise due to obscuring them on the vehicle.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/409165/Information_Sheet_Overhanging_loads.pdf

 

Chiming in with a '21 Prime LE that does not have an individual ICS setting to disable. I'll eventually put a hitch and rack on this car so hopefully just turning off PCS will do the trick for being able to back up.

 

Any idea how to turn off ICS with a car that doesnt have it in the menus?

 

Ummm, if the OP has a XLE AWD-e be careful to set the PCS, LDA, and BSM but do not turn off the ICS. Watch your HUD and SOC on your MDS or you get a POS.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

I used the Carista app to turn off front parking sensor beeping when the car hasn’t been moving for 3 seconds or is in neutral (can’t recall which — it’s one or the other). It’s a nice feature when going through automatic car washes, instead of having to hunt thru the menus.

 

I really recommend Carista for this sort of thing. We park our car in an underground garage in our condo building. There’s a tight turn in to get into the garage, and our parking space is next to a concrete pillar. While the parking sensors still go off, having slightly reduced range decreases how much they beep, and decreasing the volume has also made it more bearable.

I realize that this is a feature not found on the Prius’ price point, but one thing I really miss from our prior Mercedes is 360 Birdseye cameras.

 

I have a 2019 XLE AWD-e without the heads-up display. My Settings Display does not show ICS. Is it possible for me to disable the rear sensors so that a hitch-mounted bike rack won't set off alarms? There is nothing about this in my manual and I'm afraid the jargon above has me lost. Thanks.

 

One could go to a roof rack:

 

sadly, my sarcastic humour was lost in this post.

yes, I believe you can turn off the rear sensors when using a rear hitch.

my 70 lb ebike is too heavy for a roof rack.