Newbee Here

Welcome! Come on in, the water's fine. Make use of the Search bar in the upper right corner of the page, and use the More button to filter your search to Generation 4 only or any of the other groups. Way down at the bottom of the list there is Fred's House of Pancakes where the discussions go off-topic but remain quite interesting. Take notice that we are all very civilized here and respect each other, which adds immeasurably to the proper operation and enjoyment of our very fine automobiles. Having this resource is not an excuse however for proper study of your voluminous owners manuals. Cheers, and again, welcome.

 

Welcome and congrats.

Most of us, anyway. There are a couple exceptions, which you'll just have to either endure or ignore. Overall, it's a great atmosphere and there are some REALLY smart people participating. I've learned a bunch.

Agreed. The owners manual really adds to your enjoyment of this amazing car. It's actually pretty good bathroom or bedtime reading. Hope you get great smileage.

 

Welcome - the Owner's Manual (etc) are available for free download from TOYOTA - )not sure about your country, but you could get the Australian or USA one - which are similar).

 

Yeah, "SEPA" isn't very helpful as a location. Google gave me, "Smart Electric Power Alliance," "Single Euro Payments Area," and "State Environmental Policy Act." (The last item is in the state of Washington.)

Makes it hard to give repair shop advice or have any idea how the climate might affect the answer to questions.

 

I'm guessing southeast Pennsylvania... Props on the Devo avatar also.

 

That sounds like a pretty smart guess. Better than what Google found, anyway. At least it's a place.

 

She's a sweet ride, congrats! Be sure to do a break-in oil change at around 1,000 miles. (It's not covered in the free 2-year maintenance, unfortunately.)
If this is your first hybrid, be sure to read through that 70-page+ owners manual...it's got good info you'll need to know!
Find the nearest gas station that sells "Top Tier" gas and make it your favorite....can't beat the good gas in these electronic engines.

 

Normal. It's starting the Petrol Engine (ICE). Colder days it rattles momentarily like any petrol car car starting, but without the sound of the starter motor, that's all you hear.

 

Oops! He missed a zero. It's more like 700 pages.

Here ya go! Manuals & Warranties | Toyota Owners

Like a seatbelt chime or something? I think that normally, there's some sort of message to go with the noise. If the dealer has changed it to one beep when it's in reverse and that's when it happens, that could be it. I never get a ding when the ICE starts and, unless you hit the defrost button, it should not start at 28º as long as it's in EV and has available EV range.

 

Oh you'll hear all kinds of strange noises in the hybrid like the electric motor that runs whenever you first open the driver's door...that's the regenerative brake system pressurizing itself! And what do you think about the strange sounds whenever you back-up or drive slow? That's the passenger warning speaker but hybrid owners have nicknamed it the UFO speaker.
There's a YouTube guy, The Car Care Nut, who's been a Toyota Master Technician at a dealership in Chicago for over 10-years and has excellent videos about Toyota's.
He has lots of maintenance videos and also five videos on "How Toyota Hybrid Systems Work"...here's part 1:

 

If the dealer changed the reverse chime to one only while changing your windows, that would do it. But only just as you put it in reverse. They might have changed something else that's causing it. Maybe check though the customizable features section of the owners manual for some clues?