2024 limited

That sound you heard was you just opening a can of worms. lol
(there are a handful of posters on here that have VERY strong feelings on the topic)

Read this thread for instructions and the pros and cons: Simple reversible "UFO noise" killer | PriusChat

 

good idea not putting it in the title. if you turn it off, keep in mind it is a legal requirement, not an option.

 

no, by law. there are methods a bit more involved though. the law took affect a few years ago, but toyota started installing them in 2012

 

I prefer if neither myself nor my kids get run over or backed over by silent cars, from users that have illegally modified them to reduce our safety. So definitely don't turn it off or muffle it.

 

But they didn't have to make it so loud. I drove a '24 Corolla Cross Hybrid (w/ ~200mi) while the dealership worked on my Prius and it's backup and under-23 noise was like half the Prius. It was a VERY noticeable difference.

So for whatever reason they amped it up in the Prius - which means they CAN make it quieter but choose not to. Why would the Prius need to be any louder than an SUV - because it's closer to the ground?

Or they put a cheaper speaker in the Corolla Cross - which wouldn't be surprising. It's a cheaply made SUV with a cheap feel, *terrible* backup camera and overall just a miserable thing to drive compared to the Prius Limited trim.

 

The European Prius also seems better behaved - pretty quiet, 25km/h limit, and less annoying than most artificial noise makers, which often seem weirdly tonal.

Don't know that this is useful information - there's nothing configurable that I'm aware of. But maybe you could swap an ECU...

(I haven't heard the US one in person, but none of the descriptions or complaints I've seen on PriusChat seem to match my experience, and I was initially planning to be annoyed by it)

 

True... I find it actually quite good. Just driving backwards when eg parking sounds still a little bit weird with the sound going on and off but thats probably a side effect of manovering in tiny steps.