Reverse Beeper

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Aug 20 2006, 10:46 AM) [snapback]306287[/snapback]</div>

Evan just showed you how to do it.

You remove the beep at your own risk however. Toyota didn't put this there because they were having a slow day in the programming department. You might check articles here about folks who had some pretty expensive results after doing this. The Prius isn't like other cars you've had and being in reverse isn't as obvious. It's also easier to accidentally put it in reverse by mistake. If you are the type who NEVER has a mental lapse or makes a mistake, you'll disable it. If your hearing is just so sensitive that the 10 seconds of rather minor beeping destroys your tranquillity as you back out of your garage, again, do so.

I look at the beeper as a friend that is there to save my butt. I say a silent, "Thank you," when I hear it. Most cars aren't so considerate. Good friends shouldn't be ignored.

Testimonials will surely follow.

 

I disabled my reverse beep (as well as the seatbelt beep) two weekends ago and have never regretted it since. I really don't seem to have any problem distinguishing between reverse and drive, but I do appreciate the quietness, especially backing out of the driveway first thing in the morning going to work.

The instructions on here work, it just took me a couple of tries to get it to work for me (user error i'm sure). At least in North Carolina there is no law requiring a beep for the seatbelt or reverse, only a law requiring the use of seatbelts, so I'm on safe ground here anyway. Whatever you decide, Enjoy!!

 

I disabled mine too (after a year), but I'm planning to install a backup sensor where the frequency changes according to the distance between the rear bumper and an object.

 

Here's an argument for leaving the reverse beep turned on:

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=21577

 

Again we are into the "to beep or not to beep; that is the question"! We have had pages and pages on this subject. It is a personal preference and not a safety concern. The Prius is no easier to get into reverse accidently than any other automatic car I have driven. It cannot be done without your foot on the brake. IMHO too many things beep on the Prius and so I start to ignore them. Without the seatbelt and reverse beep I now know when something beeps I better pay attention!

Let's let everyone make their own decision.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(marjam @ Aug 20 2006, 04:20 PM) [snapback]306390[/snapback]</div>

No, it IS a safety decision. Enough people have written of mishaps that happened after turning it off. Do you just ignore them? That's a silly question......of course you do.

But you're right. It is a personal option to do this "mod." The guys who live next door to me also have a Prius and have left the beeper alone. I'm glad they are my neighbors and you live in Maryland. The kids and pets are just a bit safer.

 

What about all the other cars on the road, or all our other neighbors who don't own cars that beep when in reverse??? Are we just to ignore the inherent danger in that??? Our kids, our dogs!! Are we all in danger??

Actually, it is only a personal preference as far as i'm concerned. I can usually tell my car is in reverse because my rear camera comes on showing me what is behind me. That, in addition to the rearward movement of the vehicle give me excellent indication that I'm in reverse without a beep to provide additional input. I've driven for over 35 years without the necessity of a beep to alert me i'm in reverse.

This is after all, just my opinion. Freedom to do what we want with our vehicles is an excellent thing, and the different mods and additions we make to our cars make our Prii as individual and unique as we each are. Peace all, good night.

 

I was out with someone who's [re-]learning to drive last week, and
working on parallel-parking and other slow maneuvering. It was
interesting how she kept forgetting whether she was in D or R, since
it doesn't beep either way, but the creep butt-cue saved her.
[ ref: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-12051.htm ]
.
Now you're undoubtedly wondering who this is because the real Hobbit
would *never* hand his baayyyy-beee! over to an inexperienced driver.
.
'Sokay, we were being safe, out in a mostly-empty parking lot and
then some fairly quiet backroads. She [the driver] was a little
skittish, but they [she and car] did fine. Said it was way smoother
than *anything* else she'd driven to date.
.
_H*

 

Does anyone know if the reverse beep is really an electronic beeper or is it computer generated audio? The reason I ask is that the standard reverse beep is annoying to the point where I disabled it... but I can certainly appreciate the reason to leave it enabled. If it were possible to change the beep to some other less annoying set of tones that would be great. Anyone ever looked into this?

Mike

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rangerdavid @ Aug 20 2006, 09:40 PM) [snapback]306460[/snapback]</div>

I have to agree.

Considering opinions are abounding here, I thought I'd toss one into the mix.

Should someone really be driving their Prius in the general public if it's possible for them to shift into the wrong gear, and take off at any speed where this would cause a problem before they could correct it? Perhaps they should be required to pay more attention? Maybe we need parking beeps to, so we don't accidentally stomp the pedal and expect forward movement forgetting we left it in park. Maybe a drive beep too so we don't forget it is in drive. How about a neutral beep? I rarely need neutral, perhaps it should beep there too since I actually don't have forward or backward control of the car, only braking control in neutral.

It seems that beeping for any regular operating mode of the vehicle is unnecessary and will only lead one to think that the car should naturally prevent them from making mistakes.

Making a mistake like not paying attention to what gear you put the car in, when you have to:
1) move the shifter the completely wrong direction
2) neglect to double check that you shifted into the gear you wanted with the visual guage in the dash
3) neglect to inspect your surroundings
4) neglect to start in a very slow speed to ensure safe operations

Is something that should be fixed by driver training, not more car features.

How about the guy who left his car in reverse, and came back to a missing car? Can you really shut off the car in reverse, remove the key, and think you parked it, when you didn't? I didn't know you could remove the key, and lock the doors without parking it properly. If people got into the habit of properly parking and locking their cars, it'll prevent all kinds of problems. That's like the woman I knew who didn't believe in parking her car in gear, and only used the parking brake with the car in neutral. Guess what happened one day when she forgot the parking brake. You guessed it. Across the street. Lucky for her no damage, just jumped up on the curb. However, she could have easily prevented it, if she simply put her car in gear, and set the parking brake, which is the correct method to park a manual car.

I think this stems from people who want to chop off 5 "unnecessary" seconds in their daily routine at the risk of safety.

I personally find the reverse beeping distracting, and a safety hazard, as I want to focus on what the heck I'm doing, not some beeping trying to remind me that *I* put the car into reverse. If I need the beep to do that, I need more time driving the car safely, not audible alerts.

If they really wanted the beep to be useful, they should have made the beep primarily sound outside for people behind you, considering the car can drive 100% silent on electric.

I guess that's enough "opinion".

Thanks to those who posted instructions on removing the beeping, and the post I saw for adding the reverse buzzer for outside. I may do that mod later. I just need to verify if it'll void my warranty.

John

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ncc1701mda @ Aug 23 2006, 05:16 AM) [snapback]308137[/snapback]</div>

What Godiva did was to turn the reverse beeper off and install one in the back so it can be heard on the outside.
J.C. Whitney sells several, including one that says (in English or Spanish), "THIS CAR IS BACKING UP!"

 

I hate beeps and boops and other annoying boogies like this. If I'm too stupid to operate the car sensibly, well, that's my problem. It's a car, I don't want it to be a mother hen.

Turning off the reverse beeper was the first thing I did with my Prius when I got it home. BTW, turning off the beep sound nonsense is also the first thing I do when I pick up a digital camera. It's just annoying crapola.

Godfrey