Here is what changed in 2024 Prius

Bet all three of those things are wrong. The 2023 already has all of them. So either Toyota is changing logos and sound designs that are only a year old, or the author of the article didn't do enough research on what the 2023 already had. I'm betting on the latter(Occam's Razor).


1. The 2023 Prius was the first Toyota(and only 2023 model) to get the new Beyond-Zero badge.
2. The 2023 has the new locking chime; doubt there was any reason to change it for 2024.
3. The streaming feature is part of a subscription we've been talking about for months on the Connected Services thread. Toyota hasn't added the Prius to the MY24 connected services table yet, but Integrated Streaming is listed for the Prius on the MY23 chart, and it's available for me to add on my Toyota App for my 2023.

https://www.toyota.com/content/dam/toyota/audio-multimedia/pdf/new/MY23_Connected_Services_and_Audio_Multimedia_features-Applicability.pdf

 

If anyone is curious, the new door sounds:

 

This seems like a quick model-year turnaround, especially when you consider it's been 10 months since the 2023 was introduced and was not widely available for months. Did Toyota simply put 2024 on the paperwork without any improvements, adjustments, upgrades and/or corrections of hardware or software?

I read the press release and they don't mention any year-to-year details. Here's the link:

Stunning Style and Elevated Efficiency: The 2024 Toyota Prius - Toyota USA Newsroom

 

Thanks, glad to hear this!! I will be looking at trading my 2023 Prime for the 2024 year model - need to get that new lock/unlock tone.

 

On that note, why do American cars make a noise when you lock/unlock them? It's so annoying.

 

Did you turn the volume to zero on yours?

 

Pardon?

 

Correct. The 2024 is exactly the same as the 2023. Toyota will always do incremental software updates if needed, but those aren't tied to a model year unless there's a hardware change, which there isn't. And those same updates will be pushed to the 2023s already out on the road.

I'd be ready to put a large sum of money that the last 2023 and the first 2024 by serial number have no differences whatsoever beyond the VIN(assuming both were destined for the same market).

Why would Toyota waste money on retooling any of the assembly line or designing and replacing any parts after only 9 months and 25k cars(HEV+PHEV)?

 

I usually turn that off, though I think I forgot on the Outback with it having a smart key system.

 

More seriously - in Europe no cars make a noise when you lock or unlock them. Or at least I don't recall ever hearing one do so. Whereas it seems to be the default for most/all American cars?

I see that there's an option in the US manual for lock/unlock signal volume, but that's not there in the Europe version. I'm wondering if that's actually a regulatory thing, or is there a general consensus that squawking cars are annoying, so no manufacturer fits it.

Mind you, you still get all the "lights on", "something in the back seat" etc noises.

 

Until I get my mirrors upgraded, I kinda like it for the positive confirmation that the doors locked successfully. But once the mirrors are done, I won't have a problem losing the chime when I de-UFO the car.

 

IIRC, I left the light flash on when muting the chirp.

 

That works at night or lower light conditions, but the light flash can be hard to see in bright daylight if you're standing at the side of the car and not in front or behind it. I prefer sounds for positive confirmations, so I plan to rely on the whirring of the mirror motor as they retract to let me know the doors have locked. Less obtrusive than the chime(though the gen5 chime is miles better than an old-school chirp).

 

Use to just lock the doors by the inside switch when getting out. That was loud enough for me. The mirrors don't retract on the Outback with that method. So now it's touching the outside trigger. Without retraction, the mirrors also have a turn signal to flash

 

Locking the doors as or right after leaving the vehicle means you hear the power locks engage.

 

My previous car, a 2008 Honda Civic Coupe, gave a short beep of the horn when you hit the lock button on the key fob. I found that annoying and fortunately it had the option of turning it off. With it off I could still hear, very easily, the click of the doors locking even if I was locking it from some distance away. It also gave a visual indication with a quick flash of the turn signal lights.

For me, the chime sound used by the Prius is not annoying so I haven't even checked to see if it can be silenced. And the lights also flash so even if it could be silenced there is still that.

 

I don't mind the chimes. Half the time it reminds me that I left my phone in the charging slot. They're not obscenely loud and don't use the horn. I also don't use the buttons on the key fob to lock or unlock in parking lots out of paranoia that someone might have the equipment to record the signals, I either use the close & lock hatch button on the hatch or the textured area on the handle.

 

At least in Germany (which is over regulated and strict) my non-Toyota car has it and its quite common. Funny enough when I bought my last car the dealer proudly explained to me he changed some settings already to better defaults including setting the volume to max so some people seem to like it. I reduced it to the min right away though as it can be quite annoying when living in typical dense neighborhoods. It helps to know though if the auto lock ( walking away with smart key) works or not. I cannot imagine why Toyota would change this feature in Europe.