Toyota Prius

Backup Beeping on Prius

The Grear Stick
I would have to say that I don’t really get why it is such a big deal when your Prius is beeping when you switch it in reverse gear. However, I keep finding discussion after discussion about the issue around the Net and it looks like the hottest topic on Prius forums. When I first saw it I did not have a Prius yet, and I thought that they are talking about noise that you would hear from a big bus or a truck (LOL). I can see where this could have been a problem when I pull back from my driveway at 5:30AM. Turns out, it’s just a tiny buzzer inside the salon they are talking about. So, I decided to post the instructions here (as found in the Prius newsgroup). So, here is how you turn it off: Step by step instructions on how to eliminate the Reverse & Seatbelt
Beeps

Thanks to htmlspinnr for providing and testing out these methods.

Steps:

1. Power on the car to IG-ON or READY. IG-ON will do for this purpose.
2. Using the Trip/ODO button, set the Trip/ODO display to ODO (not
Trip A or Trip B)
3. Power off the car.
4. Now power the car to READY (brake on). This is required so that
step 6 works correctly.
5. Within 6 seconds of powering on, press and hold the Trip/ODO button
for 10 seconds or more.
6. WHILE STILL HOLDING ODO *after* the 10 seconds, shift the “gear”
selector from P to R, then back to P. Now release the Trip/ODO button.
7. If the last step was successful, “b on” or “b off” should be
displayed in the location where the Trip Odometer or Odometer is normally
displayed. “b on” is beep on, and “b off” is beep off.
8. Press Trip/ODO to toggle the mode.
9. Now power the car off to exit the toggle mode.
10. Power the car on to READY and confirm the reverse beep status by
shifting to R. The beep should not be audible if “b off” was selected, and
should be audible if “b on” was selected..

Note: The Repair manual page states that if the the 12v battery is
disconnected, the beep will reset to the default of on, and this procedure
will need to be performed again. The repair manual also is not clear that
Trip/ODO should remain depressed while shifting.

Additional Note: The driver and passenger seatbelt reminder chime can
be disabled or enabled (respectively, defaults appear to be driver on and
passenger off) using similar steps. Instead of shifting from P to R to P in
step 6, simply buckle then unbuckle the appropriate seatbelt while
continuing to depress the Trip/ODO button.
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6 thoughts on “Backup Beeping on Prius

  1. Thank you so much for this information. I love my Prius, but I hated the beeping.

    It worked great.

  2. Well, I’m glad it worked.

    I myself would not turn it off though. With Prius’s diminutive gear shift lever “Rear” is a twitch of a finger away from “Drive” and I already had mixed them up in a hurry. Put it on “Drive” instead of the intended “Rear” fortunately for me with enough room in front of the car. So, having some sort of an audible indication actually works for me.

  3. I sell Toyotas in the US. I sell about a hundred a year. Many of my customers hate the beep. I’m a little reluctant to do this procedure for them because of the legal liabilities, but I will pass it on and they can do the deed themselves…. Well some of them will be able to!

    Wow you call the interior the “Salon.”

    I’ve heard of the “boot” and the “bonnet” but I never heard of the “Salon.”

    I thought you folks spoke English over there!

    Phil.Bickel@tansky.com

  4. Just purchased a 2008 Prius and I am hooked on my prius…… Thanks for the tip on taking off the beeping noise when in reverse….
    I feel like such a hacker…

    maxocon@gmail.com

  5. Thank you for the information. I have a two month old 2009, love it but hate the beeping. I am not one to let little things bother me and it not like me to feel like I hate a basic noise on my car. For this beeping to be something I want to kill on my car means it really would be better for Toyota to make a more convenient options of beeping on or off, for us all.

  6. Hi Amy, thanks for stopping by.

    I’m also in my 2009 Prius, a second one. It’s been 2 and a half years since I drive a Prius (drive it a lot) and I’ve came to actually appreciate the beeping. The reason being that with the little drive mode switch (pictured above) always coming back to the same position there is no tactile or even visual feedback to you as to what gear is on, especially if you are looking back trying to get out of a parking spot or a garage. With the beeping you know for sure that if the car is going to move, it’ll move to where you want it to. Conversely, if you are trying to back up but the car is silent, you’ll immediately know something is wrong.

    I’ve had it once or twice (always while on a cell phone) that I put “D” on instead of “R” (again, with this switch it’s just a little twitch of a finger that separates them). As soon as you let go on the brake and you don’t hear the beep, you’ll stop because it won’t feel right, and they you’ll just correct yourself and no harm will be done.

    So, yes, I’ve kept mine beeping just the way it came from the factory.

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