Annoying Reverse Beep Modified- Gen III

Today I took my Gen. III to the dealer to have the ECU flashed to update the brake programming. At the same time, I asked the tech to modify the reverse beep from the default of constant beeping in reverse to only beeping once when putting it into reverse. What a relief! They should not charge you for this.

I was able to do the reverse beep modification myself in my Gen II, but I think a tech must do this modification for the Gen. III.

... unless you have a ScanGuageII or similar device.

My dealer (Toyota of Kirkland Wa.) didn't charge me for the mod. I had it done while it was in for the recall.

I was afraid they would reset all the setting I got when they update my software, but I was glad nothing got changed other than the software itself.

I had the dealer do this for me on delivery, as well as kill the seatbelt beep, set all doors to unlock with driver door handle (single door SKS), and stop all door unlocking when shifting to park. There was no additional charge.

I had read that the settings would reset if you disconnect the battery, and was dreading another trip to the dealer after my aftermarket head unit was installed.

Thankfully, the settings stayed. Disconnecting the battery does NOT reset all these settings back to default.

Thought I'd share the good news

How long would you say the battery was disconnected for?

I'm only guessing, but I wasn't there. But I think around 3-4 hours. Mine was the only car in the shop that day, and the tech had to answer phones and take other bookings, so he had it all day.

Apparently not all dealers know of this mod; the dealer in Flagstaff (Findlay Toyota) said that they have not performed this yet, and have even spoken with Toyota (regional, corporate, not sure). The service manager called me today in regards to this. I had already taken it in last week for the recall. I don't need to see a lot of info with the car and what it's doing, so I don't want to have to spend $100+ just for the Scangauge II just to turn the beeping off.

I even mentioned Prius Chat has had posters that have reported that dealers give in and do it for free (who would otherwise charge if you didn't mention Prius Chat), but this dealer is just being ignorant over the whole thing.

Is the reverse beep that annoying or is it hysteria from reading priuschat.

For me, it's just not something I'm used to. I'm a good driver, but I do have depth perception problems, so I sometimes need more "concentration" when in reverse, and the beeping doesn't help.

My mom has an '07 Prius, so I'm glad I was able to disable it (no offense to her, but she backs very slowly, so the beep would last for a while, and I know it would be extremely distracting to her).

I had an '05 Prius before, and I could easily disable it (with the help of Prius Chat :rockon. I do like my 2010 (better sounding stereo, ability to auto lock/unlock doors, and even set how they do it [locks mine when speeding to 14mph, and unlocks all when car is turned off and driver's door is opened]) ('05 Prius didn't even have that feature; had to buy a module that required wire tapping, but only locked the doors).

Just bought the Scangauge II off of eBay yesterday, so we'll see how that goes once I get it.

If it works, I'd like to go to my one and only local authorized dealer and give them my info for other 2010 owners to call me if they want it disabled, but they may not like me doing that. I'd do it for free though but would accept donations.

It doesn't seem as annoying as the reverse beep my '05 Prius had. I've only had the 2010 for 5 days so far and haven't decided if it's annoying enough to make a special trip or if I can wait until my first scheduled maintenance to have it turned off.

I have noticed it's not near as obtrusive when the radio is on than when it's the only sound in the car.

I asked my dealer service manager and he said it was a safety feature and they were not allowed to change it.

Sometimes I found it really annoying, other times not so much. I have a ScanGauge so I finally (carefully) followed instructions posted on PC and changed it to the single beep. I find the single beep enough to tell me I'm in reverse.

I have always managed to find out if I was in reverse by paying attention and looking at the location of the shift lever and watching which way the car moves. This is a ridiculous feature, not one bit safety related that is only slightly minimized by reducing it to one beep.

I went to a dealer new owner event and at the end I asked about the Parking Assist which I have not been able to get to work. They sent me to the repair shop boss and he told me I need to come by during the day because it would take some time because he would need to read the manual to make sure we are doing it right versus a defect. Anyway I asked him if while we were at it could he get rid of the backup beep. He said no but I can make it beep only once! So it pays to talk to more then one guy or go to the boss!

BTW I mention this in another thread but at the event they told us that this dealership (in Mass) warranties the batteries like California i.e. 150,000 not 100,000.

Well I went back and met with the shop forman and he could not have been nicer. First he brought out a laptop with the software and hooked up to the ODB connector and changed the reverse beep to a single beep. He then asked if there was anything else I would like changed. I asked what else is there and he said there was over 80 settings that could be changed. He suggested I may like the seat belt warning at speed and I said sure and he set it. He then produced a printout of the parking assist, said it was more detailed then the regular manual and left the copy with me. He then took me through what seemed like every possible option for auto parking. After we finished that he asked me if I had any other questions and I asked him about engine breaking. This turned into about a 1/2 hour lecture about the Prius and different do's and don'ts. I had just read the guide on this site and he covered lost of what I just read.

After all that he apologized for taking so much of my time!!

So far I am very impressed with my dealership! I don't know if it is appropriate to identify them but I would love to give them a free ad!

Pasadena Toyota told me they would not turn off the beep. Anyone in so cal have diff. results with other dealerships? Can the beep be slowed down, or its off or one beep only? Thanks.