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My feelings about the backup beeper and turning it off

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Bskija, Feb 22, 2015.

  1. Bskija

    Bskija Junior Member

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    All of these things are nice. However, I look at the condition of the Americans' pocketbook. It is astonishing how deep in debt Americans are. With the prospect of good paying jobs going to China and vehicles costing $15,000 to $100.000 to me it doesn't look good. How deep in debt can Americans go before the whole thing implodes?
     
  2. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    WUT!



    LOL!!!
     
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  3. Bskija

    Bskija Junior Member

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    If I don't drink a cup of coffee in the morning I get a splitting headache. Aspirin will not alleviate it. By drinking a cup of coffee the headache disappears instantly.

    I'm a born pessimist. When I see business people (These type of people are not stupid) opening luxury shops I'm astonished. They must be optimist to the extreme. They probably think that yes, the economy is bad, but in a little while things will be back to normal. I hope they are right and I'm wrong

    The next time I drive my Prius 2011 2 I will open my windows and listen to see if the sound is louder than with the windows closed.

    What a lot of people don't know is there are two computers in today's vehicles. One on the driver's side and the other on the passenger's side. The one on the driver's side is to run the vehicle. The one on the passenger's side is for the police. When you hit the child in the school zone how fast were you going. Did you apply the brake? Was your steering erratic. This information and allot of other information to intelligently diagnose exactly how it happened. This device has defeated peoples' claim that the Prius went out of control.

     
    #63 Bskija, Feb 24, 2015
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2015
  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    You are several decades behind the times. Today's vehicles have dozens of computers.
    That is called the Event Data Recorder.
     
  5. Bskija

    Bskija Junior Member

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    Are you sure the cars have many computers, I thought if a manufacturer put in too many there would not be enough room for the engine.

    Get out of here with the gas mileage.

    The US government is now running GM, if you don't like Toyota's Prius why don't you buy the GM vehicles. It is ludicrous to knock the beeping when legally you can turn it off by you or the dealer. Why did the government force Toyota to install the beeps? Isn't that ridiculous that a safety factor can be overridden with the consent of the US government that is competing with Toyota without objection? When I purchased the 2011 Prius 2 after driving for 59 years I told the salesman to show me how to drive it. It took me about 30 seconds of instructions before I mastered it. The only fault I see in this kind of transmission shifting is I'm reluctant to let someone not familiar with it to drive the car. If all vehicles don't have this kind of shifting in the future I will be surprised. Don't you believe it is silly for the US government to demand Toyota install a beeper for the driver and not for the blind man walking his dog in back of your car that is backing up especially when usually only the motors do the job. On top of that they allow people to override the safety beep. With GM run by the government it is analogous to Ford telling Toyota what safety devices they must put on their vehicles.
     
    #65 Bskija, Feb 24, 2015
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2015
  6. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Yes, I'm sure.

    Use your favorite search engine to look up 'how many computers in a modern car'. Here are some of the first articles shown by my search:

    New York Times, 5 years ago: The Dozens of Computers That Make Modern Cars Go (and Stop)

    CNN: Your car is a giant computer - and it can be hacked
    "The 50 to 100 tiny computers that control your steering, acceleration and brakes ..."


    Physics.org: You car has more computing power than the system that guided Apollo astronauts to the moon
    "Cars don’t have a mouse, USB port or qwerty keyboard, but they do contain up to 50 separate computers controlling the in-car hi-fi display, the ABS anti-locking brakes, the air bags, the air conditioning and even the locks. And this is before you take in account any back seat entertainment systems or satellite navigation gizmos. ..."


    Remember that computers can be small today. Ordinary smart phones are extremely powerful. Lesser computers are available smaller and sometimes even cheaper than a postage stamp.
     
  7. Bskija

    Bskija Junior Member

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    I think that the shifter is the best thing to come down the pike since the model T. The beeps saved me a lot of aggravation. Once when I tried to lock her up by touching the handle she pouted by beeping like crazy. Trying to solve the problem I discovered the electronic key on the rug of the car. (It had dropped out of my pocket) Another time, I tried to start the car and she wouldn't start. She told me that I don't have the electronic key in my pocket. I left it in my other pants.God bless the beeper!

    I am not talking about devices that are for the vehicle in general. I am talking about the two computers on each side of the vehicle inside of the car. The devices you are talking about are for the mechanic to confront. The devices I'm talking about are for people that want the past history of the vehicle usage and may not necessarily know anything about the technical aspect of the vehicle. They get this information by plugging into the computers with the appropriate device.
     
  8. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Finally, in this lengthy thread, a hint of the real problem. The Prius programmers (or possibly bureaucrats who allegedly dictated to them on the basis of an imaginary or extremely obscure rule) seemingly never heard Aesop's fable about the boy who cried "Wolf!" too many times. The beeper beeps not only when something is truly wrong (trying to lock doors with fob inside car, departing car without putting it in Park ... ), but also beeps when nothing is wrong (backing up normally, among other innocent occasions). As a result, it causes undue anxiety, and could lead to ignoring a real problem--- just like the fabled false "Wolf!" cry.

    Suppose you're unaware you're about to hit something or someone while backing up, when someone outside the car shouts a warning. Loud continuous beeping inside the car isn't going to improve your chances of hearing the warning in time. I cut that ridiculous built-in safety HAZARD to a single beep.
     
  9. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    It's there to remind you that you are in reverse, as it's not a normal gear shifter per say as stated previously by other posters. People get distracted, life happens, kids making noise, phone ringing, adjusting radio...etc.

    Yeah people are people and sometimes "forget" due to distractions. The old and senile are not the only ones that can forget. Can't forget your Prius is in reverse with the "annoying beep" that maddens so many on here. :)

    It would be pretty embarrassing backing into a car/ wall/ person if you shut the beep off and got distracted forgetting your car was in reverse... It could happen. Just saying.
     
  10. Bskija

    Bskija Junior Member

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    #70 Bskija, Feb 25, 2015
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2015
  11. Bskija

    Bskija Junior Member

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    I was astonished to find that the beeper for reverse was for the driver and not for people or things in the back of my Prius 2011 2. I have this car for a little over 3 years and it took me that long to discover this fact. It apparently is not for the blind man, not for the cripple old lady, not for the children, not for animals or things in the back of my car when I'm backing up! It is for the brain dead driver backing up. Despite the fact he must put it in reverse with his intention of backing up, The R is back lighted telling him he is in reverse and the beeping is sounding off something terrible. Apparently, this is a closely guarded secret for the driver only, not for the people or things in back of the car. Because this Toyota uses the silent motors most of the time under the speed of 25 mph it could go unnoticed by people in the back of your car. Why didn't the government nee GM force Toyota to put a beeper in the back of the car? If they did all cars would have to have a beeper in the back of car to be fair. Who is the culprit that forced Toyota to install the R beeper in the car? It is the government nee GM. This is analogous for Ford to tell Toyota what they can or cannot put in their cars. My opinion is that the government nee GM is not happy that Toyota took first place in vehicle sales away from them. They feel that by playing the game dirty they can take back first place. My advice is to meet the reliability and quality of Toyota and the government nee GM will have a chance to win back their use to be customers. Your customers didn't leave you for no reason. I intend to buy a 2015 Prius in the spring and one of the standard item is a back up camera. I really don't have loyalty to Toyota despite buying only their cars since 1976. I don't buy cars based on 6 year old oriented commercials or magazines that advertise vehicle brands. I study magazines rating cars that have no advertising or web pages that do the same, If I see a brand of car that has a better rating of quality and reliability I would buy it instead. The government nee GM will have to look for another nit pick for Toyota. Usually, when I'm stopped for a red light and there are 5 more cars also stopped there are 3 Toyota vehicles that comprise the six.
     
    #71 Bskija, Feb 25, 2015
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2015
  12. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I see now, we have having a semantic problem.

    It seems that the 'computers' or 'devices' that you were talking about are the EDR on the right-hand side, and the plug-in OBDII / CAN port on the left-hand side. The latter device is not itself a computer, but is a connection to a bus that communicates with several of the vehicle's many computers.

    I believe the EDR has been standard in all vehicles at least since airbags were mandated.
     
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That's a not uncommon reaction. The clues were there though: the beeping is in the cabin interior, for instance. ;)
     
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  14. Bskija

    Bskija Junior Member

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    When I used the car this morning I listen to the beep with the window down while in reverse. It was no louder than with the window shut.

    I believe the OBII is probably for the mechanic to help with his diagnosis.
     
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    You've got me wondering if it is is audible to those outside, say waking the neighbors. I've watched my wife drive off, just can't remember if I could hear the beeper.
     
  16. xpcman

    xpcman Senior Member

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    What???
     
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  17. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    It is more general purpose than that. Yes, mechanics use it for diagnosis. But also, emission check stations use it for regulatory compliance checks, many of us drivers use for our engine monitors (ScanGauge-II, Torque, and other similar devices), and insurance companies use it for driving style monitors for customers voluntarily looking for discounts. I believe some of the performance and modder crowd also use it to reprogram their engine ECUs.
     
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    The OBD port can also be used to supply power during 12 volt battery swaps. Some of it's pins are "live", all the time, even with the car off. I picked up one, the other end is a 12 volt accessory plug (aka cigarette lighter plug), which can plug into my jump pack.
     
  19. Bskija

    Bskija Junior Member

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    I'm completely innocent. Just telling it as I see it!

    The government also use it or will in the future by tracking where you go and what are you up to. The insurance company want it to give a discount, but at another chip off your privacy.
     
  20. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    At least in the US you can disable the beeper In the UK we cannot.

    John (Britprius)