Trailer hitch on a Gen 5 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by Jim Y, Sep 13, 2025 at 4:18 PM.

  1. Jim Y

    Jim Y Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2015
    3
    1
    0
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I added a small trailer hitch on my new (to me) 2024 Prius XLS for an attached a bike rack. The bike rack works great and getting the small Class I hitch installed was pretty easy too. The one problem with this setup is that the car thinks there's something it's going to run into when the rack is mounted on the car and you put the transmission in reverse. It does an emergency brake and a loud buzzer (siren??) sounds. I've figured out that turning the PKSB feature off will stop the emergency braking but I haven't figured out how to mute the buzzer/siren. Anybody got a suggestion for that?
     
  2. otatrant

    otatrant Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2023
    234
    152
    10
    Location:
    San Francisco
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE Premium
    While the buzzer is going off there is a speaker symbol with a line through on the multimedia display you can press to mute it.
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    59,492
    40,921
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Does the bike rack obscure your license plate? How about brake lights and turn signals?
     
  4. Jim Y

    Jim Y Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2015
    3
    1
    0
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    It may obscure the plate. The hitch itself is directly below the plate so when the rack is loaded with a pair of bikes and the car is moving, it may be hard to read the letters. If the car is parked, the plate is visible regardless of whether the rack is up, down or down and loaded with bikes. As for the tail lights, brakes and turn signals, I believe all are easily visible. The rack itself has no electrical connection or lights on it.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  5. Blackat

    Blackat Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2023
    429
    288
    0
    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius
    Model:
    Limited AWD-e
    Here in Colorado that's more than half of the SUV's....
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.