MelC

I love my new 2019 ES300h however when in reverse, the "darth vader" type sound is disturbing! Is there anyway this can be disabled?

lesz

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...on-hybrid.html

elm

I just bought a new 2020 ux 250h sports and i have the same sound as yours in reverse and bit disappointed, my guess hopefully this is normal as i read the lexus club thread.

clqw

The noise is certainly excessive - it's the WORST in underground parking lot with the echoes in a surrounded space - so bad to the fact that it's actually embarrassing.

TechNut

I agree 100%. It is VERY embarrassing. I had to explain to a neighbor that turned around and stared at my car as I backed out of our garage.

clqw

I'm going to take a look when it gets warmer to see how I can muffle the sound, although it may bring legal trouble if I hit someone lol

TechNut

Someone previously posted a fix. They removed the black plastic over the radiator so they could reach down to the noisemaker. They wrapped it in duct tape so that it could just barely be heard. They didn't want to disconnect it for fear of the vehicle reporting an error code - which certainly makes sense to me.

Just do a search on this subforum and you can find those posts. For example, if you look at posts #25 and 26 HERE, you can see what I am referring to.

bootman

Just hope you don't hit someone who states that "I didnt hear them coming". You may be liable for disabling a safety device.
Lawyers just salivate at the thought.

clqw

Yea, I read that post - although I think there might be a better way than ductape haha.

TechNut

This is VERY true. One of the reasons I haven't touched mine yet - but certainly tempted... I guess we have to keep this in context and remember that this is a safety device for visually impaired citizens. I just wish they could have made it sound like a normal internal combustion engine running rather than a strangled cat.

clqw

Nobody should disable it, but reducing the volume and its high pitch noise I think is something that could be done. There are tons are cars out there that are electric powered, including my parents hybrid Camry, and none of those make such usually high pitch loud noise that seems like theres something wrong with the car.

Wait4Vtec

It is so bad. It's loud and obnoxious. The sound itself is not very refined at all. It's louder than the actual engine when it kicks in, which makes no sense.

SUEB

Hi All... i just heard this reverse noise today; that is why I am here searching for a reason for the noise. How come it only started today? I have had the car since December?

Wait4Vtec

Lol you've always had it, you just didn't realize. It's under the hood latch and you can see it when you open the hood. It's a small round speaker. It only comes on when car is in motion low speed and engine is off.

TechNut

Correct. I suspect you never heard it because your windows were up before, or you weren't standing outside the car while someone else was backing it up. Thankfully, it is silent inside the car as long as the windows are up but its like fingernails on a chalkboard if you are outside and hear it. Very annoying.