Beep Sound When Reversing - How To Stop It

[Eric Cheung]

This forum is so great! I've learnt so much from here.

Whenever I put the shift stick of my 97 ES300 to the Reverse ("R") position, an intermittent and rather loud "beep" sound is heard. I found this beep beep sound annoying. How can I stop this sound?

[1990LS400]

My suggestion is to first check your backup light bulbs to see if they have an aftermarket beeper module. I've seen them for sale in catalogs targeted towards families with small children.

[SW03ES]

Thats my guess too. The ES has no feature to cause a beep when reversing.

[NeiLtYmE]

always see them on big trucks and not really cars.

In India, most people equip thier cars with this type of module. the module would produce a loud voice command saying to move out the way,or some other random sound.

Kinda cool actually, considering the dense population.

[Eric Cheung]

Thanks guys for the responses! I'll check the backup bulbs.

The beep seems to come from the front and inside of the car, though.

[1990LS400]

Sorry Eric. I just now noticed the "HK" under your name. Does HK represent Hong Kong? If so, you might have a quite different variation of the ES than that sold in North America.

An automotive stethoscope is very useful for finding the source of noises. I paid only a few dollars for one many years ago. Here is a link to a picture of one which is identical to the one I have: http://www.mikeogara.net/tools/engine-driv...tethoscope.html

[Eric Cheung]

Yes, you're right. I'm from Hong Kong. However, my ES is a direct import from Japan. Will the Japan version the same as that in North America? Thanks again.

[1990LS400]

Eric, I suspect that the Japanese version of the ES could be quite different from the U.S. version - besides the fact the the steering wheel on your car is probably on the opposite side. I follow the problems of people on a U.K. Lexus Owners web site who have imported Toyota Celsiors (LS) directly from Japan and they have lots of problems because of the many differences between the Japanese market (Toyota) and U.K. market (Lexus) vehicles - even though both are right hand drive.

A co-worker of mine in the U.K. (Portsmouth) has a U.K. spec. LS400 - we have sometimes tried ordering parts and accessories for each other. We gave up doing this after too many compatibility issues.

One of my brother-in-laws and his family spent quite a few years in Japan and he and his wife have lots of stories and photos of the Japanese market cars they drove. I should remember the Japanese phrase they use to describe their cars there (my sister-in-law taught English to Japanese housewives) but the translation was "garbage car". They seemed to indicate that the Japanese market cars they drove were pretty bad compared to similar cars sold in the U.S. market. I suspect that this has changed quite a bit since they moved back to the U.S. about 10 years ago. Do Japanese cars have side impact beams yet? That was an issue for a long time. Do your headlights flash or horn sound when you exceed a certain relatively high speed?

[Eric Cheung]

Hi, thanks for the information. It's interesting to know that the Japanese call the Lexus (they use brandname Toyota and not Lexus in Japan) garage car. Actually, mine is a Toyota Windom (called Lexus ES300 outside of Japan).

I'm not sure whether my car has side impact beam (how to check?). As for the headlight flash or horn sound at high speed, I've not see this on my car. The highest speed I drove my car was only 75mph, due to road speed limits and road conditions in HK. So, not sure if my car has the same problem.

[1990LS400]

Eric,

No, No, No. The Japanese do not call Lexus "garbage cars"! That is not what I meant.

I meant that some cars sold in the Japanese market were not nearly as nice as those sold outside of Japan and did not have the safety equipment available outside of Japan.

My sincere apologies. I am certain your Windom is a very, very nice car!!!

Jim

[Eric Cheung]

Hi Jim,

No problem at all. I did not feel offended at all. It was a good and friendly discussion.

I've own my car for less than 3 months and do have a lot to explore about. All information and comments about it are welcome.

Eric :)

[Eric Cheung]

Oh, sorry to apologise for getting you wrong. Sorry.

Eric

[SKperformance]

Haven't seen a JDm with a reverse beep but ,hey i have never seen a JDM in the land of JDM, so what do i know anyway.

I suspect the reverse beeping bulb, They sell them here at car stores for $5 -10.