300h noise on backing up?

I bought my new Lexus 300h last week and it is doing the same thing! I'm calling the dealer today.

According to Lexus there is a new law that the electric/hybrid cars have to make a noise when in electric mode so that people can here them. Why it has to be an annoying noise though...... I have a LC500H and it is embarrassing when you goi to back up on a quiet street or out of your driveway. In England the busses are electric and to many people were getting hit by busses so they had to add a noise to them for people to here but it sounds like a motor, not a horrific noise like Lexus did!

Anyone fiqure out how to disconnect it????

This is a normal noise caused by the Hybrid transmission to give the driver an audible alert that they are in reverse. This also lets the driver know they are not in drive and make the mistake of going backwards when intended direction is forward in the case they thought they shifted to drive but didnt fully engage drive selector. There is no way to lower or turn off this noise as it is part of the hybrid transmission internal electric motors.

The question isn't so much related to the driver, but to the pedestrian alert system. So even if you could find a way to deactivate it, the question is really whether you want to leave yourself culpable for a person's injuries and financially liable. Lets say that you deactivate the speaker and hit someone, even if it's only a tiny bump. He reports this to your insurance company and maybe even the police, where he claims that he didn't hear any sound. You get investigated and they find that you removed the noise that's required by law. Your insurance company denies you coverage and cancels your insurance, so you're on the hook for the pedestrian's medical bills, pain & suffering, and punitive damages. The Federal government through NHTSA then fines you for messing with required device. The police ticket you, and when this gets to the DMV, they might even revoke your driver's license..... As for replacement devices, as this involves a government law, no third party will ever produce anything that's less noisy or less grating than the sound you have now; no one with a brain would want to assume responsibility for getting in the middle of this mess.