That makes sense as a safety feature. It is easier to place the LS 500 into reverse without realizing it.

 

If it's easy to put a car into reverse without realizing it, the solution is not a loud warning to everybody nearby, but a redesigned shift lever to prevent the situation from happening.
When I was a kid, most American cars with those new automatic transmissions had, for a while, R at the far right end of the column shifter, after the drive gears. This caused problems, and soon the industry moved R to a spot between P and D, and everybody adopted the same convention so all cars with automatics had the same shift pattern. I had a stick shift car that required a downward pressure on the stick to get into reverse.
We have enough buzzes and beeps in our cars as it is.

 

Not sure if I'm misreading your message, but the beep is only audible to occupants inside the car. It does not beep like a truck does.

 

 

I did not know that the beep was inside the car only - I thought from the posts that it was like the Pruis "I'm backing up now, get out of the way" beep that seems to be designed to alert your neighbors to stay in the house until "Drive" is engaged. (Which does make some sense on an electric car - do golf carts have this?)
Still, I think drive selectors should be designed so that Reverse cannot be selected by accident - this has not been a problem in the last 40 years.

 

I would certainly beep in that case That would be very un-Lexus like.

 

 

I've driven one once, and been in them several times, and I thought that the beep was outside also. It certainly seemed loud enough to be heard outside the car.
I'm glad to hear that the golf carts buzz when in reverse; I'd hate to be the one who backed over the club Pro while maneuvering around the 18th green.

 

I'm 99% sure the beeping is only inside the Prius. It definitely was only inside on mine, and I live in an area with a lot of Priuses and they don't beep outside.

 

Beeping in Reverse doesn't bother me, yet. Exchanged my 2015 RC F for the F Sport today. The ride on the new LS is so much better than the 2007 LS460 and 2012 LS460 F previously owned. It's a BIG car. Extends almost two feet further in the garage than the RC F. The turning radius is 3 feet more because of the AWD. Car is quiet while cruising, no wind noise. Didn't even think about the transmission since up and down shifts were so smooth well timed, for lack of a better description.

 

I just got the 2019 LC500 and you can not disable the stupid backup beeper which is ONLY inside the car. What the heck were they thinking? I know the car is going backward because I put it in reverse! Just like I don't need a beep to tell me I am in drive and moving forward! This is totally pointless. One commenter said "you can easily have the car in reverse and not know it" - this is not true. Reverse you push the shifter forward and drive you pull the shifter backward. Also you would feel the car going forward or backward. This beep was not designed to warn people outside the car it is to remind the stupid driver that they are going backward. Ugh!

 

Take the car to the dealer, this is one of the dealer adjustable settings.

 

when I took delivery of the car, my sales person had offered to cancel the beeping as a dealer customization option. I declined it as I wanted to have that alert in place if any of the family members drives the car. so you should be able to cancel/ change the beep

 

Hi everyone, I was in the same camp as many thinking the beeping is very annoying, however, after reading through this entire thread, I think I'll leave it as it as now I clearly understand that it really definitely is a safety issue. I can see someone putting the car in reverse, who may not be used to an e-shifter and with no beep never know that they are in reverse (my wife) !!! You guys provided a great service here and window into how all this works.