It's the law: Electric cars must make noise after September 2019

[Xminus6]

That's the noise of their motors (permanent magnet?). Like your dogs it drives me crazy too. Tesla's use a different motor technology that doesn't make that noise.

I think it's artificial and part of the firmware. My RAV4 EV makes the same noise as Toyota hybrids and, as we're all aware, the RAV4 uses a Tesla drive train. The Mercedes B Class ED probably uses the same platform and it doesn't make that noise.

 

[Camera-Cruiser]

Ha, no worries, my 2013 S makes a ton of noise already. Whenever I tap the brake pedal (really annoying brake vacuum pump BUZZING that would wake the dead) the noise keeps going for ~10 sec. Tesla Service says "it's normal," which when translated to English means "We refuse to fix it.'"

It's not normal. Really. They replace mine twice. It is wonderful.

If you can be in park and press the brake pedal twice for the pump to come to life and wake the dead, they will replace it. The techs at the Buena Park, CA service center could hear it from 20 feet away, and I could create the sound on demand.

Don't let them tell you its normal, its not.

 

[Skotty]

Beware of possibly having the hardware and then accepting software updates.

 

[Sunlight]

This is beyond utterly daft. Any artificial sounds will be irritating and a whole traffic jam of cars making annoying sounds will just drive everyone bonkers.

Presumably the rules will then change again. And it only seems sensible to have the rule apply to all cars not just EVs.

Elon's idea of a warning sound when a pedestrian is detected nearby would work far better although I don't know how it would work in a busy urban road with lots of pedestrians and cars crawling along..............

I suppose that 'self driving' tech will overtake the issue so that cars just naturally avoid pedestrians anyway!

 

[dgindio]

Wow! I knew this subject would elicit quite a number of responses. I'll settle for the sound of the Corvette motor I installed in a '48 Jeep CJ2A, equipped with Hooker headers and Magnaflow mufflers + the sucking air sound of the cold air intake.

 

[deonb]

Beware of possibly having the hardware and then accepting software updates.

You mean... a Tesla?

 

[thegruf]

Question: How many Tesla's have hit and injured pedestrians who were unaware the vehicle was there?

 

[Altes]

It's the law: Electric cars must make noise after September 2019 - Roadshow

Oooooo Oooooo Ooooo, the jetsons sound

 

[BluestarE3]

If they want EVs to make "old school" drivetrain noises, why not take it back another step in time and have them snort and neigh like horses? After all, in the early days of horseless carriages, some locales required a person to walk ahead of the vehicle and wave a flag to warn others of the impending arrival of the infernal beast.

 

[Pdub2015]

That is a crazy document. By crazy, I mean, some of the research that the assumptions are based on seems to be wanting. I admit I only spent 10 minutes reviewing it, but even the authors admit at times that the data is somewhat weak. The cost/benefit analysis is based on the potential cost of fatalities, but the data admits that HV/EV fatalities are rare to non-existent at the low speeds they're most concerned about. So they have created a calculation that combines injuries in such a way to be equivalent to fatalities, for the sole purpose of making their cost/benefit calculations work. Seems tricky to me..

 

[Hank42]

My initial reaction to this was on of "how dare they". But then I saw some comments on "Jetsons sounds" etc, and I thought that would be kind of fun. But Somethings still stuck with me as being anti-EV.

I would be much more agreeable to the regulation had they simply stated something less inclusive like "All vehicles must produce a sound of 85db or more when travelling 0-10MPH" That way, it's a fair playing field, and truly improve safety for pedestrians, if that is indeed the real goal of the regulation.

I've seen some modern ICE vehicles that can be (almost) as quiet as an EV.

 

[jya*]

Sorry but you will not be able to pick the sound. All cars of the same Make, Model and Year have to make the same sound. It did not say that it cant be changed for everyone so for example you wake up on Christmas morning and everyone has reindeer hooves for the day.

I personally like the fighter jet sound especially if you are launching and it only takes a split second to go 0-19mph.

The problem with the model year requirement is for those manufacturers who change their hardware and software at a faster rate than every year. This has serious impact on Tesla's business model, not much on every other car company.

 

[sandpiper]

The problem with the model year requirement is for those manufacturers who change their hardware and software at a faster rate than every year. This has serious impact on Tesla's business model, not much on every other car company.

It should be like a ring tone. You can download any of a menu of possible noises, including:

- Any of a range of ICE sounds
- An old guy yelling curses
- Dogs barking
- Flatulence
- Somebody singing "Git along little dogies"
- Wierd Al singing "Fat"
- The "Knights who say Ni" skit
- Gunfire

If they're really clever, they could allow you to switch sounds when somebody is detected in front of the car. And maybe it could even be adjustable based on the number and size of individuals.

 

[scaesare]

If we're forced into this then I want Tesla to give me the option to customize what noise it emits with no less than the following options:

• Spaceship laser sounds
• V8 engine to scare the little kids
• Train chuga-chuga-chuga sounds
• Tractor engine roaring
• Star Wars theme song
• Boat moving through water sounds
• Helicopter noise
• Jet engine
• Sound of metal scraping along the pavement
• Horse trotting
• Cow mooing
• Donkey braying

Then maybe I would be ok with this.

Excellent list. Might I add:

• Theme from Jaws
• Theme from Knight Rider
• Bionic Man sound
• Chariots of Fire song
• Close Encounters "notes"
• "Bring out your dead!" quote from Monty Python
• Millennium Falcon "failure to engage hyperspace" sound effect
• Theremin music

 

[jgillispie]

That's the noise of their motors (permanent magnet?). Like your dogs it drives me crazy too. Tesla's use a different motor technology that doesn't make that noise.

I had a Prius pass by me as I was walking into a store the other day and didn't hear a thing.

 

[Ampre Sand]

Having read through much of the final rule document, http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/rulemaking/pdf/QuietCar_FinalRule_11142016.pdf

I'm left with mixed thoughts. My LEAF has a noisemaker (aka Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians). Having experimented with it, the LEAF is otherwise eerily silent at very low speeds. The VSP makes a sound most would think is coming from the inverter / gearing (and perhaps a brake pad rubbing). The backup chime, though, is more annoying on a quiet evening than useful, and I can see why there is a disable button for the sounds effects, at least outside the US market. Neighbors sleeping with windows open at night will not appreciate the backup chime.

The new rule dispenses with the requirement for sound frequency to increase with vehicle speed... instead it is sound amplitude (loudness). Additionally, there is a requirement for an idle sound when the car is on, but not in Park, as a warning that the vehicle could move at any time. I have experienced the latter problem with the LEAF in having to roll down my window and warn someone standing next to my car chatting with the driver of the car in the next parking slot, "Excuse me, I need to back out..." Of course, that could still happen, even with a sound effect.

Manufacturers are given some latitude in how to meet the requirements. Only frequency bands, loudness, and conditions are set, but the actual sound effects, textures, and even method of creating them (synthesized using a speaker or natural tuning of the drive system) are open. The smart manufacturers will use this as an opportunity to create appealing signature sounds for their various models.

While I look forward to the day when crossing a 7 lane intersection on foot is no longer an experience of obnoxious noise, waste heat, and exhaust fumes... I'm not so sure the cacophony of "idle tones" will be a pleasant thing.

 

[Ampre Sand]

I had a Prius pass by me as I was walking into a store the other day and didn't hear a thing.

I don't think the Prius had a warning sound effect until more recently. I know my second-generation 2004 Prius didn't.

Here's are videos demonstrating Nissan and Toyota sounds, respectively.

Assuming the new NHTSA rule is turned into regulation, I trust Tesla will come up with a signature sound that is more pleasant than annoying, and blends in well with the aesthetic of the car. Even better if it is directional and not heard within the cabin at all. I can hear my LEAF's VSP in the cabin if I don't have the climate control on.

 

[Chopr147]

Any artificial sounds will be irritating and a whole traffic jam of cars making annoying sounds will just drive everyone bonkers.

Oh, this is something I had not thought about. We'll have to put the music way up in a traffic jam just to drown out the annoying "safety" features

 

[lklundin]

Excellent list. Might I add:

• Theme from Jaws
• Theme from Knight Rider
• Bionic Man sound
• Chariots of Fire song
• Close Encounters "notes"
• "Bring out your dead!" quote from Monty Python
• Millennium Falcon "failure to engage hyperspace" sound effect
• Theremin music

I want a "psychedelic cowbell".

 

[Soolim]

I like to have a bicycle thumb operated ringer tone that operates only when it sense a pedestrian on the road.