Low speed noise from 1st Sept cars

[Mark_T]

Been on the phone to Tesla sales, and they said all cars entering the UK have been fitted with the noise maker, and that at the moment, the sound is disabled but will be enabled via a software update later according to law.

So even if you think you don't have the speaker, you probably have.

So far at least, the preparation for the speaker has only been seen on the M3, and no speaker actually fitted.

At some point soon it is likely to appear though simply because the USA has its own, similar, regulations and they take full effect earlier than the EU regs.

 

[Tony Hoyle]

I'm not sure I'd believe tesla sales. I'd want to see evidence of a fitted speaker on a UK car.

 

[Mark_T]

US car makers are supposed to have half their production of new cars fitted with the devices by this month, so it wouldn't surprise me to find they were fitting them to RHD models as well just for simplicity, but yes, I'd like to see the evidence of that claim as frankly Tesla sales staff are generally so far out of the loop that they are usually the last to know, not the first.

The speaker mount is easy to find, just look under the front of an M3, the hole pattern for the speaker was spotted there months ago on US versions, on the right side.

 

[NorfolkMustard]

More details on teslarati Tesla Model 3 reportedly gets pedestrian noisemaker ahead of NHTSA mandate


the updates were related in an email to Tesla employees, which also included two sound bites featuring the Model 3’s forward and reverse sounds.



As could be heard in the samples reportedly shared in the Tesla email, the Model 3’s forward sound appears to be mostly white noise. In comparison, the Model 3’s reverse sound features a more sci-fi vibe reminiscent of the Porsche Taycan’s low, futuristic whine. The Tesla technician also remarked that so far, only Model 3 units built since September 1 are being equipped with the pedestrian noisemaker, though it is likely that the component will be fitted on the Model S and Model X in the near future as well. This should allow Tesla to equip its entire fleet with the noisemakers before the NHTSA’s mandate on the feature takes effect next year.

 

[TestPilot]

Been on the phone to Tesla sales, and they said all cars entering the UK have been fitted with the noise maker, and that at the moment, the sound is disabled but will be enabled via a software update later according to law.

So even if you think you don't have the speaker, you probably have.

I should have asked if it would sound like a typical rumbling engine sound, but to be honest, they'd probably have no idea like us.

I have the grille at the front and there is nothing behind it and no grille at the back.

 

[NorfolkMustard]

Only cars built since 1st September have all the hardware.

 

[Mark_T]

if its not required for TM3'd sold before July 2021 then presumably there is nothing legally to stop you disabling it so long as you can get access and even if there was if some have it and some don't it seems unlikely an MOT technician will question it so long as the date of first reg prior to 01/07/21.
Of course if you do that and then you run someone over it might be a little tricky.

As with all other similar systems, if you don't have it at point of purchase they won't make you fit it, but if it was present at point of sale then it will have to be maintained and functional thereafter.

As you surmise though you'd have to be pretty unlucky to get picked up at random on the street, especially while there is a mix of cars with and without, but it's that 'running over someone' bit that you mention which would prompt me to suggest that if your car comes with it fitted, I'd leave it alone ...

 

[MrBadger]

Absolutely. If someone disabled a safety device fitted as standard and then hit someone who claimed they had not heard the car, I think they would be taken to the cleaners so to speak by any legal/insurance involved.

 

[SirRob]

Absolutely. If someone disabled a safety device fitted as standard and then hit someone who claimed they had not heard the car, I think they would be taken to the cleaners so to speak by any legal/insurance involved.

If it could be proved they disabled it*

 

[MrBadger]

I think it would be expensive (and consequences severe if caught out) to disprove it wasn't disabled or faulty (neither would result in you smelling of roses) considering how easy it would be to prove that one should have been sounding the first place. And I don't think your insurers would be fighting your corner for you once they had inspected the car and found evidence that it was not functioning as intended. Its amazing what accident investigators can reveal should the need arise.

So, ask yourself one question, do you feel lucky?

 

[phillcom3]

Also, if anything needs a constant noise generator it is the cycle couriers that represent a far greater danger to pedestrians than the cars ...

and people with heads in phones.

 

[phillcom3]

OTA updates for advertising jingles?
User options: "remain, remain, remain' or 'brexit, brexit, brexit' (should be fashionable for a few more years)
Just use the fart app geo-fenced for fast food outlets?
How about anice gentle sound until the sensors pick up a person 10 feet away and then a loud steam whistle?
Choices, choices...it could end up lie the good old bad old days of multi-tone car horns or front door bells that play carols at christmas..

so most uk highstreets brillllliant...

 

[phillcom3]

I think it would be expensive (and consequences severe if caught out) to disprove it wasn't disabled or faulty (neither would result in you smelling of roses) considering how easy it would be to prove that one should have been sounding the first place. And I don't think your insurers would be fighting your corner for you once they had inspected the car and found evidence that it was not functioning as intended. Its amazing what accident investigators can reveal should the need arise.

So, ask yourself one question, do you feel lucky?

we can tell so much more than you think from weather the metal cracked due to manufacturing or mishandling to weather the oil used was of the correct quality quantity type to weather someone installed something correctly. google the course ODA observe deduce analyse.(used for aircraft investigations) its something I had to train in when I was in aircraft defect investigations.

 

[Radders]

Anyone, have a definitive answer on this yet, i am picking my m3 up next Friday, wondering if it will make any awful noises at low speed/revers, i hope it doesn't...

Has anyone picked their car up yet from the recent shipment??

 

[M3noob]

Anyone, have a definitive answer on this yet, i am picking my m3 up next Friday, wondering if it will make any awful noises at low speed/revers, i hope it doesn't...

Has anyone picked their car up yet from the recent shipment??

I collected my car last month. If I want my car to be anything other than silent, I open the windows and turn up the sound system.

Always on the lookout for music addicts wearing headphone and oldsters...

 

[Battpower]

Imagine a busy multi-story parking structure of the future... All that noise and impossible to tell which car is making it.

Back to plan a. 'Be careful around motor vehicles'

 

[Durzel]

Exactly, it would just become something you tune out because you'd hear it so often.

Meanwhile you've got pre-MY19 EVs and a multitude of ICE cars that make next to no sound at low speeds still driving around.