4 ms·

The EVs/hybrids I've encountered in the US seem to have artificial sound as well when no ICE is running, including the Prius.

eulers_secret 3y ago
Yes, since 2010: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sounds https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sou... They turn off over ~18MPH, though. After that, tire noise is much louder. As loud as an ICE car. So, realistically, you’d hear a Prius if it’s going normal road speeds. Side note: I wish the sound was more pleasant. When multiple cars are moving in a lot I call it the “choir of the damned”. They’re also louder than ICE cars and that’s kinda lame, we moved backwards WRT noise.
- zbrozek 3y ago
  Both the regulation and folks' implementation of it is too conservative.
- emn13 3y ago
  I live in the EU, and EVs are much quieter than ICE cars at low speeds in my day-to-day experience. The volume levels need to be raised significantly from my perspective; they're dangerously low here. There are quite a lot of kids on the roads here, and the difference in audibility between ICE and EV cars is concerning. Are you saying the typical EVs you hear are _louder_ than ICE cars where you live? As to the pleasantness of the noise - yeah, that seems to be a manufacturer's choice, or perhaps even driver choice? And let's hope just like annoying ring-tones of years past that the current selection dies out soon...
  - mcny 3y ago
    > Are you saying the typical EVs you hear are _louder_ than ICE cars where you live? ICE cars are pretty quiet where I live. Either that or there is so much ambient noise that I've lost some of my hearing but either way I don't hear much of an engine noise with recent cars.
    - emn13 3y ago
      Oh they're quiet here too - it's just that (most) EVs tend to be almost inaudible. They'll make a very quiet whirring noise sometimes, but the volume is so low that you'll easily miss em. I don't know the people driving these cars well; perhaps they modded them (seems unlikely, given the neighborhood), or perhaps they're old enough to have escaped new requirements; regardless - they're too quiet here in my sample size of 1 neighborhood in NL.
  - sgerenser 3y ago
    My RAV4 Prime is much louder than an ICE at low speeds, especially in reverse. It’s so loud it’s sparked a bunch of videos and discussion on how to lower the volume: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q1UqicqdzFE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q1UqicqdzFE Some have figured out how to disable it completely (just pulling the noisemaker causes a fault code to trigger) but quieting it down to roughly the volume of an ICE seems more reasonable to me.
    - emn13 3y ago
      That noise sounds bad, and unreasonable. I suppose I've just been lucky not to live near anybody that has a car making that kind of noise. Irrespective of the volume it is remarkable why any car designer thought that this was the right _kind_ of noise for the car to emit. Somebody chose that soundtrack, and you kind of have to wonder why...
gambiting 3y ago
Volvo plug-in hybrids don't make any noise when driving in EV-only mode. They are super stealthy, you have to be super careful when driving around a car park because no one is aware you're around them.
- bartread 3y ago
  Yeah, I particularly enjoy being able to sneak up on people in a giant estate/station wagon.
  - gambiting 3y ago
    I mean, I'm not saying this is a good thing. Just an observation that not all hybrids emit noise when driving with the ICE off.
    - sgerenser 3y ago
      Regulation in the U.S. requires it: “After several additional delays, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued its final ruling in February 2018. It requires hybrids and electric vehicles travelling at less than 18.6 mph (30 km/h) to emit warning sounds that pedestrians must be able to hear over background noises. The regulation requires full compliance in September 2020, but 50% of "quiet" vehicles must have the warning sounds by September 2019.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sounds#United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sou...

eulers_secret 3y ago

Yes, since 2010: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sounds https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sou... They turn off over ~18MPH, though. After that, tire noise is much louder. As loud as an ICE car. So, realistically, you’d hear a Prius if it’s going normal road speeds. Side note: I wish the sound was more pleasant. When multiple cars are moving in a lot I call it the “choir of the damned”. They’re also louder than ICE cars and that’s kinda lame, we moved backwards WRT noise.

zbrozek 3y ago
Both the regulation and folks' implementation of it is too conservative.
emn13 3y ago
I live in the EU, and EVs are much quieter than ICE cars at low speeds in my day-to-day experience. The volume levels need to be raised significantly from my perspective; they're dangerously low here. There are quite a lot of kids on the roads here, and the difference in audibility between ICE and EV cars is concerning. Are you saying the typical EVs you hear are _louder_ than ICE cars where you live? As to the pleasantness of the noise - yeah, that seems to be a manufacturer's choice, or perhaps even driver choice? And let's hope just like annoying ring-tones of years past that the current selection dies out soon...
- mcny 3y ago
  > Are you saying the typical EVs you hear are _louder_ than ICE cars where you live? ICE cars are pretty quiet where I live. Either that or there is so much ambient noise that I've lost some of my hearing but either way I don't hear much of an engine noise with recent cars.
  - emn13 3y ago
    Oh they're quiet here too - it's just that (most) EVs tend to be almost inaudible. They'll make a very quiet whirring noise sometimes, but the volume is so low that you'll easily miss em. I don't know the people driving these cars well; perhaps they modded them (seems unlikely, given the neighborhood), or perhaps they're old enough to have escaped new requirements; regardless - they're too quiet here in my sample size of 1 neighborhood in NL.
- sgerenser 3y ago
  My RAV4 Prime is much louder than an ICE at low speeds, especially in reverse. It’s so loud it’s sparked a bunch of videos and discussion on how to lower the volume: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q1UqicqdzFE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q1UqicqdzFE Some have figured out how to disable it completely (just pulling the noisemaker causes a fault code to trigger) but quieting it down to roughly the volume of an ICE seems more reasonable to me.
  - emn13 3y ago
    That noise sounds bad, and unreasonable. I suppose I've just been lucky not to live near anybody that has a car making that kind of noise. Irrespective of the volume it is remarkable why any car designer thought that this was the right _kind_ of noise for the car to emit. Somebody chose that soundtrack, and you kind of have to wonder why...

gambiting 3y ago

Volvo plug-in hybrids don't make any noise when driving in EV-only mode. They are super stealthy, you have to be super careful when driving around a car park because no one is aware you're around them.

bartread 3y ago
Yeah, I particularly enjoy being able to sneak up on people in a giant estate/station wagon.
- gambiting 3y ago
  I mean, I'm not saying this is a good thing. Just an observation that not all hybrids emit noise when driving with the ICE off.
  - sgerenser 3y ago
    Regulation in the U.S. requires it: “After several additional delays, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued its final ruling in February 2018. It requires hybrids and electric vehicles travelling at less than 18.6 mph (30 km/h) to emit warning sounds that pedestrians must be able to hear over background noises. The regulation requires full compliance in September 2020, but 50% of "quiet" vehicles must have the warning sounds by September 2019.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sounds#United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sou...