Some cars do actually make an electronic sound to warn pedestrians of their presence. Mostly European cars, and the little hairdresser’s Jeep thing I forget the name
Yes, my hybrid does this. And makes a super annoying louder sound when put in reverse.
Apparently with a laptop and some time you can disable the loud ass reverse beeping Ford makes their hybrids do. Probably illegal but it’s super annoying sounding like a giant work truck to back up my escape and no cop is going to say anything if my car doesn’t beep since 99% of consumer cars don’t do it
I have a 2016 Ford C-Max Hybrid SE and the only reverse beeping it makes is if someone or something is behind me as I’m backing up. The beeping is only heard from inside. Hmmm… I better verify that in the morning when someone is available to help me test…
Mines a 2021 escape, as soon as it’s put into reverse it has external beeps like a box truck to warn people since it’s in electric propulsion and makes almost no noise.
I just asked my wife and she confirmed that there are no beeping sounds from it when I’m backing up.
Must’ve been an addition on newer models then, I’ve heard it on a few others and the ford dealership says they have to have it. Some quick googling right before buying it brought up forums where ford owners figured out how to disable it though
I found what the requirement is. Electric and hybrid vehicles manufactured after 2018.
https://insideevs.com/news/330043/quiet-car-rule-new-evs-must-emit-warning-sounds-in-us-by-2019/
Nice, you just missed it then, congrats on having a non-annoying hybrid! See you at the pumps once a month or so
The artificial sounds are legally required at low speeds, at least in the US and Europe. In the US electronic sounds are required at speeds below 30 kph. In the EU I think it’s 20 kph. At faster speeds the sounds of wheels on the road and such make electric and hybrid cars basically as loud as ICE cars.
There are very specific rules about the noises. It looks like there was some effort in the US to allow user-selectable sounds, but it didn’t work out. I found some info here, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/07/13/2022-14733/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standards-minimum-sound-requirements-for-hybrid-and-electric-vehicles
Toyota does an “angel hum” sound on their hybrids.
Fiats do it too but it’s usually just because the alternator’s fucked
Fix
It
Again
Tony
Oh, that’s what that is. I thought it was just some proprietary engine component that makes Toyota’s hybrid engines unique to others.
