EV Noisemaker Status

Not sure if this was posted elsewhere in the forum, but apparently Ford and many other carmakers have already been doing this......but for the interior.

America’s best-selling cars and trucks are built on lies: The rise of fake engine noise

Stomp on the gas in a new Ford Mustang or F-150 and you’ll hear a meaty, throaty rumble — the same style of roar that Americans have associated with auto power and performance for decades.

It’s a sham. The engine growl in some of America’s best-selling cars and trucks is actually a finely tuned bit of lip-syncing, boosted through special pipes or digitally faked altogether. And it’s driving car enthusiasts insane.
Fake engine noise has become one of the auto industry’s dirty little secrets, with automakers from BMW to Volkswagen turning to a sound-boosting bag of tricks. Without them, today’s more fuel-efficient engines would sound far quieter and, automakers worry, seemingly less powerful, potentially pushing buyers away.

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Making noise about noise. :tongue:

Soul actually makes sound at low speed and a chime when backing up Kia Soul EV Electric - Review Test Drive - YouTube

Skotty said:

In coincidental but convenient timing, Autoblog just posted a piece on this:

Noise rules for EVs to help blind pedestrians pushed back to 2018

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From the article:

Beyond the blind, the safety imperative is driven by studies that show that EVs and hybrids are 20-percent to 100-percent more likely to hit a pedestrian compared to an ICE vehicle.

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Interestingly, the article had plenty of hyperlinks for other stuff, but this quoted text does NOT point to any substantiation, and this is the first time I've heard of any hard data (one way or the other). But I'm suspicious.

ggr said:

From the article:

Beyond the blind, the safety imperative is driven by studies that show that EVs and hybrids are 20-percent to 100-percent more likely to hit a pedestrian compared to an ICE vehicle.

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Interestingly, the article had plenty of hyperlinks for other stuff, but this quoted text does NOT point to any substantiation, and this is the first time I've heard of any hard data (one way or the other). But I'm suspicious.

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My wild guess: There may be an increased risk of pedestrians not hearing approaching electric cars. I would be very surprised if that increased risk actually translates into more accidents and even more surprised if anyone has done studies on the issue and published the quoted results.

Quick google search provides one interesting article which does state that pedestrians are more likely to be run over by hybrids, but attributes such outcome to reasons other than silence.

According to a new analysis of National Highway Transportation Safety Administration data on more than 200,000 traffic-related deaths, lack of noise may not be what makes hybrids more dangerous for pedestrians. As NPR reports, the new inquiry reveals that many fatalities in which hybrids were involved took place at speeds of 35 miles per hour or faster—when hybrids are just as noisy as other cars.

The author of the new study, Amy Freeland from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says it’s not clear why hybrids are involved in more pedestrian deaths, but speculates that the high numbers of accidents involving the partial electric cars and pedestrians may be due to the fact that hybrid owners are more likely to live in cities, where there are more people on foot.

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The silence of electric cars is one of their advantages as they reduce noise pollution. It seems like a very poor and questionable solution to make cars noisier in order to help reduce accidents. It is up to the driver to look out for pedestrians, if the onus is on pedestrians to run away when they hear noise, then good luck to all of us.

A modern ICE car approaching at low speed has no noticeable engine noise. I hope noone wants to make EVs noisier than ICEs.

Our megathread on this: Should EVs Make Artificial Sounds at Low Speeds?